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TRANSFORMING PEOPLE’S LIVES DECEMBER 2025/JANUARY 2026
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Trust Your Gut, Not Your Fear Why ‘Perfect’ Decisions Don’t Exist
Nothing in this world is always linear. If you fly from here to Hawaii, your course will zig-zag instead of traveling in one straight line. Life is filled with learning curves, and no matter what choices you make, the decision is rarely the perfect answer. Make Up Your Mind Day is on Dec. 31, and so many of us struggle to make decisions because we’re afraid of making the wrong one. Fear and perfection often stand in our way, and people will end up doing nothing rather than do something imperfect. However, the truth is that not taking action or not making a choice is, in itself, a choice. We all have to make decisions regularly, myself included. Whenever I’m struggling with the options, I just try to trust my gut and my instincts. When author Napoleon Hill wrote the bestselling “Think and Grow Rich” in 1937, he studied some of the most successful people of the time. One trait they shared was that they made decisions quickly, driven by a clear vision for their goals and the understanding that they could then adapt and make changes slowly. It all comes down to trusting your intuition and abilities. In most cases, the right decision is usually the one that immediately comes to mind. When we get stuck overanalyzing, we risk making the wrong choice. Even if you wind up making a decision that doesn’t work out like you imagined or hoped, you can gain something from it. You learn from that experience and do things differently next time.
overwhelming and drains your mental energy. To avoid it,
reduce the number of choices you need to make. I like to teach my team to be problem solvers, so they think through issues or
Our dog Benji, chief joy officer
choices before asking me for the answer. The more information and skills you have, the more empowered you are to make informed decisions and stand by them. Planning out your day beforehand is one way to better prepare yourself for the unexpected choices you may face. I start planning a week ahead of time so I have a clear understanding of what the day-to-day will look like. Each day, prioritize the three top tasks you have so you know what to focus on, which can help reduce some of that fatigue. Taking care of yourself is also essential if you are trying to improve your decision-making skills. When your battery is full, you think more efficiently than when you are drained and have no battery power. Make sure you get enough rest, eat well, and save big decisions for times when you are thinking clearly. There’s no such thing as perfect. You have to trust in yourself, knowing that sometimes you just won’t know the answer and will have to make a decision anyway. As a leader, that’s what I have to do constantly because I know people are looking up to me. As we close out 2025 and head into a new year, give yourself the permission and trust to confidently make decisions, even if they aren’t perfect. Each choice you make is a step forward, and progress matters most of all. You don’t have to make every decision alone, though. If you need guidance on your citizenship, visas, waivers, or any other aspect of your immigration journey, please contact us at Ranchod Law Group.
Decision fatigue is a very real phenomenon. It occurs when the sheer volume of decisions you have to make becomes
REFER A FRIEND A referral is the greatest
compliment you could ever give us. If you know someone in need of our services, we welcome the opportunity to help. Please pass along this newsletter and tell them to give us a call at 916-613-3553 . We greatly appreciate it.
–Kaushik Ranchod
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DON’T SIGN THAT JOB OFFER BLINDLY Fine-Print Focus
In today’s competitive job market, landing new employment is the least of your worries.
Never disregard a seemingly minor typo as a slight variation in a job title (e.g., “managerr” or “supervisor” versus “manager”) could be enough to impact your anticipated compensation, workday obligations, and even your tax status. Even the most professional companies can make mistakes in drafting documentation, so never assume Human Resources has everything covered. Do the perks make sense as presented? In addition to confirming exactly what you’ll do and be paid, you must ensure any benefits outlined in the contract align with your expectations or with anything you may have been told during interview(s) and negotiation(s). Review all insurance benefits, paid vacations, PTO/sick leave structures, retirement plans, and bonuses detailed in the contract before signing, and immediately raise any questions or concerns with the appropriate parties. What is yours, and what is your employer’s? With remote work on the rise, your employer may be based in another state. Your employee contract should detail your remote status and any expectations for occasional “hybrid” work (e.g., working at the corporate office once a week) and work-related travel. Expense reimbursement is another factor to consider when reading your contract. Review any provisions regarding your responsibilities in using employer-supplied equipment (laptops, printers, scanners, etc.) required for your remote position. Sometimes, your work may entail creating intellectual property the employer owns. For example, if you make digital media for a company, you likely won’t be able to apply it to your personal use or bring it to a subsequent employer. The employee contract will likely include specific proprietary rights and intellectual property language. Before agreeing to an employer’s contract terms, you should address any verification needs. These questions are just the tip of the iceberg. No two employee contracts are exactly alike, so it’s essential to diligently review any documentation you receive, even if you need to bring in a legal professional for an extra pair of eyes.
Depending on your chosen industry, you may be required to review and sign an employment contract before starting a new position. Ideally, this document will clearly outline what your new employer offers you to work for them and the responsibilities they expect you to fulfill. While the concept is simple enough, a host of nuances and potential red flags in an employee contract may reveal that your new job is more (or less) than you expected. Considering that the average U.S. employee stays with a single employer for approximately four years before moving on, reviewing your employee contract carefully ensures the job of your dreams doesn’t devolve into a logistical, financial, or professional nightmare. Here are three key questions to consider before agreeing to the contract terms presented to you. Does the contract accurately describe your role? In many cases, an online job description is the employer’s wish list of duties that could fall under that role. Specific responsibilities related to a particular position may be refined during the interview and negotiation process, especially if the employer is in a transitional period of restructuring its workflow and employee roles. When reviewing your employee contract, confirm that your job title, duties, payment terms and methods, and length of service (if the position is temporary) are described accurately. “No two employee contracts are exactly alike, so it’s essential to diligently review any documentation you receive, even if you need to bring in a legal professional for an extra pair of eyes.”
Good luck with your job search, and happy reading!
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Ranchod Law Group • ranchodlaw.com
TAKE A BREAK
Syllables That Shape Society
The ‘Saxon Clincher’ Effect
The right selection of syllables can change the course of history.
As any English teacher or professional editor (or anyone who’s ever confused “they’re,” “there,” or “their”) will tell you, navigating modern English is often chaotic and confounding. In a 2020 blog, Ward Farnsworth of the University of Texas School of Law attempted to explain how it got this way. “English is a language built mostly out of two others. Much of it was created from the language of invaders who came to Britain around 450 AD from Anglia and Saxony (in what we’d now call northern Germany). About 600 years later, the French [Normans] invaded and brought their language with them, too, derived from Latin. The new French competed with Old English, and the eventual outcome was modern English, built out of both.” Farnsworth’s observation isn’t new. Various speeches by President Abraham Lincoln, largely considered one of the world’s greatest orators, made excellent use of this mix of languages by understanding that Anglo-Saxon words tend to be direct and words of French origin tend to be a bit more flowery. Lincoln applied these characteristics to create what some linguistic circles call a “Saxon clincher,” a straightforward conclusion to a more colorfully worded introduction. A Saxon clincher can be employed to gain attention with impactful opening words before driving the point home more simply. According to Farnsworth, Lincoln’s talent for perfecting this approach shines through in this passage from his “House Divided” speech in 1858: Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South. Did you notice how the first half includes colorful words such as “opponents” and “extinction,” and the final 14 words are simple with one syllable each? That’s the Saxon clincher, and the pathway to a perfect speech, in a nutshell.
BAKED FETA, TOMATO, AND WHITE BEAN SKILLET
Ingredients
• 2 pints cherry tomatoes • 2 (15-oz) cans no-salt-added cannellini beans, rinsed • 4 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped • 2 tsp Italian seasoning • 1/4 tsp salt • 6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided • 6 oz feta cheese, packed in brine, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 tbsp hot honey • Basil leaves, for garnish • 4 slices toasted whole-wheat country bread, optional, for serving
Directions 1. Preheat oven to 450 F. 2. In a large, oven-safe skillet, combine tomatoes, beans, garlic, Italian seasoning, and salt. 3. Drizzle with 5 tbsp of olive oil and stir gently. 4. Add feta pieces 2 inches apart in the mixture and drizzle with remaining olive oil. 5. Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the tomatoes have burst. 6. Remove from oven and drizzle with hot honey. Garnish with basil leaves, and serve with toast if desired.
Inspired by EatingWell.com
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Representing Clients Throughout the 50 States SACRAMENTO
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Embrace the Non-Linear Path
2
The Weight of Written Words
3
Baked Feta, Tomato, and White Bean Skillet
President Lincoln’s Unique Speech Style
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Terror Turns to Trial
A ‘Leatherface’ Lawsuit Leaves a Mark SLIPS, SCREAMS, AND SETTLEMENTS
If you’re a horror film fan, you know how common it is for a would-be victim to trip and fall long enough to allow the killer chasing them to catch up and carry out some nasty deed. While this scene is a classic cliché of the genre, it would strike genuine terror in anyone’s heart if it played out in the real world, especially when you’re a 57-year-old woman with her grandchild in tow. In the late 1990s, Cleanthi Peters accompanied her 10-year-old granddaughter to a Hell’s High haunted house attraction at Universal Studios in Florida. As their walk-through was about to end, an actor portraying the menacing character Leatherface from the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” film franchise began chasing them while wielding a fake chainsaw. As the frightened pair began running away from the grotesque antagonist, they slipped on a wet spot on the floor, just like in the movies. Instead of breaking character to help them, the actor playing the pretend psychopath continued to menace the two by standing above them with his torturous tool still in his hands.
Claiming the incident left her and her granddaughter “extremely fearful and in mental distress and anguish,” Peters later sued Universal Studios for emotional distress and other injuries. After numerous trials, the suit was decided in Peters’ favor, resulting in a $15,000 judgment against Universal Studios for failure to keep its haunted house safe for occupants. While this case occurred in Florida, legal experts have opined that the verdict may have been the same in other states, since an unsafe wet floor wouldn’t be a reasonable expectation for anyone attending a haunted house attraction. While Hell’s High may have succeeded in frightening Peters and her granddaughter, the suit proves that horror-themed
entertainment can sometimes be too scary, especially for the defendant’s legal counsel, and Leatherface is best encountered from the comfort of a TV or movie theater screen.
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