Tag: mistakes

All men struggle in their life from time to time. I certainly have. In those moments, it’s easy to lose sight of who we are and to know our place in the scheme of things.

We lose perspective.

However, the last thing we want is to be told what to do by you, our significant other. That only brings out our defenses, just as it would you. As you know, men are taught to suppress their feelings and emotions. While you might not think there is much going on inside of us because of a stoic expression, there’s plenty of internal churning there.

Falling in love is a wonderful experience: The ecstasy of losing yourself in another’s eyes, the excitement of imagining a life together, the freedom of discovering the intimate secrets of another person. But we all know that after that initial love glow fades and the reality of learning to share your life with another—no matter how compatible—sets in, relationships require effort. And when the real work of building a relationship together begins, we all make mistakes along the way.

Parenting is a tough gig. It can seem that the more we learn, the more we realize two things:

1. We don’t seem to know a flippin’ thing – for "sure."

2. Not being "sure," is much less stressful than having the answers.

When we are just starting out, we pretend we know a lot. We "act as if" we have the answers and often guess right. When we are not right, we may panic, berate ourselves and apologize. We are embarrassed and cover up. We vow to try harder—to know more—and to have all the answers.

It seems our society has turned dodging responsibility into an art form. From celebrities who insist that a brush with the law was all a big misunderstanding to political figures who use spin and double-speak to blame everything on the other side, no one wants to admit it when they mess up. If you’re a business leader, the temptation to use this strategy is huge. After all, your customers are paying you to get it right, so the last thing you want is for them to know that you’ve made a mistake, right?

Even though plenty has changed since the days we, the parents, were entering the job market, the important things haven’t. The fundamentals of hard work, integrity, respect, perseverance, and so forth still lead to success—so when advising your child, feel free to draw on your own experiences.

Make a point to have a conversation about the lessons you think he or she most needs to take to heart—perhaps over a celebratory dinner or while packing up their dorm room. Most of all, help your child to understand that when you live and work by a code that’s shaped by values, integrity, dedication, and a true team spirit, you will set yourself apart from the other rookies in a way that gets you hired, recognized, and promoted.

Every year our politicians talk about the need to simplify the tax code, and every year they make it more complex.

The average taxpayer will spend an estimated 23 hours completing their return this year.  Eighty percent of taxpayers will hire someone to do the work or buy tax software, even though 64 percent of taxpayers don’t owe anything.

There are six definitions of a child, more than a dozen educational credits, and 16 different types of tax-favored savings plans.