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SPEED SHOPPING. GOOD IDEA?

Speed shopping with your partner. Ever heard of it? I gave it a try in a Safeway that sits between two over-55 communities. My speed shopping there made me look like The Flash. There was only one problem: I didn’t reveal my plan to my wife. Uh oh.

REAL THINGS THAT GET MORE REAL, LIKE FEELINGS

Real things are not a mystery. Maybe mysterious, but not a mystery. For that we can thank science. And thank some blogger for posting images too small to read. More mystery? Not with the right solution.

FINISHING SCHOOL FOR THE UNFINISHED

If you’ve never heard of it, a finishing school is where women become ladies. Ladies? What kind of ladies? Ladies who grew up expecting others to know what they’d learned in finishing school. To that we say, “Good luck.”

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION USES GOOD MANNERS

Manners matter, good manners, if your aim is for effective communication. Steady eye contact and active listening nods and acknowledgment are part of the deal, but don’t stare unblinking like a psycho. Also, “Yup, yup, yup,” and “okay, okay, okay,” are not examples of active listening. Unless you do it ironically, but only if you’re […]

YELLED AT? HOW TO RECOVER

Getting yelled at is not an experience for the timid. But how often do we have a choice of who yells what? Never. Especially when it goes off the tracks, off topic. Then it’s not about you, but them. Goes like this:

ANNOYING WORDS. ONLY WORDS?

Annoying words can be found everywhere. In any book, on any TV show, and coming out of the mouths of people I like. Go ahead and sweep your life clear of people who don’t respect your point of view, your ‘beliefs’, or the car you drive, and you’ll still be stuck with annoying words. In […]

TALKING BACK? DON’T BACKTALK ME SON

Talking back is a right and a privilege, but it comes with a caveat: It may not be as appreciated as you’d hope. The great Randy Johnson said it well with: “I don’t care who you are, don’t get in my face!” the 6-10 Johnson snapped at one point as they brushed past the cameraman. […]

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN MORE THAN A BURGER

A communication breakdown is a problem. It’s also a burger, which isn’t a problem. The problem comes when a ‘failure to communicate’ gets your ticket punched like Cool Hand Luke. But, instead of food and prison execution, let’s talk about online communication breakdown. For example, take this blog. Please.

CONSTANT COMPLAINING DONE THE RIGHT WAY

If you hear constant complaining without end, what do you do? Tune it out? Change the channel? Or listen and learn because we all know it’s impossible to complain all the time. There’s something else going on, but what?

THIRD ACT LIFE: THIS IS WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND

Life’s third act is different than the end of a drama. In a play, everyone goes home. In life the end is death, which sounds overly dramatic. One question: Is it better to go quietly and leave the mess and problems unsolved? Problem solvers say, “Heck no.”