Quick Tip: Remember People’s Names

Do you have a hard time remembering people’s names? If you ever find yourself sitting at a conference table and want to make sure you don’t get anyone mixed up, here’s a tip: Collect everyone’s business cards before the meeting starts.

When you sit down, line up the cards in front of you according to their seating order so you can easily match the name with the face. Don’t worry about hiding your cards either – it’s a widely-accepted practice and a quick, easy reference tool!

If you want to be more inconspicuous, you can just write everyone’s names (and positions, if possible) in the top corner of your notepad. No one will think twice when you’re flipping back through your notes! This is a great way to remember everyone’s name whether you’re in a large meeting, watching a discussion panel, or having coffee with a bunch of new people.

11 Essential Moving Tips

Do you know that May is one of the most popular months to move? It’s probably because millions of students move back home or into their own places at the end of the school year… and also because no one wants to move in the dead heat of summer. Whatever the reason, take it from me: Moving is tough work!

Last week, I went to New York on a family emergency: My mother was moving from a big house into an apartment in the city; she was sick and frozen emotionally. She couldn’t bring herself to pack a single box. The days were ticking and during my weekend rescue trip, I was quickly sequestered (or maybe you could say suckered) into staying an entire week to finish the deed. It was definitely one of the most stressful weeks of my life, but a successful one at that… and I definitely earned some serious brownie points with mom.

After my experience, I felt compelled to share 11 of my best take-away tips, since moves like this are inevitable for all of us (and our beloved families) at some time or another:

1. Buy the good packing tape! Cheap tape continuously gets stuck to the roll. You’ll spend more time gnawing it with your teeth and nails then you will sealing boxes closed!

1. Buy different boxes for different things if you can. It costs more, but it will make things so much easier and safer! Book boxes are small so they’re easier to lift. Wardrobe boxes are huge with a bar to hang your clothes and coats on. You can even throw your shoes or bedding in the bottom to maximize space.

1. Use a big thick black marker to clearly label what’s in each box and exactly where it’s going. For example: “Jan’s Bedroom Closet – Athletic Shoes.” Think about the mover (or a lucky friend or relative) standing with the box at the front door of your new place wondering what the heck to do with it. Make sure it ends up as close to its final destination as possible so you don’t have to move things twice, or worse case, not find what you need with you’re buried in boxes.

1. Keep a list of all boxes so you have a full accounting of what you packed.

1. Mark a handful of boxes “Open First” or “Open Immediately.” Pack all the stuff you need every day, like toiletries, underwear, utensils, current bills, pet food, etc.

1. Separate things into 3 piles: Trash, Donate and Pack. Think about what might be helpful, useful or inspirational to others. We gave silk flowers, plants and medical books to a senior center, books to the library and old sewing equipment to my mom’s tailor (who was thrilled!).

1. Take a shot at selling anything you can on Craigslist or eBay. Just take good heed of the scam warnings. And know upfront that people who apparently really want to buy your stuff can be really flakey so implement the “first come WITH CASH or DEPOSIT wins” rule. I tried to be nice and offered people first shot, second, third… and got screwed for being so thoughtful. Also consider posting signs up around your neighborhood promoting a little “moving sale” with whatever you have at the end on your last two or three days to clear out the final stuff. Many local charities will also arrange delivery of anything from furniture, TVs, computers, clothes, or if you’re really feeling generous, cars.

1. Resist the urge to just throw stuff in boxes. Be thoughtful. Throw the junk and stuff you don’t need or won’t ever use out. The worst thing is transporting more boxes than you need to your new place, only to keep those boxes hermetically sealed for years because you just don’t have the energy to go through them or deal with them.

1. About a week or two before your move, fill out all of your “change of address” calls and forms. Remember it might take some time to get your phone, cable, or other essentials reinstalled or set up so get those requests in early. Also make sure that your utilities and creditors know your new address before your billing cycle ends, or be sure to write the new address on the back of your bills when you send them in. (Something like that!)

1. Leave a nice note to the new people moving into your old place welcoming them. Then leave them your contact info in case they need to reach you or end up with any unexpected packages… or visitors! Thank them in advance.

1. If you’re moving out of an apartment or condo with a landlord, be sure to leave a good final impression. You may end up needing them for references in the future!

What’s Your Game Plan for Life?

Once you have your Ideal Life concept articulated and you can confirm with some confidence where it is that you want to go, a Grand Plan will help you connect the dots between where you are now and your Ideal Life. The most important thing to do is, to the best of your ability, determine what the critical steps or benchmarks are to get from here to there. Write the steps down, then add a series of intermediary steps in between along with “time to completion” estimates.

Ideal Life Component/Category: Chose an area of your Ideal Life that you want to focus on (career, finances, personal development, health, relationships, etc.)

Status Today: Include a brief description of your current situation or where you’re starting from at this exact moment in time, in this particular category.

Major Benchmarks: Write out the major benchmarks that would form a logical path to lead you to achieving your ideal situation.

Intermediate Action Steps: Work out your first set of intermediate steps that can lead you to connect one benchmark to the next.

Estimated Time: Estimate how long it should take you to complete each action step. Commit to a reasonable timeline.

Ideal Life Realization: Lastly, finish off the exercise with a little reminder of what you’re working towards in the first place. What will signify for you that you’ve achieved your ideal situation or goal?

Setting Goals: Aim High, Dream BIG!

If you’re determined to get everything you want without waiting a lifetime, one of the biggest secrets to making it all possible is to always starting with the ideal in mind. Focusing on what’s “practical” lowers the bar, while setting it as high as you can dream shifts your ambitions into high gear.

Recognize that not everything works out exactly as planned, stay cautiously optimistic, and you’re sure to keep your feet close enough to the ground. Some questions to ask yourself are:

• What will be the pinnacle of your career?
• What the highest position you will ever seek?
• What is the most impressive thing you want to accomplish or the biggest impact you want to make?
• What would you like to be known for?
• What will your days and nights be like?
• Where will you live? And play?
• What symbols of success do you hope to possess?

Success Tip of the Week: Examine Your Assets

To fully optimize your prospects for success, keep a running balance of your personal assets and liabilities. I’m not talking about creating a financial statement but the concept is similar.

Run a vertical line down a sheet of paper, then label the left side “assets” and the right side “liabilities.” Next, start to add any skills, abilities, special characteristics, resources or even contacts that are most valuable to you, and likewise, those that could be most harmful, or are most likely to hold you back. The trick is to find ways to best utilize your assets and compensate or eliminate your liabilities:

Born With: Think of the assets and liabilities that you were “gifted” with at birth. What came into your life from your parents, your genes, or was “God given?” (ie, basic senses, appearance, health, disabilities, etc.)

Born Into: What factors did you inherit from your family or surrounding environment? What do you have as a sheer result of who you are and how you were raised? (ie, wealth, health of family members, where you live, culture, religion, etc.)

Acquired or Developed: What personal assets and liabilities did you pick up during your development and growth? What can you take most of the credit for acquiring or developing on your own? (ie, confidence, social skills, values, knowledge, responsibility, style, etc.)