We often take for granted the people who make a difference in our lives. From the colleague who mentored us to the devoted friend who helped us with our cross-country relocation to the parent who paid for our education, countless people have supported us and helped us become the people we are today.

But what if today was the last time you ever saw these people? What if you never got to tell them “thank you?” How would that make you feel? Today, we challenge you to pause, and tell someone who has made a difference in your life how much you appreciate them.

This can be as simple as writing them a letter or calling them and telling them how they’ve impacted your life. Here are a few tips for expressing yourself:

1. Be specific. Tell them exactly how they’ve helped you.
2. Shower them with praises. Tell them how you think they are the greatest.
3. Send flowers or a hand-written card, or, better yet, meet them in person, treat them to dinner or coffee, and really make their day … and yours.

Let us know how it went by leaving your comments below!

As human beings, we thrive on our relationships: our friends, families, colleagues, and all the other unique people that make up our every days. These are the people who celebrate our happy moments with us and who offer us
comfort during the not-so-great ones. Think about a rough time in your life when a small, but encouraging, word from a friend or loved one lifted you up. Do the same thing for someone else today. Here’s how:

1. Pick someone who you think needs a little encouragement, and find their email address.
2. Google “e-cards,” or use your favorite e-card service.
3. Pick a card, and send it to them. Include a personalized message to express how much you care.

The benefits of surprising someone you care about with an e-card include:

1. You’ve encouraged someone you know and / or love.
2. You’ve shone a ray of sunlight on someone’s day.
3. You’ve given yourself that warm, fuzzy feeling inside that we all love so much.

So, whether your friend is having a bad day, or you just want to show your appreciation to a colleague or loved one, send them an e-card to brighten their day.

Have a box of stationery lying around? Or maybe a couple bucks to spend on a greeting card? If you have the time (and legible handwriting), a hand-written note is another great way to show someone you care. Hand-written thank-you notes, in particular, indicate your genuine appreciation to the giver.

Let us know how it went by leaving your comments below!

Everyone loves to receive a compliment, whether for a job well done, a new haircut, or just being a good friend to someone else. Receiving acknowledgement from those close to us, including our friends, families, and colleagues, can boost our mood and make us feel appreciated. We’re not talking about brown-nosing your boss by telling him his oh-so-repulsive necktie makes him look like George Clooney. We’re referring to a genuine compliment, which can go a long way toward making someone feel special or appreciated.

Here are a few tips for paying someone a compliment today:

1. Be genuine. Whatever you say, make sure you mean it. People can smell a fake compliment a mile away.
2. Don’t be inappropriate. There is a time and place for everything. Use tact.
3. Think before you speak.
4. Compliment them on something you genuinely like.
5. Compliment them, because you appreciate them and not because you want something in return.

Compliments are a nice and easy way to lift someone’s spirits and boost their self esteem. Be genuine and kind with your compliments, and you’ll be doing someone a great service.

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Have you ever gotten a present that you weren’t expecting from someone you didn’t know? How did it make you feel? If it hasn’t happened to you before, wouldn’t it be amazing? Well, you can let the person behind you in line experience such a feeling by paying their bill for them. We’re not talking about a coworker, friend, or family member, but a complete stranger.

Now, we know you may be thinking: why would I do that? I paid my own bill; why shouldn’t they pay theirs? Well, don’t think about that way. Think of it as a deposit in your “good deed bank” and how great it would make you feel if someone made the same gesture for you.

While there may not be any monetary benefits with this random act of kindness, you will have brightened someone’s day and possibly made a lasting impression on someone whose name you may never know.  As with any act of kindness, it’s important to start small. Maybe pay for part of a person’s bill, or if you see someone is short on cash, help them out. Random acts of kindness are meant to be simple, so don’t over-complicate things.

Let us know how it went by leaving your comments below!

Being a good listener is one of the most basic skills required for success in any business, but ironically enough, in today’s fast-paced world, listening has become a trait many of us don’t exactly excel at. From the endless distractions of our mobile devices, tablets, MP3 players, and social networks to our over-booked schedules, we have little breathing room to even hear, much less listen, when others speak.

So today, we challenge you: instead of thinking about the 5 million things you have to do, take some time to listen to someone to close you.

Here are some of our favorite tips for effective listening:

• Stop what you are doing, and focus on the person speaking.
• Turn your body toward that person, and make eye contact with him.
• Remain silent, unless you are prompted to speak.
• Nod your head to reassure him that you are listening.
• After he has finished speaking, thank him for sharing.

The benefits of learning to be a better listener include:

• You have likely strengthened an important relationship in your life.
• The person with who you spoke now feels more comfortable talking to you.
• You’ve learned something new about the person that can help enhance your friendship in the future.

Everyone likes to be listened to, so this is a relatively easy challenge. In fact, it’s so easy that most people forget to do it regularly. So, take a moment today to really, truly, fully listen to someone.

Let us know how it went by leaving your comments below!

There are three basic necessities in life: food, clothing, and shelter. Yet there are millions of people in the world, many of whom live in the United States, who lack these necessities. Because of that, it’s always important to give things we no longer need to those less fortunate.

Here are a few simple tips on donating your lightly used clothing and other personal possessions to those in need:

• Go through your closet, and pick the garments you no longer regularly wear.
• Make sure the condition of the clothing is decent. You don’t want to give somebody something that you wouldn’t want to receive.
• Put the clothes into a box, trash bag, or other disposable container you don’t need back Label them, if you think it’d be helpful, with sizes, genders, etc.
• You can take your items to Goodwill or The Salvation Army, but there are likely many other organizations local to your area to consider, too. Look at schools, churches, and other youth groups to see who’s collecting what. Additionally, organizations like the American Kidney Fund may pick up the clothes for you, so you don’t need to drive anywhere. There may also be donation kiosks at your local grocery store or school parking lot.
• You can often take used clothing directly to a shelter.
• Don’t limit yourself to just clothes. Charitable organizations are always looking for kitchen appliances and cookware, furniture, toys, and countless other things as well. When you drop off your first load, ask them if they are in need of specific items; you may just have what they’re looking for!

Beyond the obvious benefits to the recipients, here’s how you can benefit from giving back:

• Some of these organizations can qualify for tax write-offs.
• You gain the satisfaction of knowing you have helped your fellow man.

Giving away old gently-used clothing and other items from home is easy and a great thing to do. Plus, it will help you clear out some closet space for some new clothes. Everybody wins!

Let us know how it went by leaving your comments below!

Wouldn’t it be nice if you woke up one day to find some extra money in your pocket left by someone you barely knew, whether or not you did anything to deserve it? For the average person working in a service-related job, this would be a dream come true. But imagine you’re the service person. What if you waited on someone who was rude or obnoxious (or just plain cheap), and they didn’t even bother to say thank you, much less leave you a tip? How would you feel? Probably upset, wronged, and annoyed. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence for many waitresses, valets, doormen, and others in service industries, and we just happen to think it’s wrong.

So, as you reflect on Valentine’s Day and all the blessings you have in 2012, we challenge you to perform this random act of kindness: leave a generous tip for someone who served you.

But wait, what if they did a terrible job? Great question. Crazy as this may sound, it’s about the principle. As they say, life is not fair, but by treating someone as you want to be treated, you can do your good deed for the day and perhaps challenge the other person to perform better the next time around.

How about taking it a step further and leaving a little extra? You may feel that in a tough economy, you can’t afford to just give away money, but a good deed is bound to come back to you. Try putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. What if you were waiting on yourself? Wouldn’t you like a little extra tip?

And whether you realize it or not, doing something kind for someone else benefits you as much as it benefits the other person. You may bring a smile to someone’s face, be the financial boost your service-person needed to buy her child a special birthday gift after work, and (our personal favorite) you get that warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

To do this random act of kindness doesn’t require you to be extravagant. You can just add a dollar or two on top of your normal tip amount. Don’t have extra cash to spare? Tell the manager you enjoyed the service. A compliment to management might give your waiter more than just an extra tip; he could get a bonus or even a promotion out of it. You never know how your kindness will affect others!

So, next time someone waits on you, think about how hard they worked to make you happy, or maybe just reach out to them as a fellow, flawed human being, and consider sticking a little extra in the tip jar. Remember the golden rule you learned as a kid, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

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We all have someone we dislike: someone we can’t stand to see heading our way, hate to work with, or loathe just being around period. These are the people who put knots in our stomachs and make us want to turn and run in the other direction. Got that person in mind? Well, get ready, because this random act of kindness will probably drive you crazy … and might just seem impossible. Try being kind to someone you dislike.

Here are a few tips to help you be kind to someone you dislike:

●    Focus on the positive qualities of the person.
●    Put any bad thoughts you have about the person out of your mind.
●    Forgive, even if you can’t forget.
●    Give them a compliment.
●    Smile at them.
●    Share something with them.
●    Talk to them about something they like.

The benefits of being kind to someone you dislike are many. They include:

●    You could win someone over.
●    You could make a new friend.
●    You will improve your view of that person.
●    You may start to like that person.
●    Your stress levels will reduce.

No one ever said you’d be friends with everyone, but you can at least be kind to those around you and, hopefully, set a good example for others to follow. So, instead of dreading that conversation with your least favorite person, say hello, and try being nice. You never know where it will get you!

Let us know how it went by leaving your comments below!