Five Step Plan to Stay in Control Over the Holidays

November 12, 2014 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I’ve got bad news and I’ve got good news.

The bad news is it’s commonly believed that the average person can put on seven to ten pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The good news is that several studies now show that the actual number is more like one pound. (Incidentally those same reports found people who are already overweight tend to gain five pounds or more during the same period.)

The bad news is, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medication, that although the average is only a pound or so, most folks will never, ever lose that pound. Moreover, since the average weight gain during adulthood is about one to two pounds a year, much of our long-term weight gain as grown-ups can be attributed directly to the excesses of the holiday season.

The good news is one can avoid falling victim to these statistics.

Ever the helper, I provide five simple tips to help you prevent from looking like Jolly Saint Nick come January first. [Read more…]

Take Your Own Advice

November 5, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

You wouldn’t know it – but I changed my logo several months ago.

I even made a big deal out of it on line. Yet, I’ve been using the same older logo since that time.

“One of these days…,” I said “I’ll change it on my website and on my Monday Motivational Memo. But, it’s just so much work. It’ll take ‘forever.'”

Then I thought, “What advice would I give the folks who read what I write?”

I’d tell them to “Think 1st.”

I’d say:

Pick 1 Thing
Make it Small
Do it Today

So I did… and now you see the results. (I hope you like it!)

We tend to be very good about giving others advice and, unfortunately, we don’t always use our own wisdom.

What’s the best advice you’d give someone else about a problem you’re facing?

Take your own advice. It’s coming from a very wise source.

[Read more…]

Staying out of Office Gossip

October 12, 2011 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

The Dangers of Office Gossip

About six months ago, office gossip reared its ugly head at my company. Two of my coworkers – I’ll call them Bob and Sue – had always driven separately but happened to arrive at work together one day. Unfortunately, as they walked into the building, they were spotted by a notorious chatterbox who quickly assumed the two were dating. What was simply an effort to go green and carpool became something of a soap opera, one that took a long time to quell.

I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised how quickly news of the new “relationship” spread. My office uses Skype to communicate throughout the day and messages full of speculation and gritty details about my coworkers’ personal lives started flying back and forth. Getting caught up in the gossip net was, sadly, a little too easy. Regrettably, what started as a few simple jokes eventually caught the attention of our human resource management team.

A couple weeks into my coworkers’ new driving arrangement, the aforementioned chatterbox was enthralling a group of people with horror stories about Bob’s ex-girlfriend. Because the woman in question had recently left the company, it wasn’t too much of a leap to assume that Bob was now dating Sue. Unfortunately, as the gossip commented that she hoped Sue would be better for Bob, Sue walked into the break room. The screaming match that broke out could be heard down the hall.

What one person had seen as harmless fun ended up being a serious problem for our company. Everyone had to take a day away from work to attend a human resources seminar about interoffice dating. Bob and Sue continued to ride to work together, but had to meet with the human resource management team to confirm they were not dating. The chatterbox faced disciplinary action for spreading false information using a work computer and ended up resigning.

Perhaps that strife could have been avoided had we all been mindful of a few tips:

[Read more…]