How to Read People

People often ask me if it's better to be an early bird or a procrastinator. An early bird aims to do things well in advance -- whether it's pay bills before they're due, book flights, complete a project weeks before the deadline, and so forth. A procrastinator , on the other hand, habitually leaves everything for the last minute. Many might say the answer is obvious -- that being an early bird is more favorable in that you get things done early.  My answer to them is that either extreme is bad. All the way through high school, I was the king of procrastination, sometimes waiting until the day before a paper was due to write it. Once I got to college, I did a 180 degree turn and aimed to finish projects days, if not weeks, ahead of time. This seeped into my personal life as well; for example, it became the norm to pay bills the very day I received them in the mail. The problem with being too much of an early bird -- much like being a procrastinator -- is that it t...

The happiest people aren't those who have the best of everything . If that were the case, you would never see millionaire athletes and celebrities getting into crippling debt, being arrested for drugs or driving drunk, settling nasty divorces with their spouses, or, in the worst cases, committing suicide. Instead, the happiest people make the best of everything they have.  The key to being happy is striking the right balance between the desire to acquire more and achieving a state of contentedness with what you already hold in your possession. Some people can't help themselves. They want a brand new car every year or two. They want the latest iPhone as soon as it comes out, even if their version still works perfectly. I'm the polar opposite: I use things until they're almost falling apart. I held on to my last car for 10 years, and it still pained me to part with it. The only thing that prompted me to sell it was the fact it was mysteriously hydroplaning in ...

Can you believe it? Summer is finally over! Friday, September 22 officially kicked off the fall season. This can only mean four things: 1. Temperatures are dropping, or are soon to drop.  For someone like me who loves cold weather -- and gets very little of it in my hometown of South Florida -- this is certainly a welcome change. Unfortunately, it's warm year-round here with the exception of a few weeks in late winter/early spring. I'll take anything we can get, though, even if it's a mere five-degree "cooldown." 2. New and returning shows. Networks premier a slew of new shows in the fall. Meanwhile, loyal fans of returning shows like Law and Order and Scandal are treated to a new season of never-before-seen episodes. It's a great time to be a boob tube maniac. 3. The holidays are approaching. Most of us immediately associate fall with the changing of the leaves (i.e., yellow, orange, red, and brown), cornucopias, pumpkins, scarecrows, turkeys, and, o...

In life, human beings are prone to break things -- everything from vases and clothing to lips and legs. But this post specifically addresses three non-tangible things that should never be broken. Can you guess what they are? The three things that should never be broken in life are trust, promises, and hearts. We're all human and can acknowledge breaking one or more of these on at least a couple of occasions -- just as we can cite specific cases where others have done it at our expense. All three of these revolve around commitment. When you place your trust  in someone, you are counting on them to come through in some way. It can be anything from babysitting your child to expecting that they'll pay their half of the rent every month. Sometimes, though, certain situations merit a declaration of assurance -- whether written or verbal -- that the person will do something. A promise is essentially a pledge or vow that we tend to associate with wedding vows ("I ...

I'm going to go against the grain of society and say that if you're a quiet person -- and like being that way -- you shouldn't aim to fundamentally change who you are just to appease other people. On the other hand, you should take pride in being different from the vast majority of people out there. I get so annoyed when people -- be they coworkers or acquaintances -- ask others why they're so quiet. It makes me want to turn around and ask them, "And why can't you keep your mouth shut?" Of course, there are situations in which you can't escape communicating with others -- interviewing for a job, making a presentation, calling a disgruntled customer over the phone, etc. Sometimes you just have to "fake it to make it." But that doesn't mean you have to change the essence of who you are. Why would you? Let's face it: No matter how hard you may try to change from a timid, unassuming introvert to a loquacious extrovert, the real ...