How many new people do you meet in a week? 1, 2, 3, 5+ ..? Depending on how social you are and your line of work, that number could vary and be quite large. But, how many of those people would you say are memorable? Meaning, you remembered there was “something about them” or something they said that left you with a feeling of wanting to know more about them days or weeks later?

Most of the time we have a difficult time remembering someone’s name and what was discussed seconds after we first meet them, let alone days or weeks later. Especially when meeting multiple people at once, that task becomes much more challenging.

So, what distinguishes someone from being memorable vs. not memorable? Read more »

Has this ever happened? You win an award, you have an amazing day, or you get a big promotion — then all of a sudden something negative happens in another part of your life, perhaps you have a big fight with your partner, you get sick or experience a set-back in your health? Or, while enjoying a general feeling of bliss or happiness with your life, those positive feelings are all of a sudden hijacked by negative thoughts and worries about all of the bad that could soon occur?

I’ve often heard parents talk of this happening while they watch their children sleep, or peacefully play — and soon after admiring them lovingly and thinking about how much they love and adore them, those feelings of deep love and contentment are soon clouded by worry and fear.

Why do we do this?  Read more »

It was a Thursday afternoon business luncheon, pretty standard protocol — a bit of networking before lunch was served, small talk and getting to know those at my table, and then a presentation from featured speakers.

Afterwards, we were asked to mingle about the room and say to each person we were speaking with “I need ____” filling in the blank with what we most needed. Since this was a business luncheon, most everyone filled in that blank with something they needed for their own business or career. The person receiving the “I need” was instructed to figure out how they could best provide what was requested. Then, we were to switch places and vice versa, continuing the process as we moved from person to person.

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Stretch: (VERB) To extend, force, or make serve beyond the normal or proper limits; Be made or be capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking.

Recently, I watched an interview where actor/producer/writer/director Edward Burns was talking about a single act that changed the course of his life.

He told the story of when he was ‘an unknown’, working as a production assistant for Entertainment Tonight. After a press junket interview with Robert Redford, he seized the opportunity and gave Redford a copy of the film he self financed, produced, directed and starred in called ‘The Brothers McMullen’.

The rest, as they say, is history.

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