Never let your past mistakes and experiences prevent you from taking on new challenges or opportunities. Most of us have had jobs that wound up being a bad fit, not to mention been in at least one relationship that ended badly. But you should never let the fear of going through another bad experience keep you from taking on a promising job or starting a new relationship that has the makings of a fruitful union. After all, it's experience that teaches us what we did wrong so that it won't happen again in the future. Next time a seemingly great job opportunity or dating prospect comes into the picture, we should be better equipped to determine whether either is right for us, given the lesson we learned the first time. Thus, experience should serve to facilitate growth and progress in our lives, not inhibit it.  I realize it can feel like a big gamble to take the plunge once more after being left hurt or disillusioned the last time. But integral to the human experience i...

Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist and author known for such works as "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and its sequel, "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The renowned author also gave us several timeless quotes, among them: "Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." To me, Twain is saying that kindness is essentially the universal language. No matter a person's background, race, denomination, political affiliation, career, sexual orientation, and so on, everyone appreciates a show of kindness. Just like every person needs to eat and breathe, kindness is an inextricable part of the human experience -- regardless of where one lives. Unfortunately, demonstrating too much kindness can put people at risk of being taken advantage of, thus the reason it should be dispensed in moderation. Not everyone is naturally kind, but we can work toward becoming kinder and mo...