A recent study from Accenture found that the easiest way to get a raise or a promotion was to ask for one. Yup, 85% of those surveyed who said they had asked for a raise actually got something. It reminded me of Nathan’s recent tutoring negotiation. He was recommended, by one of his old math teachers, to the mom of a seventh grader who needed help in algebra. Her first email to Nathan did not mention the fee she was…
Nathan came down beaming into my office yesterday. He had been doing research for a project which requires him to think about his career goals. Nathan is lucky because he knows exactly what he wants to do when he “grows up”. “I can make $61,000 starting off as a Foreign Service Officer,” he said. “And in 15 years, it will have raised to over $95,000!” These numbers were different than the numbers he had shared with me the day before…
Patterns are very useful tools. No, I’m not talking about the paisley patterns covering your socks. I’m talking about routine occurrences that, if we’re paying attention, can help us make positive changes in our lives. Take, for example, the useful discovery that every time you ate nuts, a rash would appear on your neck. It may have taken several months to figure it out, but, with this information, avoiding nuts has had an immediate impact on the quality of your…
When we invest in something, we are looking to benefit from it in the future. For example, when we invest in regular oil changes for our car, we expect that the car will serve us well for many years. And when we invest time into a vegetable garden, we hope to have a bountiful harvest. As parents, we invest in our kids’ futures every day, multiple times a day. When we tell them that eating carrots will help their night…
Nathan made an interesting comment recently at the dinner table. “I love Sunday evenings. Not because there’s school the next day but because I get two days off from work.” Nathan works at In and Out Burgers. It’s a great first job for a teenager. The hours are pretty accommodating to his school schedule and he gets to work with other kids his age. And then there’s the paycheck…and, apparently, the days off. But this first job has taught Nathan…