April 2019
Is Tax Time Your Stress Time?
level by about 44 percent during tax time. I can’t offer much advice on reducing your taxes this season, but I can help with the stress.
It’s important to avoid stress whenever possible and learn how to manage it the rest of the time. This is not just for your own health but also for the health of your family. Make a goal for April 15, 2020, not to make more money, but to focus on having less stress.
Here are the numbers I want you to think about.
40 percent of what we worry about never happens.
30 percent of what we worry about already happened. It’s long gone.
12 percent is needless worry
10 percent is petty worry. “Is he mad at me?”
8 percent of worry is something we can change or solve.
Over 90 percent of what we worry about is a waste of time!
Let’s separate worry into two categories:
Category A: There is nothing you can do about it. Weather, taxes, economy, “Does she like me?”
Category B: Things you can influence. Studying for a test, working smarter, creating a new product, your attitude.
Do you sometimes feel like you are holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Claudia has just returned from Italy. During her trip, she sent me a photo from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It should have made me happy. Instead, its precarious position reminded me of the impending April 15 tax day.
You are what you think about. Are you a problem identifier or a solution finder? Do you feel like the weight of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is on your shoulders? Try shifting your focus more toward Category B this year. Choose not to worry; lower your stress. -Dave Tester
It’s not surprising that “tax month” is often very stressful. Most of us, according to the American Psychological Report, increase our stress
1
Time to Say Goodbye Is Transparent Separation Right for Your Company?
Getting fired is a horrible experience. Losing a job is hard on an employee, and terminating an employee can create a whole mess of grief for a company. In a 2018 article for Harvard Business Review, Investopedia CEO David Siegel laid out his strategy to avoid the troubles of termination by offering a more considerate approach to firing: transparent separation. In a transparent separation, when underperforming employees are informed that their tenure with the company is coming to an end, they are given a time frame to look for a new job before their last day. Employees are asked to keep the arrangement confidential and are expected to maintain job performance. Siegel states that employees who abuse the goodwill of transparent separation should be let go immediately. Transparent separation is a wild departure from the traditional termination playbook, but Siegel insists that the strategy offers some incredible benefits, such as the following:
• Remaining employees feel more comfortable when they don’t have to worry about “disappearing” overnight.
Even with all these positives, Siegel notes that transparent separation may not be the best course of action for every employee termination. For example, if the soon-to-be-ex-employee is a manager whose toxic behavior is harming the work environment, they need to be shown the door immediately. Siegel claims that in two-thirds of cases, transparent separations offered the best outcome both for the company and the former employee. There are potential drawbacks to transparent separation. Opponents to this strategy note the potential damage a disgruntled employee can cause after being told they are losing their job. Some employees may even prefer to collect severance and leave so they can fully focus on the job search. Is transparent separation the answer to all your termination woes? The jury’s still out; there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to any business problem. What works great for one company might not be best for another. But if you think the pros outweigh the cons, transparent separation might be worth considering the next time your company has to say goodbye.
• Departing employees avoid the struggle of trying to find a new job while unemployed.
• There’s reduced legal risk that the company might be sued by an angry employee.
• Managers are not cast in an adversarial role for abrupt firings.
• The company has time to find a suitable replacement, resulting in a smoother transition.
Tester-
MONIAL
“Dave, you’re the Doctor Phil of customer service.”
Wendy Kenney CEO, 23 Kazoos, Digital Marketing, SEO, Public Relations
2
Revisiting a Classic
In this issue we’re diving into an old classic that helped define the modern personal development genre and has helped millions of readers improve their lives. “The Magic of Thinking Big” flew off shelves when it was first published in 1959, propelling author David J. Schwartz from university professor to foremost authority on motivation. But does his seminal work still hold true 60 years later? Is there still magic in letting yourself think big in the 21st century?
This can make the opening chapters in “Thinking Big” feel excessively familiar to those who have read other personal development books. The power of positivity and self-confidence may have been groundbreaking ideas back when Eisenhower was president, but today they’re a given. While this may make some of Schwartz’s ideas feel old hat to modern audiences, the essence of what he wrote in 1959 still rings true today. In fact, one could argue that several core concepts of this decades-old work are even more applicable today. A running theme in Schwartz’s book is the incomparable benefit of treating people like people. While many personal and business dealings hinge on the power of a handshake, there’s something refreshing about the common human decency of Schwartz’s outlook. So many motivational works today focus solely on personal reflection — “Thinking Big” reminds us that there is great power in simply being good to other people. Perhaps the largest takeaway today’s readers can find here is to take on more and think bigger. “Thinking Big” is replete with real- world success stories of people doing precisely that, from students collaborating to solve supposedly impossible problems to wounded paratroopers making their way across the mountains of Burma toward safety. Whether you’re dusting off an old copy or picking it up for the first time, this classic is still worth a read in 2019.
In a word, yes. The lessons in “Thinking Big” are broad, but their wide applicability is also what makes them timeless. While today, many authors and motivational coaches — from “influencer” culture to “growth hacking” — focus on whatever is new and shiny, Schwartz focuses on the fundamentals.
Strawberry Pizza
Take a
Ingredients • 1 package sugar cookie dough • 18 ounces cream cheese
BREAK
• 3 cups strawberries, sliced • 1 box strawberry Jell-O mix • 1/3 cup cornstarch • 1 1/4 cups sugar • 2 cups water
• 1 cup sour cream • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 1 cup powdered sugar
Directions
1. Roll out cookie dough on a greased, 14-inch pizza pan. 2. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. 3. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cooled crust. 4. Place sliced strawberries on top of the glaze. 5. Combine Jell-O, cornstarch, sugar, and water. Heat to a boil and stir constantly until thickened. 6. Let Jell-O mixture cool and spread it on top of the strawberries. 7. Slice the pizza and serve.
3
Tester TIME 17707 Madison Rd. Nampa, ID 83687 208-707-9807 www.dialingstrangers.com
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411
1 2 2 3 4
Stress and Taxes
A Better Approach to Firing?
Tester-monial
Discover ‘The Magic of Thinking Big’
3 Great Opening Days in Baseball
Baseball’s opening day has been an American holiday of sorts since the Cincinnati Red Stockings threw out the first major league pitch in 1869. To celebrate the start of the 150th season of professional baseball, here are three of the best opening days in baseball history. A NEW BEGINNING On April 15, 1947, an opening-day game changed the course of Major League Baseball. On this day, Jackie Robinson started for the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American player to start for a major league baseball team. Robinson’s historic showing was lackluster, going 0-for-3 at the plate and making a solid showing on the infield at first base, but his mere presence in a Dodgers uniform had already broken history. Despite his nationally- recognized skills — Robinson was named MVP of the MLB farm team league in 1946 — the backlash that followed his rise to the pros, both from fans and teammates, was palpable. Still, as well-known sportscaster Howard Cosell said, “Suddenly, it was a new beginning.” LOU, COMBS, AND BABE — OH MY! Considered one of the best teams in baseball history, the 1927 New York Yankees started their historic run and 25th season by PEANUTS & CRACKER JACKS The Best Opening Days in Baseball History
dismantling the Philadelphia Athletics with a score of 8–3. The slugfest was true to form for the 1927 Yankees, whose players would go on to make up baseball’s famous “Murderers’ Row.” With sluggers like Lou Gehrig, Earle Combs, Babe Ruth, Mark Koenig, Bob Meusel, and Tony Lazzeri, it’s no wonder this team went on to win its fifth championship that year. THE HAMMER TIES BAMBINO For decades, no one could match George Herman Ruth. The Great Bambino’s all-time home run record seemed like an impossible feat of strength — that is, until Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron came along. On opening day, April 4, 1974, Aaron smashed his 714th homer, tying Babe Ruth for the most home runs ever hit and extending the Atlanta Braves’ shutout lead over the Cincinnati Reds. A few weeks later, Aaron surpassed Ruth’s record, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd.
4
Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker