The news of Herman Cain’s latest sexual scandal has caused the candidate to “reevaluate” his campaign and split the internet into three main groups: those who think he cheated on his wife with Ginger White for 13 years, those who think White is out for a little quick cash, and those who are so sick of politics that they’ve tuned out of the 2012 election race even before it’s really begun.

Personally, I’m… starting to wonder where the line is between a possible politician’s private life and his (or her) bid for public office.
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Chris Brogan recently featured a brilliant post written by online marketing strategist Tommy Walker about the 106 excuses that prevent you from ever becoming great. It’s an eye-opening read, because I’ve heard myself say some of them time and again, but hadn’t really thought of the way I was undermining myself with my own words. Words like these:
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My current job takes me away from home about once a month, sometimes twice. It’s always to one of the same two places—to meet with the rest of my team in New York, or to political events in Washington, D.C.—so my youngest kids can easily understand where I am when I’m away, and why.

That doesn’t mean that they like my absences, though. My husband holds down the fort without a hitch (though more pizzas are ordered when I’m gone than when I’m home, oddly enough), but he has his own career, complete with a long commute, to juggle. So I find myself trying to minimize my trip, squeezing two days worth of work into a single day in order to avoid being away overnight.
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It happens to most professionals, regardless of their line of work: People want you to weigh in with your opinion, but they don’t want to pay you for your time because it’s “just a little question” or “it’ll only take a second” or “we’re family, after all.” But when those request pile up, it goes from a minute or two here and there to actual, billable hours for which you’re not getting paid—a sure sign that it’s time to say no.

But saying no feels… wrong, sometimes. You don’t want to leave a friend in the lurch, and how do you tell a relative that you usually get a-certain-dollar-amount-per-fraction-of-an-hour when the “quick question” is coming from a client rather than a cousin? And what if the request is coming from someone with whom you want to build a bridge, not burn one?

I’ve written in the past about whether it’s ever OK to work for free (and whether it’s worth it to keep working when a job stops paying you), but the real tough part for me—and for many people—is saying no gracefully. Here are four tips on how to do it:

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Summer has never equaled downtime for me, not since I was a teenager (and, given that I was working at my mom’s restaurant by the time I was 12, maybe not even then). This year, for the first time in a decade, my stepkids didn’t spend the summer with us (teenagers!), but while I missed them a lot, my summer schedule wasn’t any less hectic for their absence.
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Most of the time, I work from my home office, a little yellow room filled with a cluttered desk and stacks of books and product samples. But this week, I was in New York City, where most of my team is based. I had a series of meetings to attend and people to meet, and most of my usual workload to finish.

It made for a long and hectic day, but what really struck me wasn’t just the 400-plus-mile round-trip commute or the working printers or the free coffee. It wasn’t just the face-to-face conversations with the actual people I work with, to whom I talk at least twice a day, every day, even when I’m in my home office. It wasn’t just the make-up and nail polish I put on or the fact that I was wearing a suit instead of looking like the insomniac workaholic that I am.

The oddest thing was the way that I packed up my computer, gathered up my stuff, and left the office at the end of the day.
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The other morning, I was caught up in creating costumes for dress-up day at my kids’ camp, and we were running late. I threw a jumble of (healthy! nutritious! lovingly prepared!) stuff into their lunch boxes, nagged them to finish eating breakfast, and finally grabbed their backpacks, tennis rackets, swim suits, towels, and herded them into the car. Then I went back for the costumes, and then for my wallet, and then we left for camp.

(This is not a post about the importance of organization or how to streamline your mornings by preparing the night before. Obviously.)
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I always look over my bills when they arrive, keeping an eye out for bizarre charges or extra fees. That means that, over the years, I’ve spent a fair amount of time on the phone with customer service representatives, asking for explanations or requesting refunds.

Here are a few tips to consider if you’re about to make a call:
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I was wiped out and still working on deadline when my parents-in-law, whom I love dearly, called to say that they were about two hours away.

They were driving up from Florida to stay with us for a couple of weeks. I had seven loads of (thankfully, clean) laundry in my bedroom, a spare bedroom full of bags and boxes designated for the attic, and carpets so full of fur from my rapidly shedding dog that I considered scraping it all into a pile and telling the kids we had a new pet.

It was time for extreme measures. And my favorite extreme measure, in cases like this, is what I call “fake cleaning.” Here are five ways you can whip the house into some semblance of order—as long as your guests love you (and don’t look too closely):
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Every year, I make my New Year’s Resolutions on my birthday. And today’s the day, folks. But this year, I’m crossing one of those resolutions off my list before the day even begins. This year, instead of simply sharing with you the things I’d really like to do in the next 365 days or my plans for self-improvement, I’m asking you to please share your wisdom: What do you wish you had learned earlier in life?
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