So many people are afraid of failure that they fail to start. We look to paragons of success around us and never see the series of failures that happened along their path. For some reason we think we need to be immune from failure if we are to amount to anything in our careers, our businesses, our lives. Yet the very opposite is true. it is not failure but what we learn from failure that is the key to success.

You never go far without access to your Twitter stream. Facebook is like a second religion to you. Your blog is essentially your baby. Whether you're online for business building, furthering your career, or personal endeavors, social media is a core activity in your daily life. For many it's even more entwined with their days than showering or brushing their teeth. So... what happens to your online life when you die?

When I chose the self-employment route, I had already owned my current home. Yet I am looking to the future toward a home that meets my desires for what I most want now (versus 11 years ago when I purchased this place). I'm not even in the analysis stage yet because the time is not right financially or otherwise for me to make the move. I had heard that it can be more challenging for the self-employed to qualify for a mortgage and that was before the debacle in the banking system. Now I wonder just how much more difficult it may be when the time comes.

We've heard the saying "if women were in charge of this it'd be so much better" and laughed it off as just our own gender bias speaking. Yet some recent studies show that there may be some fact to this statement. And, that is reason to give companies pause as they face an increased risk of these valuable women leaving their jobs.

This question, if applied every day will radically shift your life and your results. While at first glance it might seem a little "fluffy" for the business realm, if you've been buying into the recession, waiting for someone to save you, or letting the job climate hold you hostage, it's time to put this question into your decision matrix arsenal.

"One of the things that we make sure that everyone understands from the beginning is that we have a give back clause. The more successful you are, the more you have to give back." -- Jose Corona, Inner City Advisors

Silence has the power to shake us at the core.  It also has the power to allow us to tap into the deepest and most important pieces of ourselves so we create our life, our business, our careers, our relationships, and our every single precious day in a way that is meaningful.  Eight years ago this Friday, 9/11 created a powerful hush that moved many to make lasting changes in their lives.  For others their proclamation of change fell by the wayside as emotions were forgotten or buried on the way back to status-quo because fear or complacency took the driver's seat.

It's almost here: flu season, swine or otherwise. As always, the media is seizing on the opportunity to scream PANDEMIC WE WILL ALL DIE, but the truth beneath the hype is this: 'Tis the season for a virus.

Every time I read an article like the recent "How social media can hurt your career" on Careerbuilder, I am grateful that we didn't have social media back when I was in college. Young, testing the waters, and with a lot of opinions to share, I wonder if I would have unknowingly committed a faux pas in the weakness of a heated moment that would have hurt me professionally?

How curious are you when it comes to your professional life (or life in general for that matter)? Did you know that curiosity can not only increase your chances for success but also bring a host more meaning to your days even if you work at the most mundane tasks?

I can still remember my first workshop with Debbie Ford when she looked out at the room and said "No one is coming to save you." While it doesn't seem that profound, it was indeed a revelation. I had been hating my job and career path for years and complaining about people and circumstances, wondering why I wasn't seeing the pot of gold and rainbow promised to me while in school.

At this year's BlogHer Conference and all around the blogosphere afterward, the age old question reared it's pretty little head: Are you an artist and do you blog just for the sake of good writing or are you just in it for the Benjamins, baby? On the art side of the equation we have the pure, ego-less creator of quality writing who doesn't care about traffic and rank and statistics because that's only for the freebie-happy money grubbers. Right?