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I hate shaking hands, I really do, hell I wish we would just bow like the Japanese or even kiss the air by each other cheeks… like cute Latinas do. I admit it, I am one of those freaks who would rather not shake hands with you… but the socially awkward penguin within me does not make me strong enough to just refuse. Want to know why? Consider this scenario: I am networking heavily at a conference of peers when the panel breaks for lunch within the next room. The lunch for the day comprises mostly of finger foods and I am starving and anxious to eat. The line for the food is extremely long however and my partners have to depart… so naturally we shake hands and the only thought within my mind is the dirty, icky feeling that comes with hand to hand contact. It lingers as I stand in line, until it… [Read more]

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As students we are given homework, tasks meant to be studied on our own time in order to memorize, master and absorb lessons that may have been missed in the classroom. Good students who make the grade will do as they are told; homework gets done before play and they ace the tests at the end of the semester. As we mature into adults and take on our respective careers, it becomes easy to lose ourselves and absorb the drama of the workplace to where we become our work. Never Make Business Personal One of the best lessons that an employee can teach themselves is how to adopt the gangster mentality of separating work from home. While an overworked clerk may take work home with her, she will not take work home with her. Do you get what I’m saying here? Let me explain. There are people who make our work-lives terrible and toxic, they… [Read more]

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In the movie Scarface, there is a scene where the drug lord Frank Lopez instructed a young Tony Montana that it was the guys who flew quietly in his business that did well. At the time the hot-headed Tony took it as a soft guy’s instruction on how to play it soft and stay a peasant but Frank’s words held more meaning than he even knew. When you work for someone, and you aspire to grow within the company and accomplish wonderful things, you cannot do it by joining the regulars in gossip, discontent, and mediocre work. There is a fine line between brown nosing and what I am about to say to you, but brown nosing is something else completely so please don’t misunderstand my intent. “A man is a good retainer to the extent that he earnestly places importance in his master. This is the highest sort of retainer.” – Yamamoto Tsunetomo (Hagakure)… [Read more]

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Let’s face it, a lot of our social eating has to do with sitting and listening to someone prattle on about the drama of their day while we listen and force conversation in between, playing the role as it were. While I love social eating, mixing it up with friends, girlfriend and others; there are times when the best therapy is alone time with a plate of food and nothing but restaurant noise in the background. The therapy of “alone time” is not restricted to eating either; some of us find a nice long drive to be the best and then there is that visit to the theater, the long walk home or sitting on the shores of a beach just closing our eyes and listening. There are times when people are just stressful, and if you aren’t a social butterfly whose entire life is bent on the approval of others… alone time is golden…. [Read more]

If you aren’t keeping a solid bit of savings, keeping up with your bills and minding your life and business then you are a burden on those who know you, one way or another. There is a reason why you see millionaire athletes crying broke after being released from their team and it is no different from your sister with the high income job who somehow ends up begging you for $100 every other month to pay her light bill. The reason is a lack of knowledge, or a lack of caring to learn the birds and the bees of financial education. It is one thing to not know what you’re doing but this article is for those of you who have access to the knowledge but choose instead to live recklessly. Money – It’s All about Our Outlook I think that the deciding factor in how people handle money is in their general outlook…… [Read more]

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Editor’s Note: Don’t be a reactionary troll from my title, read the article. According to a lot of men, the idea of a suitcase carrying woman in a pantsuit does not vibe well with the happy housewife image that is the conservative ideal. This accounts to many of the issues women with strong careers have with finding a peer (in business) to date and marry. Men aren’t necessarily looking for a “lesser” woman to marry but they are looking for a woman who fits into the mold of what is shown as the ideal. Donald Draper looks for Betty Draper not a Peggy Olson aka the career driven go-hard that’s pretty but focused on the prize. Sure this doesn’t account for every male who shies away from single professional women but it describes a healthy chunk of us that run for the hills when we know a woman is an earner. Men who seek a… [Read more]

Being that I have gotten this question a number of times from people who see me tap tapping away on the Berry, I thought it would be useful to detail my favorite apps and what I use them for. The primary use of my Blackberry besides ignoring calls is to text, blog and do accounting. As a small business owner I do find myself bouncing around quite a bit and I need my Blackberry to look at websites, expedite orders and check my accounts for any funny business. I have found my job to be easy with this phone and the following apps have been an enormous help in my day to day activity. 1. Bank of America (Free) – This is my bank (boo and hiss all you want) but for all their sucking, their app is actually pretty damn good. Not only does it use a smooth sliding interface that is very intuitive… [Read more]

Are you the broke friend? It’s a simple question but it may not mean what you think it means. The broke friend oft times will annoy his other friends due to his belief that life sucks for him and him alone. The broke friend will listen to your advice but will rarely take it – despite how easy it is to get out of his financial hole. What we’re saying is that the broke friend title is earned through attitude more than it’s earn from your financial position. A cheap person that has money can be just as much the “broke friend” as can the guy that can barely pay his bills. It’s not an elitist title, it’s a “stop using money as your excuse to being a loser” title. Here’s the anatomy of the broke friend: Wants in on everything but can never afford it. Cries broke whenever it seems convenient – as if… [Read more]