Speak Up Woman!

Have you ever told yourself the statements below or something similar to this?

“I wish I would have asked for more money when negotiating my salary.”

“I should have applied for that promotion.”

I have been there.  A situation presented itself recently in my professional life and I wasn’t going back to that self-talk conversation again.  About a week ago a position became available at my company.  Pursing this position falls in line with a personal goal I have been shooting for over the last two to three years. 

Given that I have only been at this company for 10 months, I was nervous about asking my boss and my energy was wasted on this nervousness rather than pouring the energy into a productive conversation with my boss.  Well, I decided to talk with my boss and now the wheels are in motion.  I realized that all I needed to do was speak up. 

To Be Or Not To Be … Married

Guest Post
by Marcus Osborne
straightmalefriend

I don’t know how or why or when it happened, but somewhere along the line I realized that I have an inordinate amount of female friends. It’s been a blessing and a curse really. The majority of my closest friends are female. I’m living proof that men and women really can be “just friends.” The downside is being a regular patron of the “friend zone.”

That place sucks sometimes.

But one of the stellar benefits of having close platonic relationships with women (I’ll save the other negatives for another column — because believe me, particularly in the dating game, there are many!) is you get some compelling, honest insight on what makes women tick. After all these years, I think I’ve got a pretty decent understanding of the ladies.  I’ll never completely figure you all out — I’ll not even attempt that Herculean task — but I think I know enough to stay out of the doghouse!  Read More

_________________________________________________________________

About Marcus and Your Straight Male Friend

Your Straight Male Friends, Marcus Osborne, John Scott & Matt Staudt are offering up the advice & insight on love, sex, dating & relationships that women REALLY need! Your Straight Male Friend – Every woman should have one!” e-mail, comments, questions, and suggestions to marcus@straightmalefriend.com

The Power of Laughter

When was the last time you had a good laugh?  Now, I’m talking about one of those uncontrollable, lap-slapping, contagious laughs.  We’ve all had them, and it undeniably feels great! 

Given that it’s April Fool’s day, a day where jokesters and pranksters exhibit their most creative ideas to get people laugh, I decided to write a post about laughter.  

I had one of those GREAT laughs recently.  My husband and I were at a baptism preparation class.  Something the instructor said triggered a funny memory for my husband.  I looked over at him and sawa grin he was trying to hide behind his pressed lips. 

His shoulders were bouncing up and down as I quietly asked, “What’s so funny?”  He leaned over to my side, cupped my ears around his hands and whispered the funny memory.  Like a blot of lightening, I was struck with laughter.  I started giggling and my shoulders began moving up and down in unison with his shoulders. 

Increase Your Personal Productivity – Yes, YOU CAN!

What character would you be in a circus?  I’m admitting to being a juggler. Here are the balls in the air that I’m currently juggling.

• Family – Family time is important for me. 
• Work – Have to make money, pay the bills and I WANT to do a good job at work.
• Study – I just spent $500 registering for an HR certification exam to be taken in May.  I’ve invested about 10-12 hours a week for the last 12 weeks studying.  I MUST pass this exam.
• Memoir –I’m writing a family memoir and taking a Saturday class on memoir writing. 
• Blogging – Read blogs and maintain my blog.
• Me time – I journal, read, and I am slowly getting back into my exercise routine.
• Friends – Trying to keep up with the social life but this has taken a back seat for now with everything else going on. 

With all the balls in the air, I tried to multi-task - do a little here and there - but I realized that I wasn’t feeling accomplished in at least one area by the end of the day.  I realized that I wasn’t giving my “all” on the things that needed my full attention. 

Now, I recognize that I’m not unique to being an experienced juggler and many of us can probably go on tour with the Ringling Brothers as a permanent circus act.  It’s just that the overwhelming feeling over the last couple of months was taking over my energy and state of mind.

Cocktails and Questions with Your Straight Male Friends

A good friend of mine is holding an event in San Francisco tonight...check it out!  Gain more insight on men!

Register HERE for this FREE event!


Come join your Straight Male Friends to enjoy cocktails and Questions.

What better way to gain an accurate insight on guys then to ask them directly!
It seems that when it comes to affairs of the heart, whether single, married, or divorced women always reach out to their best girlfriends or their best gay friends.

Need a better insight on the average guy?
THE ANSWER IS YES!
Bring your girlfriends your questions and enjoy happy hour and entertainment with the guys that have your back!
Prizes!!!

Up and coming Bay area artist, Eion Harrington, is performing tonight!



http://radioalice.radio.com/author/straightmalefriend/




Reflective question for this post:

What have you always wanted to know about men but never asked?  If you do ask, do you feel like you get a straight answer?

My Job, My Passion - Ok, Maybe Not!

Mondays in the office are generally tough.  The lazy, mindless and relaxing Sunday afternoons with the family are replaced with corporate lingo and a task driven frame of mind on Monday mornings.  Last Monday, my day started with a 9am team meeting where I joined 10 HR colleagues in a conference room.  As I was getting comfortable in the oversized leather chairs surrounding the long table propped with notebooks, pens and Starbucks coffee cups, I faced a wall which housed a screen with a slide projecting the words “Employee Engagement.” 

I recently completed an employee engagement survey for a client and generally this is an HR topic of great interest to me but on this day it was not.  I couldn’t pinpoint the reason but I just wasn’t feeling it.  After 10 slides filled with bar graphs, pie charts and other compelling reasons to demonstrate the “business case” for companies to take employee engagement seriously, one slide caught my attention.  It was as if the screen had its own set of arms, grabbed me out of my chair and reeled me in to its content.  I was so drawn to what I saw on the screen:

Journaling: Why journal and how to stay committed to journaling

"Writing isn't about the destination—writing is the journey that transforms the soul and gives meaning to all else."   - Sue Grafton, "How I Write", 'The Writer', May 2002, p86

Each night I go to sleep, I look forward to the morning chimes of my alarm clock going off at 5am knowing that I will spend the first 30-45 minutes of my day doing something so meaningful to me – journaling.    

My alarm sounds while the sunrise is still hidden behind the dark sky.  Rubbing my eyes, I hit the snooze button and lay in bed for a few more minutes trying to draw from my subconscious to determine what I am going to journal about.  I slowly bring my legs to the floor and follow the smell of the freshly brewed coffee that draws me to the kitchen.  With my daily dose of caffeine in hand, I get comfortable at my desk in my home office which is dimly lit with a small lamp on my desk and I sit in a chair facing the illuminating screen projecting from my laptop.   

I place my fingers on the keyboard and like a graceful piano player, my hands flow eloquently across keyboard as I freefall my thoughts onto paper.  I don’t think about what I write, I just write.  There is a sense of calmness and peace to know that the rest of the house is still experiencing REM sleep while I sit in solitude and take this time for myself.   After 45 minutes of journaling, the release of thoughts allows me to move freely from journaling to my to-do list for the day.  

Why I Journal

Journaling is my 2011 New Year’s resolution and it has been my morning ritual since February 2011.  Over the last few days I have been reflecting on why I journal and realized the following: