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Archive for December, 2007

Below are some behavioral interview techniques that you'll find useful:

It's that time of year where we all feel enormous pressure to make resolutions for personal and professional improvement. Lawyers are no exception! The problem is too often we set the new goals without a real plan of how we're going to avoid reverting to our old habits!

Habits can be a friend or foe. Think of a habit as a pattern of behavior. Successful habits can help us to achieve success, while other habits undermine our efforts to achieve.

Here is a great exercise for getting rid of old habits and replacing them with habits designed to help you to more effectively achieve your objectives.

The human brain is by far one of the most incredible creations on this earth. Unlike an animal's, a human's brain has been gifted with the wonderful ability to imagine. With it, we can create beautiful works of art, write captivating literature, and design skillful architecture. Everything man made that we see around us, was first created in the mind through creative visualization.

…not just your goals. One of the tough challenges I see with many people is staying focused on goals. It's very easy to get sidetracked in our day and age. Concentrating on priorities becomes more difficult as we are deluged with all sorts of distractions. Today, we have more cable channels, talk shows, books, magazines, and newspapers than ever before - and this doesn't include the internet. We have more leisure time and expendable income than any other time in history and we have more activities to choose from.

In talking with people many times, it's very evident that determinism is deeply imbedded in our present day culture. Too often I notice that people blame circumstances or others for their problems. This past election, I heard people in both political parties express the doom and gloom that would come if either of the two candidates were elected. I even heard that it was the candidates themselves who were going to be responsible for creating more jobs! As if the government manufactures jobs for people. The fact is that job growth happens when there is less government restriction. This kind of "blame game" mentality is becoming more prevalent than ever.

The ladder was braced against the railings going to the basement. I started climbing up. I had to get to the ceiling and this was my Rube Goldberg way of doing it without having to put up scaffolding. I made it up two or three rungs before coming to my senses. It would be so easy for the railing to break and for me to go tumbling down the stairs.

I spend a bit of time on airplanes. So, I was surprised by what I observed on a regional jet. Yes, it was holiday travel. Yes, the flight was overbooked. Yes, infrequent and tired travelers were creating challenges for the only stewardess. Still, she saw the small boy, no more than eight, seated in the exit row next to his grandfather. She chose to ignore him, wishing and hoping her safety message stating a person must be over fifteen to sit in the exit row would fix it. Maybe she didn't want the hassle of trying to reseat passengers on an already late flight. Maybe she was tired, too. Who knows?