I’ve had five babies in nine years, and after each one I’ve faced a long emotional and physical recovery. Between rebuilding muscles and babying old injuries, it’s been a tough journey. I’ve tried many self-improvement hacks and ideas to stay on track during these foggy postpartum months—online food logs, detailed exercise journals and more.  However, this most recent experience was different. After my last baby, I decided I needed to simplify, and then simplify some more. After all, with five kids and a full-time job, I deserved some self-grace, right? So, when I received the gift of a p ..read more

Resilience is often attributed to people who survive catastrophic events or manage extreme illnesses or other difficult situations. However, having resilience in the workplace can help you cope with stress, perform at your best and face challenges with confidence and poise.  Building resilience at work takes practice, but it can be an excellent way to help you avoid burnout and unnecessary stress. What is resilience in the workplace? Resilience is the general ability to withstand or quickly recover from difficult situations. Developing workplace resilience can help you keep problems in pe ..read more

Each professional journey will look a little different, but today, we’ll discuss an integral part of any professional journey—giving and receiving employee and leader feedback. Feedback, when delivered correctly, can be one of the most powerful tools for growth. It helps us understand our strengths, highlights areas for improvement, and guides us toward our professional goals. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to provide constructive, honest feedback. This isn’t about criticizing or placing blame; it’s about helping each other grow and improving the entire team’s performance. Effective emplo ..read more

Passion projects, hobbies or innovative expressions outside the traditional 9-to-5 workday are great ways to flex our creativity and do something just for pleasure. But what does a passion project for a company or business look like? What benefits can they provide, and can they make a positive impact on an organization’s bottom line?  In the early 2000s, Google encouraged an 80/20 policy, which gave employees the bandwidth to ideate, develop and innovate projects during 20% of their work schedule. It ultimately led to huge wins like Gmail AdSense and Google Maps—technology that has become ..read more

It’s standard practice to have multiple employees in every organization qualified in first aid so they can attend to physical injuries until professional medical help arrives. However, the same consideration is seldom extended toward mental stress and strain—otherwise known as mental health first aid—and that needs to change. Gallup found that “19% of U.S. workers rate their mental health as fair or poor” and are four times more likely to miss work due to poor mental health than peers who rate their mental health as good, very good or excellent. The same analysis also found that workers believ ..read more

In simple terms, empathy is putting yourself in another’s shoes to better understand what they’re feeling. Having empathy can make you a more effective communicator and help you build stronger relationships. In this article, we’ll explore the importance of empathy and understanding the perspectives of others, and offer tips on how to become more empathetic. What is empathy? Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. Being empathetic means not only knowing what someone is feeling, but also being able to relate to their experience to some degree. It helps us c ..read more

Some Americans move into a peak earning decade during their 50s. However, greater earnings don’t necessarily translate to financial security. People in their 50s are facing financial headwinds that include higher costs of living, rising debt, the disappearance of pension funds and an increased reliance on Social Security. A 2019 study from the Center for Financial Services Innovation, funded by the AARP Foundation, indicated that just 17% of adults 50 and older in the low-to-moderate income range are “financially healthy.”  To help protect your financial future, learn about how to prepare ..read more

“So, what do you do?” It’s a question we’ve all been asked on long plane rides and at awkward cocktail parties. Sometimes, the answers are quite boring and vague. But for those with niche careers, they are unlikely to ever meet someone else in their field, and they’ve become some of the only experts in the world who can do what they do. Imagine the next time you ask someone what they do for a living and they respond, “Oh, I test waterslides for a living,” or “I study the curious contents found in the pockets of antique clothing.”  8 niche careers you didn’t know existed If you’re in searc ..read more

After YouTube creator Jason Appleton’s grandfather died, he would occasionally hear stories about him from his aunt and uncle. Appleton found himself wishing he had spent more time talking to his grandfather about his life.  “When I was young, I remember my grandfather. But I didn’t value him,” says Appleton. “When you’re 15 or 14 years old, you’ve just got old heads around— you don’t really understand the value of their stories or their experience. As an older man, I’m so interested in learning more about my grandfather and my grandmother. I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be so interesting to cha ..read more

Chris Orzechowski does not wear watches. But that didn’t stop him from writing copy for the luxury timepiece brand Filippo Loreti in 2016, a campaign that raked in more than $5 million in just 30 days to become the 18th largest Kickstarter campaign  at the time. His secret: Before writing a word, he bought a watch and became the customer he was trying to connect with. He learned what features to ask about, what benefits to look for and how the purchase made him feel. He understood the journey, the sale and the product—he understood the customer. Chris Orzechowski: Where the two ends of em ..read more