Written by Joe Curcillo

(And, how to do it)

Millions of people have made the decision to be entrepreneurs, and millions more will follow. One thing that many of them have in common is preparing for the unknown. What nobody tells those who decide to become self-employed is that there are numerous things that will get in the way of your plan and that there will be some people who second-guess what they are doing or simply walk away. The good news is that the fear of the unknown doesn’t have to rule. There are proven ways to become a successful entrepreneur. 

Written By Machen MacDonald 

When it comes to creating the life you love and the vocation of your desires, it takes careful and mindful planning. This can be done at any stage you may find yourself. Once you design a plan you have to execute your plan, but the very thing you are looking to create or improve somehow becomes the obstacle to it. Therefore, you need to plan and execute as you have never done before.

You have something great within you. You are here to integrate your learnings and experience into greatness and share that greatness with the world. Regardless of your current success, you are absolutely capable of more. The sustaining of the quest need not be exhausting nor daunting. In fact, the bigger and clearer the vision, the greater the fuel it will yield to propel you beyond the gravity of where you are today.

Written by Susan Fitzell

What’s good for neurodivergent adults is often good for neurotypical adults, too!

Every day, neurodivergent people face the burden of navigating a world that doesn’t always have their needs in mind. Modern learning and working environments are riddled with sensory stimulation. Looking beyond the stress of deadlines and workloads, neurodivergent folks must also worry about their sensory, social, and other needs. This can quickly become exhausting and overwhelming.

Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you are busy every minute of the day and it still feels as if you are barely treading water? Welcome to humanity!

Between clients, speaking engagements, meetings, scheduling, networking, and working “in” the business as well as “on” the business, it can feel like an absolute necessity for you to make a conscious decision at some point to simply stop…. It is.

Written by Joe Curcillo

The Ten Be’s of Virtual Presentations

Virtual Presentation Tip # 1 – Be Ready

Written by Machen MacDonald

In every area of life, we are on a journey. Health, relationships, career, and finances are just a few of the obvious ones. The question to answer is, are you aware of the game within the journey and are you bringing your “A” game on a consistent basis?

I invite you to imagine what would be possible if you found a way to bring the best, wisest, most resourceful version of yourself to every situation in life. How would your life be improved if you consistently made better decisions and choices? What would life look like if you acted on those choices?

Written by Susan Fitzell

Why It’s Important to Neurodivergent Employees

Company Culture Has Changed in the Work From Home Era

Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville

I’ve just completed facilitating a 3-day global conference that was a year in the making. I had an incredible team working with me who each brought their A-game to the table. If I do say so myself, they were a gift beyond words. 

For the first half of the planning stage, we dealt with people leaving the team due to life challenges, new folks coming in, and switching from planning for a live event to planning for a virtual event due to Covid and every country having different and changing guidelines. Finally, we settled in, and boy did each person’s strengths come to the forefront, but the real proof was during the actual event when each person’s strengths and willingness to have each other’s backs were loud and clear. My decades-long motto of Humor and Faith was proven again and again. 

Written by Stephen Trimboli

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) administers most of our significant federal anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Among the ADA’s provisions is a prohibition against employers subjecting employees to “medical examinations.” An employer may subject employees to medical examinations only when it is “job-related and consistent with business necessity” to do so. Mandatory screening for COVID-19 infection is a “medical examination.” The EEOC had taken a lenient – and quite practical – approach for the bulk of the COVID pandemic, allowing employers the flexibility to utilize this measure as a means of preventing workplace spread. However, matters have changed.

As recently as May 28, 2022, the EEOC had advised that mandatory testing was permissible “because an individual with the virus will pose a direct threat to the health of others.” But on July 12, 2022, the EEOC revised its official guidance. Mandatory testing will now be permissible only if the employer meets the “job related and consistent with business necessity” standard “based on relevant facts” of each employer’s specific circumstances. Examples of the “relevant facts” to be considered are the following:

Written by John Rod

Congratulations, you have decided to create a new website for your new or thriving business. A well-designed website can be a company’s most important sales tool and an effective way to capture leads and gain new customers. Follow these tips to ensure better search ranking before you get into the nitty gritty of website development.

Research! Check out your competition and identify other companies like yours who are already doing a great job and ranking high in search engines. Always ensure to use unique content and be sure not to copy the hard work of others (Google has ways to identify plagiarism and will penalize you for copying others' content). But if you research which is coming up first, it may give you insights into why and allow you to rank higher as well. 

Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville

So much sadness, so much horror is out there in the world. When dictators know nothing about boundaries, about borders, and live only in regards to feeding their egos, it reminds us all of the worst of who we, as humans, can become. To counteract that, how can we, as one world, as global citizens, support those suffering under this barbaric act? How can we express the best of who we, as humans, can become? That is a choice each of us needs to make. Brutality calls out the best in each of us to support those who are suffering in any way we can. 

It also calls us to remember that we need to be aware of the choices we make, of how we have chosen to think, grow, and act. We may never reach such a level of debauchery, of brutality, but our microaggressions, our intentional wounding of those we dislike, those we have no patience with, those we feel better than, are all signs of a brutality we have the power to eliminate quickly, even immediately, if we choose. 

Written by Betty Monroe

I am certain many of you have either heard or even used the term “The New Normal” in reference to the current climate regarding work environments and our personal lives.

This begs the question, can we really define what is normal?

Written by Susan Fitzell

New Perspectives for the Energy Sector

Every day, we are reminded that the world is a swiftly changing place.

Written by Michael Goldberg

Nothing beats going to a LIVE networking event if you’re a networker. It’s so much fun shaking hands, hugging, kissing babies – but be careful!

There are still risks involved in making personal contact and being in one another’s personal space.

Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville

There is a woman I have “known” for a couple of years now, yet finally decided to pursue to see if we could become friends rather than simply acquaintances. In speaking to this wonderful new friend today, Suzanne Taylor-King, we were both caught in the excitement of such similar interests throughout our very different backgrounds that we could each relate to. Sharing our “wild girl” stories with laughter, as well as our professional development ordeals and joys made it so easy to see a kindred soul. 

How often do you risk expanding your circle? How often do you risk putting yourself out there?

Written by Michael Goldberg

I was at the gym last week and when putting on my headset I realized that it needed to be charged. How frustrating! Not having my music at the ready almost ruined my whole workout.

I’m funny like that.

Written by Joe Curcillo

When you are preparing to speak to an audience of one, or one thousand, you will stand alone. You will not be squaring off against a visible adversary. Instead, the adversary that we face lives within us and within our audience: doubt. That hesitation that exists when we are asked for the very first time to accept the unknown is the enemy, and the enemy must be vanquished. Conquering doubt is the key to success, and we conquer it through education and preparation.

In late 2017, I watched a newbie lawyer argue a case before a judge. He had mastered his research; he knew his stuff. Unfortunately, the fear and confusion in his eyes as the judge began to question him was reminiscent of a small rabbit in the talons of an eagle.

Written by Dr. Dorothy Martin-Neville

The adventure of life is quite a thing. For me, it means ever-questioning, ever-looking within to see if I am in alignment with my values, with me, and with my purpose. 

As a businesswoman, I try to stay clear on what that purpose is. Why am I here? What good have I come here to do? Does my business reflect that? Am I actively working to make a difference in the world? Like most of us, I can question. Some days we are in the zone and we know everything is as it should be. 

Written by Joe Curcillo

You walk out the door, thanking the potential client for their time, and tell them that you will stop back in later in the year to review their needs. You leave upbeat and happy, but you did not get the deal.

You poured your heart and soul into the close, but you were rejected. Well, you know you weren’t actually rejected but it still stings a little. You remind yourself, “Tomorrow is another day.”

Written by Michael Goldberg

Is Carrying Business Cards Still Relevant?

As Billy Joel says, “Times they are a changing.” But did he ever need to carry a business card?

Virtual meetings have changed the way we network and conduct business. Conversations are often more focused, more efficient, and we can have more of them. Also, taking notes, doing “at the moment” research, and exchanging contact information is easy.