Month: April 2014
Technology + Social Media + Internet = No Privacy?
In our modern technological age of social media and the Internet, information and content sharing can go viral with one click. It can be your bad hair picture or maybe a picture you didn’t want anyone to see and in the wrong hands of an ex scorned lover, suddenly your naughty picture has gone viral.
Perhaps your picture or text message was sent by your own hands. Maybe you made a rookie mistake, fumbling the direct message option on twitter and turning what was meant to be private into a public message. Just ask Anthony Weiner and how his “private” – or is it “privates?” – direct message got accidentally sent public via Twitter. It cost him his career and nearly cost him his marriage. But the former Congressman isn’t the only one that has been in the hot seat due to social media and or technology. Read the rest of this entry »
The Power of Regret
“I regret not having spent more time with my mother.”
President Obama got personal Sunday when he spoke of regret to University of Malaya students and South East Asia leaders during a visit to Kuala Lumpur.
“Because she died early — she got cancer right around when she was my age, actually, she was just a year older than I am now — she died. It happened very fast, in about six months.”
The president wasn’t above being honest enough to admit his regrets. He’ll forever second-guess the time he didn’t spend with his mother, Ann Dunham, who was 52 when she died of ovarian cancer in 1995. In searching our own past, we likely will find at least one thing that we regret. We strive to live life absent of any regret and to live everyday as if it was our last, to tell all of the people that we care about that we love them. We hope to make every decision with one thought in mind, and that is to never look back and ask “What if?” Read the rest of this entry »
Negative Beliefs & Bad Habits: Got Some?
The way we think is one of the hardest things to change. The saying “a leopard never changes their spots” can go beyond just someone’s personality. It can refer to someone’s habits and belief systems.
Imagine, you’ve been thinking the same way your entire life. You have learned or adopted unhealthy belief systems over 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years that no longer suit you. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that most people are skeptical when you claim to be a “new person.” Read the rest of this entry »
What People Think of You: Does it Matter?
Everyone, no matter what religion or background, has a set of belief systems based upon cultural, social, environmental and biological factors. These factors generally influence our perspectives and make up a generous portion of our belief system. Although our culture has become more and more open minded, we all carry around a set of biases based upon our perspective and experiences.
On a professional or personal level, therefore, everyone at some point is concerned about their reputation. And if you are one of the few that aren’t, you’re in the minority. First impressions are crucial to what others think about you, and what I have found that once people perceive you in a negative light, it’s much harder to undo. Maybe you were having a bad day or bad week? It doesn’t matter; people will judge you based on your actions and your attitude. Read the rest of this entry »
The Unknown: Facing the Dark Road
Have you ever been brave enough to drive through Utah on I-70 at night? When I ventured on my solo trip across the country last May from New York to Los Angeles, with only my dogs, I was tempted to pull an all-nighter. But my life partner questioned my judgment as he texted me the following: “Are you nuts?”
Needless to say, I opted against it making it into Utah by sunset in time to find a nearby hotel and post up for the night. Read the rest of this entry »
Writing With Hope 