What 15 years in retail taught me about anger and being the bigger person. I spent 15 years working in retail for such companies as Borders Books, Apple, and Starbucks. And even in those high-end bastions of retail, I have had to deal with angry people. Here is the best…

The students stared across the flour coated table, mounds of shaggy dough waiting. He started to knead the dough, his eyes never leaving hers and his hands confidently pushed and rolled. She stared at him and used her long fingers (she had been an amateur pianist) to shape the dough…

A Story About You Let’s pretend you have landed an interview for your dream job. You have dressed up, you are in the right place, and it’s the right time. All you have to do is get to the top floor. You could take the stairs, but then you’ll show…

My brother has a horrible habit. He will find something new and wonderful; a playlist, a variety of beer, or an article of clothing, and then take a grainy picture of himself or a screenshot and post it. Then he will wait to see if someone asks what it is. …

Take a stupid breath for your stupid mental health. Drink some stupid water for your stupid mental health. Eat a stupid healthy snack for your stupid mental health. Get some stupid sleep for your stupid mental health. If it’s stupid and it works… maybe it’s not that stupid.

When I was 13, I had to write 150 thank you notes. It took me about two days, and as arduous a task it was, it taught me a valuable lesson: how to write a short, meaningful note efficiently. Even at that age, I remember getting sterile, pre-printed thank you…

A meeting should be an email when: There is no discussion. Something is changing, and you need everyone to know? Send an email with a read receipt. No collaboration is needed. If something requires input from your employees but not collaboration, send an email with a read receipt and an…

It seems like every article about focus and productivity involves lists of some kind: a list of life goals a list of daily choices a list of your ultimate morning routine I love lists. I have at least four of them posted next to my computer monitor: my Project List…

I work with independent authors who can knock out a 70,000-word story in a month but have anxiety over a 250-word email. I’m sure many of you can relate. My article “Use This Letter To Say No To Anything” was written to help someone out of a tricky email situation. …