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Turning Potential Into Results

Swallowing the bitter pill of rejection leads to a diet of success

By Camille Smith / July 31, 2014

No.   Thanks, but no thanks. Decline.   Not interested. Dismissed. Rejected.    Your idea might not be adopted. Your application might be declined. Your declaration of love might receive a blank look.  It’s ok to not like rejection. But, if you avoid it when something really matters to you, I promise you’ll regret it. Why? …

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2 Degrees of Separation (Subtitle: Be careful what you resell.)

By Camille Smith / June 11, 2014

Kevin started it.   Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon is a parlor game based on the “six degrees of separation” concept which posits that any two people on Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart. Today, with connectivity being what it is, I think we’re down to two. On my “get-better-at” list, I have…

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Do you need coaching or training (or both)?

By Camille Smith / May 11, 2014

About once a month, someone calls asking: “Do you do trainings?”  I love these calls. My first response is something like, “Yes, I do trainings. Tell me more about what you need so I can see if I can deliver it.”   That response seems to go better than me blurting out: “How effective do you…

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The Art of Removing Annoyances

By Camille Smith / April 11, 2014

Buddy is our 18-year-old, long-haired cat.  We scoop out her two litter boxes daily (she needs space to do her business), let her in when she meows and provide a special heating pad for her bed. She’s a bit lax on grooming which leaves her mat-prone.  (Maybe she’s tired of giving herself hairballs.)  I’m a…

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Growing Grass(roots) at the Kitchen Table

By Camille Smith / March 24, 2014

“I started at 5 years old at the kitchen table with my family supporting me.   I know where I’m from and I know exactly where I’m going.”  Celine Dion     Growing up in Bath, Ohio, our kitchen table in our 100+ year-old house had hinges so it could be lifted and tucked into the…

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Can you hear yourself now?

By Camille Smith / February 25, 2014

Time for a hearing test. No, not the kind that someone else wants you to get because they think you need hearing aids; this is a more of a “listening” test that can help you be more effective, more confident. This test is not age-related; it’s performance-related. “It’s not what you say, it’s what people…

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What Are You Prepping for?

By Camille Smith / January 9, 2014

Got a bug out bag?  A Doomsday checklist?  How long will your food supply last if there’s no electricity? Are you set to protect your electronics from an EMP?  Do you have any apocalyptic livestock so you can weather an economic collapse? Do you have what it takes to butcher the bunny when Safeway closes?…

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What’s your word for 2014?

By Camille Smith / December 31, 2013

I have a collection of dictionaries and I’ve been known to read them. (No, not all the way through! Not all at once, anyway.)  Nuances, subtleties, double ententres, etymology, layers of meaning – they all get my juices flowing.  (Balderdash, anyone?)  I write poetry, dabble in Haikus and blog. I snap pictures of bumper stickers…

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Friction: Love the Rub

By Camille Smith / November 15, 2013

Do these sound familiar?  Don’t rock the boat! Don’t upset the apple cart! Don’t rub people the wrong way! All good advice that maintains the status quo and avoids friction.  When we follow it blindly, we tip-toe around issues, sugar-coat facts, excuse inappropriate behavior.  (Oh, joy!) Friction is not the enemy All good advice except…

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Needed: (Kind) Back Seat Drivers

By Camille Smith / October 16, 2013

Two weeks ago, I was tired (more like, fried) from a 12-hour international flight, returning from a dream vacation sailing in the Mediterranean.  We climbed into a taxi and headed out of SFO.  I gave the driver the address where we parked our car in San Carlos. On the ramp, heading south on 101, the…

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