‘Tis the Season to Give

 

Starting on Black Friday, we begin shopping for everyone on our Christmas list. We buy gifts for our friends and loved ones. Our goal in life should not be about getting more, but about giving more. When we do this, our hearts open up.

 

Giving is the opposite of greed, so give, give, give this holiday season and not just gifts. Don’t be a Scrooge. Be generous with your time, energy, and compliments. The spirit of Christmas is about being generous, but remember a giving heart gives all year long!

 

With lovingkindness,

 

 

How to Standout in the Workforce

 

What makes someone a standout in the workforce? Talent, brilliance, or hard work? The truth of the matter is you can produce great work, and still go unrecognized. Hard work simply isn’t enough. Ideas are needed.

 

Everyone has ideas and making them known is the easy part. The hard part is having an idea that can be understood and acted upon. What I’ve learned over the years is an idea framed to resonate with the right audience is what’s needed.

 

They say timing is everything, so make sure the timing of your idea is considered before you state it. Change requires energy, and most people need to see the importance of your idea before they will change their mind and adapt it.

 

With lovingkindness,

 

 

How To Say “I’m Sorry”

 

An important life skill is knowing how to resolve a conflict. Conflict exists on a daily basis, and it’s ever-present because people are imperfect. An important skill is knowing how to say “I’m sorry.”

 

The best way to resolve conflict is to acknowledge our faults even if we consider them to be minor in relation to the other. You can always find something to confess, something that wasn’t admirable like the tone of your voice or even your attitude.

 

It’s hard to see our weaknesses, but you can be certain that you participated by some off-putting behavior. Perhaps you were insensitive or maybe you were overly sensitive. Just say, “I’m sorry” and move on. You’ll feel much better; I promise you!

 

With lovingkindness,

 

Seek to Understand

If you want to be a good entrepreneur, professor, or anything else for that matter, you must start with the needs of other’s. A good sales person starts with the customer in mind. There’s an old Chinese proverb that says, “seek to understand before seeking to be understood.”

When you’re focused on the other person’s needs and not your own, you’ll be able to get a better understanding of the situation and move forward with the other in mind. Simply put, you need to see and listen to the other person’s perspective if you want to reach them and understand them!

With lovingkindness,

Gentleness Leads to Persuasion

Gentle speech breaks down defense. If you want to convince someone to do something use gentle speech (or in my case gesture) because gentleness breaks through rigidness?

Nagging never works and we rarely respond to someone yelling at us. Persuade by kindness and gentleness instead. The more positive the words, the more persuasive.

Even when someone is guarded, speech that is gentle will get their attention. You can never persuade when you’re rude. Rudeness is for idiots, so remember; wise and mature people are pleasant, and barking of any kind never works.

With lovingkindness,

 

The Four Ps of Successful Entrepreneurs

 

Successful entrepreneurs have the following four qualities: patience, persistence, passion, and most importantly – perseverance! These are qualities that are a must for entrepreneurs. Successful entrepreneurs also have the following four traits: confidence, creativity, determination, and they are knowledge-seekers who seek information that will keep their business growing.

Entrepreneurs are confident, and they can read other people. They are creative thinkers who know how to turn an existing product idea into something grander. Successful entrepreneurs are determined and can maneuver through difficult obstacles. Now don't forget the 4Ps! So, how do you like my new business attire? Pretty snappy, huh? Wow, success never felt so good.

With lovingkindness,

 

Feel Good and Feel Bad Brands

 

Branding is what you do, and it starts with corporate culture. Branding is not about selling products; it’s about how brands make people feel. Companies who manage to inspire change and have a positive impact on society can be considered a feel good brand.

 

What you see on the outside represents what is on the inside. People who feel good about themselves, project it outward. The same is true for people who are bitter. Companies are no different. A managerial culture that is arrogant will only hinder their brand, communicating poor feelings.

 

I must say; Grand Vin De France is the best wine I’ve ever tasted! It makes me feel dam good! I think we should add it to the HotDogue Culture menu. What do you think? Bon appetit everyone!

 

With lovingkindness,

 

 

How To Stay Calm And Cool In Difficult Situations

 

Humans mimic other humans. The reason we do this is because of mirror neurons that allow you to mirror what other people feel. That’s why when you’re around someone happy you become happy, and if someone yells at you you want to yell back.

 

You need to control your emotions to diffuse the situation. If someone yells don’t yell back at them. Many times the anger is directed toward you when it isn’t your fault, but you must learn to stay calm.

 

So, don’t get your feathers unruffled over emotional outbursts or frivolous stuff. Disarm the other person with being strong in your ability to control yourself; in your ability to stay calm and cool.

 

With lovingkindness,

 

 

Head on Collision to Creative Solutions

 

Creativity happens at the intersection of disciplines. When two disciplines come together, creativity happens. Most people are afraid of head on collisions, but creative collisions are a must for breakthrough discoveries.

A creative person can connect two distinct areas, and offer solutions from one field to another. So, if you don’t consider yourself creative don’t worry because creativity can be learned. To train the mind, learn a new art form, which is one of the best methods for developing creative problem-solving skills.

When you collide you have the opportunity to see a problem from a new perspective, and this is how discoveries come to mind. Just remember, I’m not talking about crashing a moped and being mistaken for a bitch. I encourage you to get creative by joining me at the intersection of creativity!

With lovingkindness,

 

Divergent Thinking: The Most Important Quality of an Entrepreneur

 

What is the most important quality of an entrepreneur? Many would argue passion and the determination to see one's dreams realized. Others might say leadership, the ability to guide and motivate a team. But at HotDogue Culture we believe the predictor of success is determined by creativity – the ability to see the world through a different lens.

 

In order to have creative breakthroughs, scientists say it’s necessary to combine two modes of thinking, convergent and divergent. Convergent thinking is highly analytical, focusing on arriving at one correct solution given the available data, whereas divergent thinking brings about creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions.

 

To be creative, there must be divergent thinking. Divergent thinking can be found in the arts, and this, unfortunately, is the type of thinking that is lacking in the corporate world. So, fine tune your convergent and divergent modes for innovative and creative solutions to your business problems. I see the world through a heart-shaped lens, and it looks pretty dam good.

With lovingkindness,

 

Right Way Thinking

 

Behavior cannot be changed unless you change your thoughts first. If you think correctly you will have correct action. Correct behavior is dependent on correct thinking.

You can only operate correctly out of a sound mind. If you imagine a fairytale existence and then don’t get it, you will be displeased. Be strong. Give up wishful thinking, for right way thinking.

Victory comes from being strong, resisting objectionable desires. Do not be passive in your mind but choose your thoughts instead. If you want to change your behavior, you must first change your thinking. Good thoughts equal a good life.

With Lovingkindness,

 

A Delicious Low-Fat Chili Dog By Frank

There are so many ways to top hot dogs. Here's what I recommend for a tasty, low-fat chili dog:

Not all condiments are created equal. A ketchup packet has only 10 calories, and mustard only has 3 calories per packet, but those small packages of honey mustard and barbecue sauce contain around 60 calories. HotDogue Culture recommends mustard for a gourmet dog that has fewer calories but more taste.

One pound of lean ground beef has 331 calories and 22.5 grams of fat, and this makes a meat sauce for eight hot dogs. Add HotDogue Culture Spice Mix to the ground beef for a delicious, gourmet chili dog with zero calories. Now, that’s something to write home about!

Not all hot dogs are equal. A typical fast food hot dog with chili has about 296 calories, but a version topped with cheese can have as many as 405 calories. For a lighter version pick a turkey hot dog instead, and you'll save 55 calories. A low-fat hot dog made with beef and pork is even lower in calories, with just 87. HotDogue Culture recommends a low-fat beef hot dog topped with chili sauce (made with HotDogue Culture Spice Mix).

If you want to top your chili dog with onions, don’t hesitate, as these only have four calories per tablespoon. For a HotDogue Culture chili dog, you cannot go without the onions. They’re a must.

All this food talk is making me hungry. Reminds me of the song from Duran Duran - Mouth is alive with juices like wine and I'm hungry like the wolf. Aaah, those were the days!

With Lovingkindness,

 

Stuck in a Rut

 

Balance sustains your energy. Don’t waste your energy by having highs and lows. Stay centered. To be efficient, your energies must be centered. When you stop swinging back and forth, you’ll have more energy than you could ever imagine.

It’s so much easier to be balanced than to deal with extremes because when you’re caught in extremes it’s much harder to go forward. Additionally, internal energy is important and has no age. That’s why we often witness an older person who is more spirited than someone in their youth.

Being present in every moment is your natural state, so stop being caught in ongoing thoughts. Events take place, but you can easily let go and come back to the center. So, just remember that too much of a good thing, isn’t a good thing, and age isn’t a number. You know the drill stay positive, and above all centered.

With Lovingkindness,

 

 

Put Love First

 

Are you in a long-term relationship, and bored? Has the flame dwindled away? Are you expecting to feel love before giving love? Are you waiting to feel attraction and arousal before you love? Well, if you’re waiting for the feeling of love then you have it all backwards. The good news is that love is a behavior and skill that can be learned.

 

Love is a skill that you can get good at if you do it often. You don’t learn to love by reading about it. You must practice it. It’s our nature to put ourselves first; however, you cannot claim to be a loving person if you only do it selectively. You must practice loving each other to get better at it. The good news is that love is an action, as well as a habit. It’s not a feeling, as most humans believe it to be.

 

Feelings are associated with lust and desire, which can turn to love but isn’t love. The old saying may be true: "If you marry on the strength of puppy love, you'll end up leading a dog's life.” Love even when you don’t feel like it, and the feelings of love will follow! I do, and I’ve been happily involved with Ambrosia for quite a long time now. Funny, the old gal likes to wear my sunglasses, but I think red looks just as good on me, do you agree? Remember your character is the sum of all your actions, so put love first.

 

With Lovingkindness,

 

 

Turning Goals Inside Out

Where do goals come from? Our goals and our ideas of success come from our parents, media, and society at large, but our true purpose should be an internal matter, not an external one. Most people are influenced by the media and look to secure a job that offers money, title, and prestige, which does not guarantee happiness.

 

The road to happiness is a lot easier when we work on internal goals. The best way to find happiness is to find internal goals such as confidence and self-esteem. The good news is internal goals can be achieved at any age. An external goal such as playing for the NFL is not an achievable goal at eighty.

 

So why do we stress over external goals? It’s true that basic material resources are needed, but beyond that, it makes no difference. Everybody wants to be happy, right? Seek an internal goal that will guarantee happiness. To be internally focused is to be spiritually secure and no one can take that away from you. Does upside down count? No, I suppose not.

 

With lovingkindness,
 

 

To Be Successful Do What You Don’t Feel Like Doing

Just because you don’t feel like doing something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people are good habits and commitment. For example, you don’t make it to the Wimbledon, tennis championships by being lazy. You get to Wimbledon by hours and hours of hard practice that you didn’t feel like doing.

What causes an athlete to train? It’s faith. Faith is believing you can achieve, or being compliant when you don’t understand. “I’ll believe it when I see it” is a common statement, but with faith it’s about believing before seeing. Successful people do what they don’t feel like doing, and unsuccessful people do what they feel.

 

Likewise, successful people have faith and unsuccessful people don’t. The message is simple - Do what you don’t feel like doing, and believe it before seeing it! So, is tennis training necessary today? You know the drill; do what you don’t feel like doing!

 

With lovingkindness,

 

 

Scarless Living

For every decision, there are consequences, and every bad decision leaves a scar on your life. Forgiveness does not free you from the consequences or even the pain that comes from making bad decisions. You can be forgiven and still have regrets and even pain.

 

When you violate your integrity, you may fool other people but you cannot fool yourself. The truth of the matter is if you violate your conscience there will be a price to pay. Sometimes you know that you are about to make a wrong decision or do a bad thing, but you must stop and think. Think about the toll this has on your spirit.

 

Remember there are consequences to every decision you make, so be sure to walk securely with integrity. Better yet, you can take me for a walk. I am man’s best friend, after all.

 

With lovingkindness,

 

 

Unlike-Minded Connections: Hollywood and Harvard

What can engage all learners across cultures? Stories! Stories whether they are fact or fiction, popular or not, are a proven method of pedagogy. Storytelling can engage a universal audience, and Hollywood has proven this time after time.

 

Storytelling has universal appeal, and what is more, according to a recent study from the University of London, the human brain is hardwired with basic emotions. People may communicate differently, but they share emotions; therefore, the only thing that is really different is our experiences.

 

In the past storytelling was associated with children or entertainment, and therefore, never taken seriously as a way to learn, but storytelling was the only way to learn from the beginning of time, until new technologies came about in education, replacing the ancient tradition.

 

Neuroscientists agree that our brain is hardwired for storytelling. Storytelling is something that the brain does naturally. Cognitive science shows that experience framed as a story is easier to remember. Most of us agree that facts are hard to remember; however, we can store or recall facts a lot easier when they are put into a story mode. We now realize the importance of storytelling in education.

 

Loveable canine stars on television have taught us some of life’s greatest lessons. Some of the best dogs are from television shows like Lassie, Snoopy, and Scooby Doo. And, who has the coolest blog? Well, me, stupid!

With lovingkindness,

 

 

Live by Design

Take responsibility for your life and stop blaming your circumstances on others. We often give away our power to our circumstances. Joy exists within us and cannot be found outside ourselves. Our deep feelings are a reflection of what is going on within us, rather than a reaction to our outside circumstances.

By dealing with are emotions, not avoiding them, we address the root of the problem, and our suffering goes away. When we don’t want to deal with something we become a victim. We can create our experience of life at every moment, but we need to stop blaming our experiences on other people.

When we are truthful, express genuine emotion, and make a commitment to live by design we can transform our lives. So, go ahead and make a commitment to own your experience and to live by design. I’m building a new doghouse and then I’ll express my sentiments to my one and only, Ambrosia. Now, that's living by design!

With lovingkindness,
 

 

 

Don’t Worry About It!

What is worry? Worry is when we try to control things that are out of our control. When we cannot control something we worry about it, but worrying never solves anything. Worry does not solve any of our problems whether they are relational, career, or economic.

 

Out of all living things, humans are the only beings that worry. Worry is a learned response. The good news is it can be unlearned. Worry is simply unnatural and unhelpful. Our bodies are not designed to worry, and therefore when we worry it causes unnecessary stress.

 

Worry cannot change the past, or control the future, but worrying can screw up your present happiness. Studies show that worriers live less. Why be miserable when you can be happy? Gee whiz, all this worrying is making me sick!

 

With lovingkindness,

 

 

Counterculture

With the electronic age, the cultural environment is increasingly monopolized, homogenized, and globalized. The Internet has contributed, but broadcasting is still the most concentrated, homogenized, and globalized medium. The learning of culture is no longer associated with family, schools, church or even community, but from television and that’s not a good message.

In the US, top advertisers pay for network television. Four networks are associated with transnational corporations that control the majority of production and distribution. What is more, these entities shape the cultural mainstream leaving out minority interests and views. To combat this, we need more media and critical viewing literacy.

The dominant perspective can be challenged by a counterculture that supports creative workers struggling for more freedom of expression which no longer need to present life as a commodity designed for a market of consumers. We must make a counterculture decision and mold ourselves into our own image versus the one associated with the dominant view. So be the person your dog thinks you are!

With lovingkindness,

 

Stop Shopping for What You Already Have

What we seek is within us. You don’t need to get anything from outside yourself. Love, peace and happiness are within each and every one of us. To get what you want, you must first be what you want. If you seek love, give love. You will feel the love when you’re giving it to someone else.

 

We are taught to believe that to feel love we have to go and get it from someone else. When you seek something in return, you are defeating the whole purpose. In this case, you’re not giving but receiving. When you want something, you’re blocking the power of your energy. Love has no expectation, only the ego does. You can live by learned beliefs or from your innate self. The choice is yours.

 

Attachment to your beliefs is the ego’s domain, and it’s the root of all suffering. The ego will resist when you try and access your intrinsic self. Thoughts will arise, and you will sabotage your true being. We must get rid of learned beliefs and clear the pathway to our essential truth. When you know who you are and understand your innate values, then you don’t need to seek anything from outside yourself. You don’t need any material obsession or possession. As for me, I'll buy one more wig, and I promise I’ll stop shopping!

 

With lovingkindness,

 

 

Are you a Servant Leader or an Ego-Driven Leader?

Leadership is getting work done through other people. It's not about manipulating people but inspiring them. Servant leaders are service-centered rather than self-centered. Servant leaders are humble and modest, and they are risk-takers who promote others over themselves. Servant leaders are committed; they care about the people they lead, and they are guided by their morals, not their egos.

The servant leader does not promote self over others, or even talks without listening. The leader who puts service first, before their title, is a leader who serves others. The servant leader is not the one with the biggest car or the biggest house. Do you want to impress people or influence them? A servant leader focuses on being significant rather than prominent, and they help employees see the significance of their work.

A company’s biggest asset and advantage is people. Employees should be valued and well rewarded for their contributions, and leaders should be evaluated on how well they support the success of employees. Are you a servant leader who is passionate about creating a better world? Get off your high horse and join the Dogue culture! Now that’s something to bark about.

With lovingkindness,

 

Why do Dogs Yelp?

Every person has lived a different life, and so they’ve had different experiences that lead them to different perspectives. People can interpret the same communicative material differently due to their background. How one person interprets their reality is based on everything they have experienced up to this point. When two people are trying to communicate, one person is talking based on everything they have learned, while the other person is receiving based on an entirely different set of factors.

 

To add to that, language affects our perspective. Language and culture have a large part in how communication works between two people. It’s obvious that two people speaking different languages will have trouble communicating, but it’s not so obvious when two people speaking the same language, who are brought up in two different cultures, may have trouble understanding one another. Language helps define our communication, and culture can affect communication by way of perspective and worldview.

 

Let’s look at the metaphor of the brain as a computer. Computers have different operating systems such as Windows or Mac. In addition, computers can have different levels of RAM, hard drives, or processors, which can alter how a computer runs. The same could be said for humans.  Each piece of communicative material that is viewed by someone affects how they receive and process incoming information. The variety of perspectives people have suggests that communicating effectively is no easy task. As for me… a series of yelps means, "I'm hurting!"

 

With lovingkindness,