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Showing posts from December, 2013

Five Words for Female Professionals--Second Word

     Yesterday's word challenged you to be bold in pursuit of your goals.  As women, we can't deny ourselves the opportunities to compete equally in the workplace for what we are qualified to do.  Neither can we keep placing everyone else's needs at home before our own.  We have to go boldly forward in gaining what brings us fulfillment in our lives.  We have to enjoy life too!      Today, I challenge you again to get closer to your goals (and you must have those in place first!) by considering words that will motivate you to achieve.  The second word for female professionals who are striving to improve their lives in 2014 is strategy.  That's right: strategy.  Just declaring what you want to do is not enough.  Talking about it to your friends or coworkers won't necessarily make it happen.  You must be strategic in your thinking and your planning when it comes to making something concrete come to fruition.  For example, if you have been wanting to write a book--a

Five Words for Female Professionals

     With a new year on the horizon, most of us are looking at what we can do to make an improvement over the last.  We do it every year.  It is a time of new beginnings.  Kudos to those who have the ambition to do better.  Whether it's to grow your business, your circle of influence or your knowledge, striving to be better is admirable.  You are an exception when you are purposeful in how you live.  Far too many people don't want to or are afraid to make the next move that will give them what they want.  Many don't want to make the effort because it will be too hard or they fear failing.  Thus, they stick with what is comfortable and familiar.  They settle.      For women, this belief is especially debilitating.  Not only do they limit themselves, but many people in the world couldn't care less if they stayed at a level of mediocrity.  Other females who don't want to compete with them and men who don't take them seriously won't urge them toward their own p

Critical Speaking is Not the Same as Critical Thinking

     In my daily Bible reading, I came across scripture in the awesome "The Message" Bible by Eugene Peterson that spoke plainly to negative people about their regularly unkind speech.  I like "The Message" because it breaks scripture down into the simplest terms for readers.  It's written in contemporary language, and it reads sometimes like an essay, editorial or novel without being irreverent.      The seventh chapter of Matthew begins like this:  "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults--unless, of course, you want the same treatment.  That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.  It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own."  And that's just the beginning.  This is a word for believers and nonbelievers alike.  To be critical in speech is not the same as being critical as a thinker.  Critical thinking involves digging into the details, analyzing al

When You See Me, What Does My Body Say?

     Tattoos.  Piercings.  Wigs.  Weaves.  Hair dyes.  Colored contact lenses.  Shades.  Suits.  Stilettos.  Excess weight.  Muscles.  Gold teeth.  Sagging pants.  Dreadlocks.  Afros.  Cornrows.  Diamonds.  Perfumes.  Body odor.  Halitosis.  Plunging necklines.  Thigh-high skirts.  Blonde hair.  Scars.  Cigarettes.  Stained teeth.  Shirt & tie.  Creased jeans.  Polished shoes.  A frown.  A smile.  A hoodie.  Sleeveless denim vests.  Ripped jeans.  Trimmed beard.  Toned body.  Heavy makeup.  Plain.  Eclectic.  Vibrant.  Drab.      Any of these can be found on any human being every day all day long.  When we see it, we immediately make an assessment of the individual.  Positive, negative and neutral, we think we have people figured out to some degree when we see them.  A young person with violet hair and a tongue piercing may make a baby boomer shake her head.  A young African American male with sagging pants and a gold grille in his mouth may cause a police officer to slow down and