“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life...Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your inner voice.”

Now that school is out, it’s a great time to remind your college student to check their online image. Have him or her start with the Google Test by googling their own name.  Have them also make a list and check all their social media sites, including old ones they no longer spend time on.

This is the type of content to avoid:

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams is a fascinating novel about relationships and prejudice that takes place during the 1930s in New York and New England.  The book alternates between the years 1931 and 1938 with a backdrop of historical events that took place during that period. 

I called home on my return from a business trip.  My husband laughingly asked me to talk to my middle son about advice he received from his 5 year old sister.  His voice had no laughter in it as he indignantly shared, “She told me solve my own problems!” And then he added for the benefit of everyone in earshot of the phone, “She heard that from mom!!”

We all want to succeed at the interview.  Succeeding means connecting with the interviewers and making them want to offer you the job.  You want the interview to be YOURS.  It should be YOURS to say NO to, not the other way around.

When I had the idea to start an organic baby food company, I struggled with coming up with the perfect name for the brand. I settled on Happy Baby (which later evolved into Happy Family) because, honestly, my first choice – Fresh Start – was taken. Also, let’s face it, everyone wants to be happy and perhaps more importantly, everyone wants their children to be happy. Happiness is a powerful emotion, but how do you conjure up that emotion through a brand?

A recent Forbes article took a fresh look at what it takes to be an inspiring leader.  The six qualities described go beyond charisma and give proof that successful leadership not a one-size-fits-all equation.

Over and over again, I am amazed at the accomplished, successful, wonderful women I meet that lack self-confidence.  These women are powerhouses with amazing resumes, wonderful families and incredible experiences.  Yet, when the leave and re-enter the workforce, their confidence disappears.

Confidence is critical to career success.  It is critical to the job search process, resume development, interviewing and work-life balance.

If you predominantly work from home and very rarely have to physically go into the office, you may get jitters when the time comes to make an actual appearance in person. This happened to me recently. I literally work from home about 90% of the time, but recently I was asked to come into our New York office for training. Oh well, there goes the bunny slippers! I immediately went to my closet to take inventory. It's been 7 years since I've actually worked around other people and unfortunately my wardrobe reflected it.

A coaching client, whose husband was teaching their son how to drive, told me a story that reinforces an important fact.  She said, one day, as her husband, once again, admonished their son for not using his right turn signal, their son pulled over, stopped the car, looked his dad in the eyes and said, “Dad, why are you yelling at me? You never use your right turn signal.”