Dr Layne McDonald on Blogger

  (Every blog post read here helps to raise funds for families in need. Education that gives back. Simple. Powerful. Thank you for reading.) APR credit cards are here to stay. Now that we're well into the New Year we've learned (again) the lessons of the festive season. Zero interest credit is a nice idea, but why not extend it beyond your present credit card to the next, and the next. This seven point checklist will assure the clever consumer of having that constant low APR credit for years to come.   1. Read the small print. Make sure it matches the offers on the credit card's advertising copy. In particular, check for clauses that differentiate between purchases and cash transfers, or even cash withdrawals. Check that the card doesn't stipulate a ratio between purchases and cash, charging an excess if the cash activity rises above the purchase activity (that is usually the way it is biased, but check to make sure).   2. Keep to the agreed credit limit as specified in...

  (Every blog post read here helps to raise funds for families in need. Education that gives back. Simple. Powerful. Thank you for reading.) Christmas celebrations in African nations is characterized by much outdoor activity because the season often occurs during a time when the weather is pleasant. Using palm trees and participating in processions are also characteristic features of activities related to Christmas in many parts of Africa. In South Africa, activities that occur outside during Christmas include the usual caroling, but also the unusual ones of swimming and camping. The beach and mountains play an important role during Christmas in South Africa because the season occurs during the hottest time of the year - summer. Given the pleasant nature of the weather during Christmas, families also take advantage of it by often going sightseeing in the countryside on a relaxing drive in the late evening of Christmas Day. A rich and sumptuous menu that includes a suckling pig or r...

(Every blog post read here helps to raise funds for families in need. Education that gives back. Simple. Powerful. Thank you for reading.) We've heard it many times, "It's a dog eat dog world."  The trouble is, some leaders actually believe it.  They conduct themselves like the alpha dog in a pack, holding sway through intimidation. This instinctive behavior helps insure survival in a dog world, but applied to the human world of organizational dynamics, it can lead to disaster.   Alpha dog leadership can eventually turn out to be destructive to the people, their organization, and the leaders themselves. To use another common metaphor, "That dog won't hunt."    After all, leaders do nothing more important than get results; and the best results are what I've been teaching for more than two decades, "more results faster, continually."  An alpha-dog leader might chew up people to get more results and get them faster, but I submit that it takes ...

(Every blog post read here helps to raise funds for families in need. Education that gives back. Simple. Powerful. Thank you for reading.) An important part of success in life is the ability to lead. It is important that we not only be able to lead others but be willing to lead ourselves. No one succeeds in life by simply following others. Sometimes we simply must strike a bold new path for ourselves. Being a good leader is more than simply being at the forefront of the crowd. A leader must act. Too often in America, we simply accept that someone looks or sounds like a leader and too rarely do we actually look at the actions that leader performs -- and that is the true test of leadership. However, in order to become good leaders ourselves, we need to concentrate on actions rather than simple appearances. The title of this article refers to eight steps, but do not think of these as progressive steps like so many recipes or instruction manuals describe. Instead, think of these as actions...

   (Every blog post read here helps to raise funds for families in need. Education that gives back. Simple. Powerful. Thank you for reading.) "We will never know how really good we are as leaders unless we are leading people to be better than they think they are." "Poor performance is less harmful to a leader than mediocre performance disguised as good performance." "Most leaders are striving to get the wrong results or the right results in the wrong ways." "The lowest forms of leadership involve rewards and punishments."   "Getting along is not necessarily getting results." "If you can't feel it, you can't lead it, and they won't do it." "Leadership is the trim tab of all careers." "Leadership is seeing hope in any adversity." "To make a difference, be the difference." "In leadership, you don't have to expect the worse, you just have to make the most of it when it happens....

  (Every blog post read here helps to raise funds for families in need. Education that gives back. Simple. Powerful. Thank you for reading.) "He Hate Me" was the nickname of Rod Smart, a leading rusher in 2002 for the Las Vegas Outlaws of the now defunct XFL pro football league. Looking for an edge, the XFL allowed players to put nicknames on their uniforms.     "I was always saying, 'he hate me,' all through camp in Vegas," Smart said. "If I didn't get the ball, I'd talk to the other running backs and say, 'He hate me, man; this coach hate me.' I was always saying that."     Smart put He Hate Me on the back of his number 32 jersey, and now the name lives in lore, though XFL has been out of business for years.    When I first saw Rod Smart play and his "He Hate Me" jersey, I thought, "Forget about football. That's a leadership lesson!"  That's because "He Hate Me" and leadership often go hand-in...

(Every blog post read here helps to raise funds for families in need. Education that gives back. Simple. Powerful. Thank you for reading.) Do you want to make a living working in Hollywood?  If so, you will hear a lot of tips and good advice.  For example, you will be told that practice makes perfect and that having the right look is important.  These are great tips to make it big in Hollywood; however, there is one step that you must take.  That step is making the right connections.  You may be surprised how being connected can help you with a career in Hollywood.   Having the right connections can help you get into the right acting classes.  Connections can also help you get a spot with the best acting coach.  Acting coaches only take on a limited number of clients at a time, but if you come highly rated and recommended or have a connection, an exception may be made.  Not only that, but an acting coac...