It’s OK to Make Mistakes

September 5, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

People will love you even if you make mistakes.

They just expect you to admit them and try and correct them.

Think about how you react to someone who made a mistake and then owned up to it versus someone who refuses to admit she’s wrong. It’s not that people expect us to be perfect any more than we expect them to be perfect.

We expect mistakes.

We also expect honesty and a sincere desire to make right on those mistakes.

Try something new. Make a mistake. Own it. Ask for help.

And then move on – and do it all over again.

Note: Every Monday, a new motivational memo is posted. Subscribers to ThisTimeIMeanIt.com’s coaching service get this – and many more benefits – sent to them directly. If you’d like to know more, follow this link.

How to Decide When You’re Ready for Marriage

September 1, 2011 by Featured Author

Exchanging rings with my fiancé was one of the happiest moments of my life.

I showed off my new bauble to family and friends, which often brought up their own engagement stories. Before long, marital advice started pouring in and not all of it put me at ease. The unsolicited commentary made me realize that I needed to evaluate if I was ready for such a big step.

Be prepared

Due to personnel changes in her company, my best friend got transferred to a satellite office across the country for a year-long assignment – two months after she got married. Though she and her husband made it work, my friend was quick to tell me how lonely she’d been and hinted that the same thing could happen to me. Wondering if my soon-to-be marriage could survive a similar strain, my fiancé and I looked at our work schedules over the next several months. Though it’s impossible to be prepared for everything, we were able to talk about upcoming events we knew about. At least now we knew when we’d be apart for training or conferences. As a precaution, I started paying attention to the cost of plane tickets and we each set aside a little extra money each paycheck to specifically cover the cost of travel. In the event of a transfer, we wouldn’t have to panic that we couldn’t see each other due to lack of funds. [Read more…]

Reaching Out for Help

August 29, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

You do not need to know all the answers. Admit it when that is the case.

No one person can know everything she needs to know.

One of the reasons we build communities, develop friendships, and even marry; is because we are social beings. We need to be with others. That is not just a “comfort thing,” it is also a “support thing.”

There is no shame in learning. As a matter of fact, whom do you respect more; someone who doesn’t know what he’s doing and refuses to get help, or someone who recognizes she needs help – and asks for it?

If you don’t know how to do something, reach out to someone who does. Be respectful of her time. Thank her for it when you’re done.

And then make sure to pay it forward for the next person.

Best Wedding Dance Entrance Ever

August 27, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus

Today is Mary Ann and my 11 year anniversary. In honor of that, I wanted something inspirational that was tied to marriage. If you have not seen this video, it’s five minutes of absolute delight. Enjoy.

By the way, according to a post on blog.koldcast.tv entitled The Ten Best Wedding Videos Since the Invention of YouTube

The JK Wedding Entrance Dance is arguably the most popular of all wedding dance videos. The couple married on June 2, 2009 and released the video that July. Within 48 hours, the video was viewed 3.5 million times. To date, it’s been viewed close to 60 million times. That’s like inviting Italy to come see your wedding. The video features the entire wedding party dancing their way to the altar to Chris Brown’s Forever. The couple was invited to talk about the phenomenon on The Today Show and even did an encore there.

By the way, at their site, they are thanking people for the amazing response by donating to the fight against domestic violence. Kudos.

Working Hard at Relaxing

August 24, 2011 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

I’m not dead.

At least when I wrote that; I wasn’t. Being the intelligent reader of this column, you put two and two together and surmised that in a flash. Hopefully, as you read this, I am still in the not-dead state of being — and shall remain so for decades yet to come.

Having proven therefore that I understand very little about what it’s like to die, you will cut me slack about not really knowing — but safely assuming — that no one’s last words were ever, “I wish I would have spent more time working and less time enjoying life.”

We would agree, wouldn’t we?

So, then what’s the deal with non-stop, dawn-to-dusk, 24/7, busy-making? We don’t ever just “chill.” Well, at least I don’t; maybe you do, but I’ll bet dollars to donuts that you’re in the same place. There’s so much to get done with so few hours to do it.

Forty-hour workweek; what’s that?

Wake up. Shower. Shave. Throw some frozen waffles down your gullet while checking the mail and packing lunches. Get the kids to school, pick them up, and beat feet to soccer practice and gymnastics. Straightaway back, homework, meals, brush teeth, and off to bed. To accomplish everything requires groundwork: grocery and clothes shopping, housecleaning, home maintenance, and car servicing. These necessitate steady income — and, oh yes — have you heard the news about the economy? You better not slack off at work or they’ll swap you out quicker than a DVD rental on a Saturday night. So, off to the salt mines, bringing our assignments home so we can get them on our kitchen tables in the morning and the bed stands at night. We’re work harder while having the privilege of paying more for everything. Come end of day, it’s drop like a lead brick off a six-foot wall.

It’s no wonder we don’t have time for “a life.” Or do we?

My sister phones, “What are you up to?” She asks.

I reply, “I’m working hard at relaxing.”

Stop the clock. Re-read that response please: “I’m working hard at relaxing.” Huh? That statement makes as much sense as “same difference,” or “kosher ham;” but I swear it was my reply and I’m betting you relate. Our lives are so cluttered, that if tasks were boxes, we’d be featured on the TV series “Hoarders.” No longer are we human beings, we have become “human doings.”

[Read more…]

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