Nina vs The World

I'm just going to come out and say it. Nothing is more deflating than a failed expectation. You had high hopes for the calorie-to-taste ratio in that chocolate cake to be astronomically in your favor. You were hoping the mere inhalation of its perfect cubed crumbs would satiate your soul. And then.. you took a big bite out of it and found out it was a dog treat brownie. So many things in life are like aforementioned doomsday brownie. Buildup, apprehension, illusions and hopes- and then at the apex, a devastating drop from crushing heights. And they apply to many circumstances in life, from movies to vacation, to reconnecting with family from the past . But I am going to focus it on.. ..take a guess..  People.  The problem here is, my whole life I have lived by "Benefit of the Doubt" motto. (Blame the die hard idealist in me) If someone seems like a pesky person, a little catty, a little snippy, maybe a little moody.. well, let's sweep it under the r...

Nowadays we are bombarded by a plethora of advice on how to live our careers, our lives, our relationships. No one welcomes the idea of being a failure in any of these three aspects. But although you may hear a multitude of often controversial how to be "awesome" advice, you may not always hear the fastest road to failure. That is why I am going to spell it out for you, in five different varieties. Compare and Contrast. No matter how much you've heard this before, comparing yourself to someone else as a ruler to measure up to will send you flying to the finish line of the loser race. You are not the other person/company/business. You will have different abilities, values, outlooks and perspectives. What works for you may not work them, and vice versa. Instead of looking to someone as a pattern to follow, try learning their style and then staying on the opposite lane of it. After all, customers don't want two identical places to shop, they want variety. So offer it...