A friend of mine recently asked for my help while he was preparing for a job interview. He asked if I could help him figure out the best way to answer the question so that the employer would think he was a good fit for the company. My advice to him was “be yourself”, because […]
be you, be yourself, who are you
On a commute to work that I had several years ago, there was a man who stood at the same intersection every morning, waving to cars as they went through the intersection, and the response was really positive. People would honk their horns and wave back, and he impacted so many people that the local […]
advice, good morning, good morning man, morning
I started my Rise & Whine episodes over 2 years ago, and the idea was pretty simple. It was just a way to connect with people offering a brief word of encouragement or a concept from psychology that I thought would help people in their daily lives. What was surprising and quite rewarding, is how […]
R&W, rise and whine, youtube
An article in a recent issue of Psychology Today noted that although we know the benefits of receiving a compliment, people are often reluctant to give one. The reason is people tend to underestimate the positive impact of the person we’re paying the compliment to. And people tend to overestimate that the person will be […]
advice, kind, kindness, sincerity
Sometimes we can become anxious when we feel like somebody is expecting a response from us about something, and we don’t have anything to say, at least not in that moment. I’m reminded of the great line from Meg Ryan in “Joe Versus the Volcano” at times like that, where she says, “I have no […]
no response, nothing to say, silence
In Gabriel Garcia Marquez book “Love In the Time of Cholera”, the main character is frustrated in trying to give a box of chocolates to a love interest. He tries for months every day, and frustrated at his failure, he hands them to a complete stranger and says, “this is for a love going all […]
advice, book, love, no love wasted, quote
One of the most common questions people ask someone they are meeting for the first time is,” What do you do for work?” I suppose they ask because it’s sort of a safe question, isn’t considered intrusive, or too personal. If you think about the closest relationships you have in life though, it’s likely you […]
advice, connections, getting to know someone, questions
Many people are familiar with the story from Greek mythology about Pandora’s box. The gods give Pandora, who’s the first human person, this box, and they tell her not to open it; curiosity gets the best of her, and she opens the box, and all these evil things come out into the world because of […]
box, hope, pandora, pandoras box
I read an article about a concept in the Netherlands that translates roughly as “walking in the wind” and how much they enjoy that and get benefits from walking in the wind. The physical and emotional benefits of both de-stressing, but also the energy that one gets from the wind, especially after exercising in the […]
be the wind, sails, wind, wind in our sails
Back when I was deciding where to go to college, I wasn’t entirely certain about my choice, which was a school in Washington, DC. My father came down to help me move in, and right before he left, I think sensing that I wasn’t fully happy with this choice, he said,” you know the train […]
advice, Decisions, happy, train