I remember it clearly. My mother used to say "Stefanie did you send so and so a thank you note?" She would say, “it's so and so's birthday, anniversary, graduation . . . “, fill in the blank. If there was something going on in someone’s life, she believed it warranted a personal phone call or a lovely handwritten note. I used to complain and whine about it, but in retrospect it was some of the

Luck is a state of mind. People who are lucky, people who think of themselves as lucky tend to think and behave in different ways than those who think of themselves as unlucky. Our thinking and acting may cause us to experience serendipitous events in some areas of our lives and to experience seeming obstacles in other areas. Changing the way we think may change our experience instantly. For example, many years ago, a friend

French artist Edgar Degas had a unique method of preparing his paintings. He would first sketch the entire subject, then extract the figure from the background to perfect it. Next, he would redraw the scene and reposition the subject where he thought it fit best. The result was his ideal: "premeditated spontaneity." Degas’ technique-taking his model out of context, examining and articulating it, then placing it where it looked best-applies to job interviewing. "Premeditated spontaneity" lets you put yourself in the

We all have times when we feel nervous and unsure. Here are some practical tips to help you to project a confident image at work. There are several things you can do to feel more confident: 1) Be prepared. If you’re making a presentation to a group or giving a proposal to your boss, you’re going to feel more comfortable if you’ve done your research and practiced in advance. And the more important the issue, the more you