All posts with the ‘ Stress ’ Tag

“I’ve got to negotiate with someone in 30 minutes. What should I do?”

My usual response to this question is, “stall.” Postpone the meeting, call in sick, delay at all costs. … Read More

Last week at HOW Design Live I was lucky enough to see Dr.Brené Brown speak.

This was A Big Deal for me.

I’ve been fangirling over Dr. Brown’s work since I discovered it about a year and a half ago. I was so excited to see her speak I forgot to tell friends I was going to the conference because I was speaking.

I … Read More

I took my legal practice full-time in April. Almost every day since, somebody has asked me how I like running my own business. My usual response is a very enthusiastic, “Great! I love it and wish I’d been able to do it sooner.”

This is a true response. I have a very healthy number of clients, I love and am excited about the work I’m … Read More

I was talking to a friend last week about her freelance career. She’d accomplished a lot recently, but kept poo-pooing the value of the work she’d done: it wasn’t exciting or lucrative, it was “just” work. I reminded her that all work was important when building a business and warned her against indulging in negative talk about her accomplishments.

Later that night my wife asked … Read More

If just hearing the word “negotiation” makes your stomach hurt, if the idea of conflict makes you tense, if your first reaction to the idea of negotiating anything is to break out in a cold sweat of anxiety, friend, modern science has the cure for you!

This curative has been proven to boost your confidence and dissolve your fears. Tasks that seemed impossible prior to … Read More

One of the lessons about negotiating that was easy for me to understand, but that I still have a hard time incorporating into my practice, is that it’s a waste of time to get caught up in what I think of the person I’m negotiating with.

For instance, if I’m negotiating with someone that I think is a real jerk, it’s not helpful to the … Read More

Your goal for this week: complain.

You must bitch and moan and highlight the injustice of your plight.

You must be sincere. You must be honest. You must provide details, including dates and names.

You must release this negativity into the world intentionally, preparing yourself for positive returns.

There’s just one catch.

You can’t complain about anyone else. You have to complain about yourself, and … Read More

One of the things that makes conflict so darn difficult are all the Feelings.

Anger and fear and embarrassment are strong, visceral emotions. Once introduced, they can easily dominate a situation.

Two very different things happened in the world of Internetlandia this week that  highlight the best and worst ways these emotions can serve you in conflicts.

Let’s unpack each so we can understand the … Read More