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Formula for Excellence: Practice for 10,000 Hours

October 22, 2009

photo credit: graymalkn
Author Malcolm Gladwell, in his new book “Outliers”, shares his research that very few people achieve excellence without putting in at least 10,000 hours of preparation. His research dispels the notion that people can be at the top of their games with talent alone. Gladwell states, “The closer psychologists look [...]

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Is The Music In You Still Waiting To Be Sung?

October 15, 2009

photo credit: justalexanders
Although Florence Littauer had been married for many years, she had never had a meaningful conversation with her mother-in-law Marita.  In Florence’s mind, Marita had always been a little too busy, a little too distant, and never seemed real.  But all that changed one evening when Florence asked Marita, who was nearing [...]

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Should Employers Use Credit Reports to Screen Job Candidates?

October 13, 2009

photo credit: TheTruthAbout…
In the midst of a national recession and rising unemployment, many who are seeking to dig themselves out of their financial woes are being hit with a double whammy: potential employers are disqualifying them from employment because of low credit scores. These employers are using a number (credit score) as [...]

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Are You a Quitter? Maybe You Should Be.

October 7, 2009

photo credit: Photo Mojo
Most of us have grown up hearing, “Quitters never win and winners never quit.” Sound good, but is it always true? Career coach Dan Miller challenges us to consider what road we are on and, if it is the wrong one, quit and change directions. If you were [...]

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Cast’n Que BBQ

October 4, 2009

photo credit: Chuck.falzone
I don’t know about the rest of the nation, but Barbeque is big business in Southern Illinois. Contests abound and this weekend is no exception. Janice and I will be in Murphysboro (home of 17th Street Barbeque) shortly, cheering on nephew and niece Chuck and Jenny as they compete. [...]

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Four Innovations I Have Been Wrong About

October 1, 2009

photo credit: SideLong
While I have been wrong many, many times, I am going to limit this column to four: all innovations which I was convinced had no chance of success. Read on for my flawed logic and some lessons I have learned. Here we go:
1. Rent to own.
When I first [...]

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Do Nice Guys Really Finish Last?

September 28, 2009

photo credit: Jonathan Shield
Leo Durocher, the fiery and controversial baseball player and manager, was famous for his statement that “Nice Guys Finish Last.” He actually co-penned an autobiography by the same name. Another Durocher quote, “Win any way you can, as long as you can get away with it”, seems to [...]

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What is a Security Freeze and Other Related Questions

September 8, 2009

photo credit: Andy Tinkham
Because I strive to be a “do it yourselfer”, I figure that my first line of defense against identity theft is what I can do on my own. My wife and I are vigilant about safeguarding our personal information, especially our Social Security numbers. We own a shredder [...]

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How Much Is A Trillion?

July 5, 2009

photo credit: apyykko
Q: Joe, I hear about Congress spending a trillion dollars, but I am having trouble comprehending how much a trillion is. Do you have any illustrations that would help?
A: A million is a thousand thousands. A trillion is a million millions. If you could lay a [...]

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Gaining Strenth From Struggles

July 3, 2009

photo credit: 416style
She was born prematurely, the 20th of 22 children. As a young child, the polio virus caused her right leg to atrophy and twist. Doctors declared she would never walk again, but her family never gave up. They took turns massaging her leg every single day. [...]

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My Near Scam Experience

July 1, 2009

photo credit: B Rosen
My near scam experience began when I tried to sell an antique cast iron mantle on Craig’s list, an internet classified ads site.  The day after the mantle was listed, I received an email from mike.bobble100@gmail.com telling me he wanted to buy it and asking me to remove the listing.  My [...]

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