Sorry, not sorry

Saying, ‘I’m sorry’ is the same as saying, ‘I apologize.’ Except at a funeral. Demetri Martin 1973 – A few years ago, the shampoo Pantene did a commercial in which women apologized for a variety of common actions: for speaking up in a meeting, for asking a co-worker for an opinion, even for using a shared armrest. The ad highlighted a growing problem, particularly among women: apologizing when you’ve done nothing wrong. It’s understandable to apologize if you’ve acted inappropriately or offended someone. You can even make an argument for apologizing strategically; when dealing with a tricky client, for instance, it …
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The Pillow Test

You become what you give your attention to. Epictetus 55 – 135 A.D. I’m always looking for little things people can do to improve their quality of life. I recently heard of a good exercise from an associate in Dallas; he calls it the pillow test. It’s simple, but it can be very effective over time. As you lay your head down on your pillow each night, ask yourself the following two questions. What am I glad I did today? What do I wish I had done today? These are powerful and thought provoking questions. Think about the things you …
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Teaching penguins to fly

You possess strengths you might not realize you have. Find the right one. Use it. Epictetus 55 – 135 A.D. There’s an interesting story about penguins that illustrates a profound lesson. As the story goes, a group of penguins got wind of the fact that inspirational and motivational speakers were achieving amazing results with their followers. And the penguins wondered if a motivational speaker could help them learn to fly. After all, the penguins reasoned, they were birds, and birds fly. What was stopping them from achieving their potential? So the penguins formed a committee to find a motivational speaker …
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