How to Have That Hard Talk … Elegantly

7 Strategies to Make Sure Tough Talks Go Well

Two people having a difficult talk

Hard talks are an inevitable part of the human experience. All of us encounter difficult and awkward situations at work and in our personal lives, and at the heart of those situations are (you guessed it) difficult and awkward people that are usually the source of the problem. No one (except psycho- and socio- paths) […]

The Missing Ingredient in Networking

The 3 Critical Qualities of Every Successful Business Relationship

Man Fixing His Tie

There is a saying in business, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. I don’t agree with this statement. It almost implies that connections are more important than the content of your character or your knowledge or expertise. However, while there may some truth in it, I would modify the statement to say […]

Treat others the way you want to be treated, and you’ll never go wrong.

Mark Botros

Texting Etiquette 101 and Common Texting Acronyms

Person Texting in Staircase

In my post, Email Common Sense 101 I talk about what good email etiquette looks like. Since texting is the other major form of non-in-person communication, I would feel remiss if I didn’t provide some equivalent etiquette around texting. Texting has dominated text-based communication for many reasons: Mass Adoption! Mobile devices are everywhere (there are […]

How to Find Your Purpose

Person looking out at the ocean

“What is your purpose?” “What is the meaning of your life?” Have you ever thought about these questions for yourself? The concept of purpose is broad, transcendent, and certainly not something you bring up in casual conversation, but knowing our purpose is critical to our success in life. It gives us focus, meaning, and a prism to view our life through to determine whether we are focused on the right things or not. If you look around, the people with the deepest sense of purpose seem to do the best.

Why I want a Divorce…From Perfection

5 Reasons to Embrace Imperfection

Girl punching guy in the face

Hello, my name is Mark, and I am married to Perfection. I’ve been married to Perfection for over 30 years, but I’ve come to realize that I have a problem. Perfection has not been the spouse that I thought she would be. High achievers have high standards and high expectations of themselves and others. Often […]

The Toughest Thing I’ve Ever Done as a Parent

The Good in Suffering

Child looking out of a hole

As a parent, one of the things I dread is seeing my children suffer in any way. Several years ago, I was out walking with my kids, my [then] 4-year-old daughter was running far ahead of us, and my [then] 2-year-old daughter lagged behind. The younger one was approaching a hole in the ground and […]

Letting Go of Power, Opinion, and Control

Man opening accordion

3 Ways to know if you are your own person Abraham Maslow the renowned 20th Century psychologist, proposed a theory of human behavior that is primarily driven by “needs” – The need for food, shelter, safety, security, love, acceptance, esteem, confidence, and respect. The needs actually fall in a hierarchy of needs. The bottom of […]

How to Know if You Are Present

8 Signs That you are Actually Here Right Now

Kid Jumping

One of the most challenging things for those of us who are planners and future-oriented is the ability to be in the present moment on a consistent basis. Often we focus on the mistakes of the past or terrorize ourselves over every future scenario. We blow through our to-do list at the expense of the […]