PART 1 OF A SERIES

About Work

1. Are you working on your chosen field?
2. How many hours a week do you work?
3. What does your job entail? (For example, do you often travel for business, work at home, performs dangerous tasks?)
4. What is your dream job?
5. Have you ever been called a workaholic?
6. What is your retirement plan? What do you plan to do when you stop working?
7. Have you ever been fired?
8. Have you ever quit a job suddenly? Have you changed jobs a lot?
9. Do you consider your work a career or just a job?
10. Has your work ever been a factor in the breakup of a relationship?

About Relationship History

1. Have you ever felt deeply insecure in a relationship? Were you able to name your fear?
2. When was the first time you felt that you were in love with another person? What happened in that relationship, and how have you come to terms with it?
3. What is the longest relationship you have ever had prior to this one? Why did it end, and what lesson did you learn?
4. Have you ever been married? If so, are you divorced or widowed? How do you think you handled the loss?
5. If you have a current partner, do they know of behaviors that you exhibited in your previous relationship that you’re not proud of?
6. Do you believe that past relationships should be left in the past and not talked about in your current relationship?
7. Do you tend to judge current partners on past relationships?
8. Have you ever sought marriage counseling? What did the experience teach you?
9. Do you have children from previous marriages or non-marital relationships? What is your relationship with them? How do you see your relationship with them in the future?
10. Have you ever been engaged to be married but didn’t go through with the wedding?
11. Have you ever had a live-in partner? Why did you choose to live together instead of marrying? What did your experience teach you about the importance of marriage and about commitment?
12. Do you harbor fears that the person you love might reject you or fail out of love with you?

Connection with your partner is vital for your well-being and the well-being of the relationship. If you find that any of these suggestions are hard for you, then do some inner work to discover what is in the way.

Click Here to read more.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn’t Want You to Know–and What to Do About Them
By Cynthia Shapiro

Cynthia Shapiro, a former Human Resources executive, reveals the real way companies work. In her best-selling book, Corporate Confidential: 50 Secrets Your Company Doesn’t Want You to Know–and What to Do About Them, she uncovers several startling truths about business and what you can do to be more aware in the workplace. Get an inside look at the secret world of hidden agendas and insider information. Cynthia’s insights can literally save your career.

Here is a sneak peek:

• There’s no right to free speech in the workplace.
• Age discrimination exists.
• Why being too smart is not too smart.
• HR is not there to help you, but to protect the company from you.
• And much more.

Click Here to read more.

What do women want? According to one opinion at the New York Times, pretty much what men want. 

Click Here to read more.

 By Melissa Moorer Nobles, InJoy Enterprises

The purpose of this list is to support you in focusing on the only thing that you have control over…yourself.  The list contains tools to assist you in keeping a clear positive focus on what you can do and be.  Effective leaders focus on what they can do and be.

1. TMI = Trust My Intuition.
2. Nourish yourself spiritually (spend time with your inner-self everyday).
3. Make decisions for yourself (the answers are always withIn).
4. Find your voice & recognize it when you hear it (who are you listening to, mind chatter, is it someone else’s voice).
5. Have an attitude of gratitude.
6. Hold a positive focus.
7. Set positive intentions for your day, everyday.
8. Take responsibility and ownership.
9. Be relentlessly pleasant.
10. Listen…no really, listen.
11. Take on stretch assignments.
12. Build a network & alliances (meet with people who are doing what you want to do).
13. Choose your mentor(s) carefully.
14. Be confident, competent & compassionate.
15. Handle issues head-on (what you resist persists).
16. Be careful who you allow to define you.
17. Take risks but be prepared and ready.
18. Be selective with who you share your dreams with.
19. No one needs to know that you don’t know everything that you need to know for your next job.
20.  Know what you don’t know and learn it.
21. Trust yourself to make a decision without waiting for all the facts.
22. Be open and honest.
23. Take public speaking classes & look and act the part that you are going for.
24. Do everything that you don’t like to do first thing in the morning. (Denzel Washington “Do what you have to do first then you can do what you want to do.”)
25. Be authentic without apology.
26.  Make mistakes & find better solutions.
27. Stay disciplined.
28. Hold challenges lightly (The gift of challenges are the opportunity to grow beyond your comfort zone).
29. Support yourself and someone else (energy of giving and receiving).
30. Stay open to all possibilities.
31. Live beyond the “law of averages.”
32. Be fierce!!!

The greatest danger for most of us is not that we aim too high and miss it, but we aim too low and reach it.

Shame is a soul eating emotion.

NPR reports that according to researchers, having a mate is supposed to be good for your mental health. But if that mate is critical or can’t be counted on when the going gets tough, that’s worse than having no mate at all. “The quality of your relationships matters more than quantity when it comes to depression,” says Dr. Alan Teo, a psychiatrist at the University of Michigan who led the study.

Click here to read more. 

Have you been financially unfaithful? Let’s take a closer look at the state of marriage in America and examine the way more and more people are being unfaithful. Can you cheat on someone… with money? Financial infidelity may come as a surprise to you — but it happens more frequently than you may think. Have you ever hid purchases from your partner or secretly spent money?

Click Here to read more. 

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

The Glass Elevator: A Guide to Leadership Presence for Women on the Rise
By Ora Shtull

Ready to break through the glass ceilings in the workplace? Now there is an easier way for women to rise and succeed professionally. Author Ora Shtull is one of New York’s leading executive coaches. She will teach you how to stop retreating and start ascending, employing the same expertise she uses to help her executive clients rise to the top. The Glass Elevator: A Guide to Leadership Presence for Women on the Rise reveals the 9 critical skills that will enhance your ability to engage, connect, and influence others at work.

Are you holding yourself back? Do any of these behaviors sound familiar?

• Not speaking up at meetings when you have value to add?
• Failing to promote yourself to seniors in the workplace?
• Shying away from challenges because you lack confidence?
• Neglecting your networking inside and outside the company?
• Living in a state of overwhelm at home and work?

With quizzes, workouts, and power profiles of women leaders, this engaging book will help you to master the must-have skills for success. 

Click Here to read more.