Ever had to deal with the drudgery of calling a company's customer service department for assistance? Yep, we've all been there. Just this morning, I received a message from Discover -- at work, no less -- saying they were calling in reference to a "request" I'd recently made. ' A victim of identity theft several times over the last few years, I immediately assumed someone had tried to open an account under my name. Then I remembered I was protected under a credit monitoring service through my wife's employer -- plus, they hadn't notified me of any suspicious activity. I called the number and was told that, in order for them to track down the file in question, I would either have to provide a reference number (which wasn't given to me) or my full social security number. The latter was, of course, out of the question, so I opted to do one thing at that point: Call again later in the day and hope the person who attended me then was more com...

Can you believe it? One quarter of the year is in the books! Whether you thought March was a productive month or an inefficient one -- thirty-one days of ample highs or far too many lows -- it's time to press the reset button and look forward to bigger and better things in April. Perhaps you're aiming to lose weight, start your own business, travel to a new destination, or learn a new language. No matter your goals, April presents a fresh opportunity to pursue them with renewed vigor. Some people say it's ridiculous to see the first day of the month as affording an opportunity to start anew, but I find that, mentally, it is advantageous, especially if you had a rough go in the waning days of the prior month. Sometimes the mere thought that the last month is behind us -- that a new month brings new promise -- puts us in a positive frame of mind, fueling us with increased energy and ambition. This month, I aim to read more, write more, and smile more than I did in...

Don't let your or others' negativity get in the way of your happiness. If you're feeling down about anything -- no matter what it is -- tomorrow is a new day. While things might seem a little bleak now, your luck can change at a moment's notice. That's why we must never lose hope or faith. The more positive you are, the more likely you are to induce favorable events. You bump into the right person at the right time. Your resume gets into the hands of someone you know. Your hard work is finally noticed and you score that elusive promotion. But great things will only come your way if you believe deep down that they're possible. And, of course, it's incumbent on you to take the steps necessary so that those things can become a reality. You won't meet the right person by staying holed up in your apartment all the time. You won't get the promotion unless you promote your accomplishments. Never should we expect things to simply fall in our lap. Thu...

Life is really what you make of it. You get out of life what you put in -- plain and simple. If you want to accomplish a goal, only you can propel yourself forward to make it happen. Sure, certain people might lend a helping hand along the way, but they can only do so much. You are the master of your destiny. No one says the path ahead is ever an easy one. In fact, overcoming onerous stumbling blocks is part and parcel of the journey. Whether you're looking to find a job that utilizes your God-given talents or a partner with whom you have great chemistry, your object of desire won't merely fall on your lap. It takes planning, hard work, sacrifice, and, sometimes, a little luck, to get what you want in life. We should remain receptive to opportunities that may come our way, yes, but that doesn't mean we should refrain from seeking them out. Thomas Jefferson once said, "I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have....

Many people say that hard work accounts for one's success while others contend that luck is the single most important contributing factor. It reminds me of a famous question posed by Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), the 3rd President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence: "Why is it that the harder I try, the more luck I seem to have?" In other words, another school of thought is that hard work leads to luck, which in turn creates fortuitous circumstances that make success easier to attain. I am of the opinion that success depends on hard work and luck. From what I understand, before Justin Bieber became a megastar -- when he was just a regular kid no one knew of -- he would post videos of himself singing on YouTube. The videos garnered heaps of praise, but that still didn't translate into dollar signs. All it took was for Usher, who is a world-renowned singer in his own right, to take notice of the videos in order for Bieber'...