There are two types of people.

In my young life, I remember several short phrases that my parents would be proud to know I have absorbed. Many of these tokens of wisdom have helped me understand co-workers and people in general. Let me share a token with you, "There are two types of people, people who do things, and people who pay people to do things for them." At my age, I've not had the opportunity to know many born within the same decade as me to be able to "pay people to do things for them" but as I forge ahead in my career, it becomes more apparent that some men and women in their 40s and 50s have this option. For example, I am not an accountant, therefore I have two choices, I can learn how to balance a budget, or I must pay someone who is a professional to do it for me. However, I strongly believe that, a "jack of all trades" really is a master of none. So, of course - I leave important things to the professionals.

So, to the heart of this post. I know a woman who apparently - is so well off financially, that she simply pays people to do quite a bit of what needs to be done in her professional life and in her home life. She, like me - works with a non-profit organization. In her work life, she is appalled at the adjustments staff is willing to do make in order to save the company money. Please note, the tasks are not in any means dangerous, immoral or illegal. But the staff are understanding and they realize that if they chip in a little extra with a project - that it's money the organization can keep for the programs.

In learning more about this woman, I realized that - she has always been one of the "haves." She's always had the money to simply pay for services that others could not have. So, the idea of reusing reusable items, donating perfectly decent objects, completing physical tasks, and stretching a dollar - are all unfamiliar concepts to her.

The danger of her thoughtlessness regarding money? Well, it would be that she is just as careless with the money of the organization when given the opportunity. She would instruct the staff to purchase new equipment to replace the machines that were already there, (which were in good working condition) and would literally throw working items into the garbage if they were not up to her standards.

Once I learned that she was not actually conscience of her actions, it made our interactions clearer. I began to understand that she had no understanding of how to be budget or environmentally conscience. The moral, however is this - be careful that the negative financial habits of your personal life do not make their way into your professional life. Use your head, be aware of the priorities of the organization, and work to practice their good financial habits.

An Amazing Holiday Week

I'm looking forward to some extra relax time to show appreciation for my family and friends this Thanksgiving week. It has been said that Americans are the worst at taking time to relax and rejuvenate. I am a firm believer that everyone should take serious personal time to unplug from technology and get back to basics. As stressful as things may get in the work world, I happen to know for a fact that stress can lower your immune system and increase your changes of developing a cold or some other serious medical issue. The holidays are a perfect reminder to take some time for yourself so that you can return to your "regularly scheduled program". After all, if you push yourself to unreasonable feats, the time you are "out of commission" can become unnecessarily extended. So, if you're down and out medically, who can then take your place? Slow and steady wins the race. Relax and enjoy your Thanksgiving! Have an amazing holiday week!

Can you express an objective opinion?

The more I take the time to listen to people around me, the more I've discovered how enjoyable it is to decipher whether or not they are expressing an educated and objective statement about the topic of discussion. I've found that people are so quick to jump to conclusions or jump on one side of an argument without truly having a solid idea of both sides of the debate. I think it is unreasonable to comment on a topic of which you have not completely researched. This applies to any topic, whether it's politics, cultural practices, pop culture, world news, etc. So, no matter how much you have heard about a subject, do some research on your own and before jumping to conclusions - think objectively and then, speak freely! A conversation between people who are educated on both sides of the story is completely tantalizing.

Present yourself well, in person and in the social networking world.

At a recent family gathering, I met an interesting and professional woman. This woman and I are close in age. I sat and spoke to her for nearly an hour and realized how much we had in common. Instantly, we became friends. She seemed to have her head on her shoulders, (so to speak) and came across as a highly motivated individual. I thought she really had her goals and future plans together. We exchanged information after talking for an extended period of time and re-connected just recently via Internet chat. We exchanged messages for literally less than one minute when I realized exactly how weak her writing skills were. Of course, when you are socializing with someone via any social networking site, you tend to use slang and misspellings of words in order to add emphasis, but the longer I became engaged in the computerized conversation, the faster I began to realize that the woman who had presented herself so professionally and orderly in person had a serious weakness when it came to the English language and English usage.

I was astounded to read the words and phrases that kept popping up on the screen during our session. It was as if I was communicating with two completely different people. I realized how incredibly important it is to know your weaknesses and to work to improve them with every opportunity you can. I spent the majority of the time chatting with her trying to decipher what she was trying to say.

As I sit to write this posting, even I must admit that because social networking has become so popular, along with texting, etc., that sometimes communication styles can slip into other aspects of my writing. When you are involved so much with social networking - you tend to absent-mindedly add phrases and acronyms to your writing without even noticing. There have been a number of times that I have accidentally typed "ppl" or "brb" or "ttyl" in place of typing "people" or "be right back", or "talk to you later". As much of a fan I am of several different communication avenues - I am slightly concerned that the younger generations will lose their formal written communication skills as the years pass, along with the teachers who are teaching those students.

The woman I mentioned earlier is in fact a few years older than me. I can say with certainty that I was afforded a slightly better education than she may have received. However, I am a strong believer that all American school systems should increase the amount of English studies. At this point - I must say that I also remember however taking a Spanish language class in high school and a few students who were first generation Americans, (mostly descendants of Mexico) had an equally difficult time succeeding in the Spanish classes. Yes, they spoke fluent Spanish and yes, they also spoke fluent English. The difficulty came with the technical aspects of the language. Anyone can know enough English to get by if they were born in the United States, but when put to a technical test - I think many would struggle. (As an aside, I also believe most Americans would fail the United States citizenship test without time to prepare).

I don't necessarily have a point to this post - other than to say that we need more technical English classes in American schools. But, what came to mind when speaking with the woman mentioned above was this - when people come across your path in life - and you are working your way towards achieving career goals - be careful of how you present yourself, both in person and on "paper". You never know who you might meet one day that might be able to help you get where you're trying to go.

Save Something for Yourself

A few years back, I watched an MTV "Cribs" episode with Mariah Carey's home featured. I remember this episode vividly - because there was something that just stuck in my mind about it. On most episodes of the show, celebrities showed each room of their homes and even opened the door of their refrigerator so the viewers could see what the celebrities ate. On this particular episode, Mariah Carey refused to let the cameras into her bedroom. I just couldn't understand this. I thought it was terribly selfish. Hindsight - as they say is 20/20.

As the variety of communication vehicles evolve and multiply over the Internet, there are so many avenues to blog, tweet, Facebook, Linkedin, MySpace, Bebo, etc. about your daily life. For most people, there are at least 2-4 online communication vehicles that are updated on a regular basis. My point is this - if all of us are so busy tweeting, and Facebooking and everything else, what is left for us to keep private in our personal lives? What is unique and special to us to hold near and private in our lives? Like Ms. Carey - I am a firm believer that some intimate details and private information should be kept - well, private. Something should be special enough to hold dear and quiet in our personal lives. I understand why she didn't open the door to her bedroom to let the world peer in from their homes.

When I first opened an account with Facebook, I felt an overwhelming urge to update my status daily with some interesting quip about my life. Then, as a professional in the field of communication, I followed that action by starting a Twitter account. I decided to use one for personal use and one for professional use. I began to notice that I would broadcast things on the Internet and I hadn't even communicated to my closest friends and family that didn't have Facebook or Twitter accounts. I realized that someone I haven't seen or heard from for 10 years could see me on the street and immediately know what I was up to just from reading my latest posts. At the time, I had nothing to myself.

I decided to edit. I decided to share the more trivial things about my life on the Internet and keep some things that are more private and intimate to myself. I wanted to savior the happenings of my own life in my own time and in my own space. What about you? Are you able to edit and save some things about your life just for yourself while you keep up with the latest communication vehicles? You should. I highly recommend it. Save something for yourself.