Milt Reynolds: Thinking Out Loud

Quitter: The First Chapter I'm reading a book called Quitter , by Jon Acuff. It's good. Very good. So far, the book describes the difference between a day job and a dream job and how the two are related. Lots of what he's saying hits at the core of my heart, illuminating things I've seen only dimly before. Because I'm a writer, and a teacher , I have now an undeniable urge to pass on some of the good stuff I've found in his book. Chapter One: Don't Quit Your Day Job "The trick to removing your clothes in a bathroom stall is to start with your shirt." That's the first sentence in Jon's book. Really. It's his way of grabbing the reader's attention, drawing him into the essence of this first chapter: Jon hated his day job and loved his dream job . You'll have to read the book to see how bathroom-stall clothes-removal ties into the conflict between day and dream jobs. But I wanted you to quickly understand Jon...

Racial Discrimination Here are the facts: Identical resumes were submitted in Chicago and Boston during 2001 and 2002. Half were tagged with "white-sounding" names and half with "black-sounding" names . Eighteen names were used for the resumes. Nine were "white-sounding" : Emily Anne Jill Allison Laurie Sarah Meredith Carrie Kristen Nine were "black-sounding" : Aisha Keish Tamika Lakisha Tanisha Latoya Kenya Latonya Ebony Two names received the most call backs for interviews , 26%: Kristen Carrie Two names received the least call backs for interviews , 6%: Keish Aisha The resumes were identical. The top five names for call back interviews: Kristen Carrie Meredith Sarah Laurie The bottom five names for call back interviews: Tanisha Lakisha Tamika Keish Aisha The resumes were identical. The highest "white-sounding" call back name: Kristen, 13% The highest "bl...

Procrastination Trent Hamm has written a review of Brian Tracy's book Eat That Frog! Here is a quick description of the important points about procrastination that Trent draws out of the book: The 80/20 Rule Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist, observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population . Curiously, he also calculated that 20% of the pea pods in his garden contained 80% of the peas. He surveyed the economies of other countries and found a similar income and wealth distribution in each. A business-management consultant, Joseph M. Juran, developed the observations of Pareto into a principle of economics, the Pareto Principle. Businesses commonly cite a rule of thumb: "80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients" . The Pareto Principle is also known as the "Champagne Glass Effect" , with the wider mouth of the glass holding 80% of the champagne, although it's only the top 20% of the height of the gla...

What are your strengths? Ask a colleague. Good article about how to answer one of the toughest interview questions: What are your strengths? Author Toni Bowers suggests preparing for this question before the interview by asking some friends or coworkers: What are my strengths? What unique quality do I bring? At the interview, wait for the inevitable question (Wait for it...wait for it...) and then shock the interviewer by saying: Instead of depending upon my own view of myself, I decided to quiz my coworkers! Sounds like a great idea! Read the entire article here: www.techrepublic.com Image courtesy of Adrian van Leen

Scientifically Disappointed I work for a laboratory. In my mind, a laboratory is best described as the color white. I always imagine a laboratory to have white countertops, white walls, white cabinets, white floors, white computers, white ball point pens. No, maybe not the pens...I imagine the pens being black. Black pens with a chrome retractor and a chrome clip which allows it to be placed securely in the pocket of a white lab coat. If you look closely at the chrome clip you can see a reflected image of a white laboratory. I remember being so excited when my second-grade elementary school teacher announced to us second-grade school children that the lavoratory was just down the hallway from our classroom. A lavoratory! That's the same as laboratory, just pronounced differently, right? No. I sadly learned the truth five minutes later as we all trooped down the hallway to experience the lavoratory. "Lavoratory" was a fancy word for "bathroom" , which i...