• Leadership

    7 Key Leadership Ingredients

    While reading The Takeaway by Pat and Karyn Williams, I came across a really good summary of what leadership is all about. I think these 7 ingredients are essential in an effective leader. Vision: Leadership is always about the future. Communication: Leaders have to spread their vision. The do that by communicating optimism, hope, inspiration, and motivation. People skills: Outstanding leaders care about others. Character: Honesty, integrity, respect, humility. Competence: Leaders are good at what they do, always working on improving their skills Boldness: Leaders have to make decisions. More harm is done by no decision, than a wrong decision.…

  • Quotes I Like - Self Improvement

    Be happy with what you have

    Don’t complain. Just do it. Be happy with what you have. We all have our own talents. Let’s use them to the fullest potential. My advice: find your talents, and utilize them to the fullest potential. Each one of us is unique. We all have our own talents. You might be second guessing yourself. Don’t. You might be bad in some things, but great with others. I know that’s how I am. And I don’t really care. Sure, my wife would like me to be somebody else. I would love to be like somebody else sometimes. But I am not.…

  • Investing

    Ivy League Model Portfolio

    Invest 10% in all of these 10 ETFs and you got yourself something close to what an Ivy League portfolio looks like. For more information, check theivy.portfolio.com Reference Kiplinger’s Magazine – 11/2009 Issue

  • Off Topic

    Michel de Montaigne on Being Yourself

    The bottom line: be yourself. A lot of times we don’t do something because we are afraid of what somebody else will think. It happens to me a lot. Stop, I don’t do something because of what somebody else “might think?!” Time to put a stop to that! There is something seriously wrong with that. I read a great quote that has been on my mind: “It’s none of your business of what somebody else thinks of you.” It’s much more important to do something that you think is right for you, without concerning yourself about others’ thoughts.

  • Off Topic

    Comparing Schools

    When looking for a house, one of the most important things for me is how good the schools are. It’s not the easiest task trying to find that data. I did come across a very good website that just a very good job. It gives you a quick view on how the school district is performing. SchoolDataDirect.org

  • Off Topic

    Best Places to Live 2009

    In the August issue of the Money magazine, they list 100 Best Places to Live. This year, the focus is on small towns with population of 8,500 to 50,000. Louisville, CO (Population 18,800; Typical single-family house $325K; Property taxes: $1,590; Unemployment: 6%) Chanhassen, MN Papillion, NE Middleton, WI Milton, MA On a related note, here’s a list from July’s Kiplinger’s. Hunstville, AL (Population: 395K; Unemployment: 6.8%; Median household income: $50K) Albuquerque, NM (Population: 845K; Unemployment: 6.3%; Median household income: $45K) Washington, DC (Population: 5.3M; Unemployment: 5.9%; Median household income: $83K) Charlottesville, VA (Population: 194K; Unemployment: 5.7%; Median household income: $53K)…

  • Off Topic

    Best of Zen Habits

    Leo Babauta is the master behind Zen Habits, a movement (blog, books, and more) towards becoming a more productive person. He offers great advice. I recently read a very good book from him, The Power of Less, and have been a subscriber of his blog. Today, he has a blog entry that has links to 20 Classic Zen Habits Posts. Some very good articles. ReferenceThe Power of Less, my recommended book20 Classic Zen Habits Posts – blog posts at Zen Habits

  • Living - Self Improvement

    Summary of How to Win Friends and Influence People

    I just StumbledUpon a very good self-improvement site: Dale Carnegie’s summary of How to Win Friends and Influence People book. It’s a great refresher of the classic rules for becoming a better person. (If you have not read the book, I highly recommend it. And hundreds other people.) Here’s just a glimpse: Fundamental Techniques in Handling People 1. Don’t criticize, condemn or complain.2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.3. Arouse in the other person an eager want. Reference Summary of How to Win Friends and Influence People Related Summaries of Dale Carnegie’s other books