all over the place

BY   NICOLA APPLETON We all have that friend who brings out the best (or worst) in us. But have you ever really considered how the people in your life impact your behavio r in your life outside their friendship? Research suggests that the calibre of those closest to us is one of the most accurate predictors of the extent of our achievements, or lack thereof. Indeed, according to motivational speaker Jim Rohn, “We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with.” If we subscribe to Jim’s school of thought, we’d have to believe that those five people have the ability to determine our success – and failure. So how can we use this knowledge to benefit us to make sure our immediate circle affects us in the right way? Take charge of your influencers Make a list of the five people in your life that you spend most of your time with. Rate them from 1-10 in terms of the positive influence they have on your life. Do they make you better? If so, to what extent? Use ...

POPSUGAR founder and President Lisa Sugar's book,  Power Your Happy , helps you combine your passions and talents for success. We're sharing more about Lisa and excerpting topics from her book in a series of posts on POPSUGAR. As an editor at one of the most well-known companies in the lifestyle media space, I often get asked how I landed a job at POPSUGAR. Even after working here for nearly a year, I still can't quite pinpoint that one actionable answer that my peers are often seeking. And that's because the answer is complex. Yes, my writing portfolio played a huge role, but so did timing, the overall interview process, and the culmination of my relevant work experience. While I'm still honing my own career-giving advice, POPSUGAR President Lisa Sugar is adept at doling it out. In fact, she covers it in depth in her new book,  Power Your Happy: Work Hard, Play Nice, and Build Your Dream Life  (out Sept. 20). Who better to dish out tips on landing a job at a hi...

1.  You’re constantly contemplating your life when you’re alone and can’t stop asking yourself, “What am I really doing with my life?” which is the beginning of your self-discovery process. 2.  You may not know the answer to that question, but you feel okay because you know that you you will be able to figure it out sooner or later. 3.  You’re selective towards the people in you have in your life and you start to spend your time only with people who are sincere. 4.  You don’t hesitate at leaving a toxic relationship because you have a zero-tolerance policy towards anything which potentially abuses your well-being. 5.  You have a strong desire to try many new things; solo traveling, learning new languages, taking some classes. Anything in order to discover as many things as possible. 6.  And you’re trying those things to figure out your real passion and you fully enjoy the process of finding it out. 7.  You’re observant towards the people...

Boundaries—we know they’re important. But, they’re something far too many of us—despite our best intentions—struggle to set. We find ourselves scrolling through work emails during time we reserved for chipping our way through the Netflix queue, or we spend hours of a Saturday working on a project for our boss—even though it’s supposed to be our day off. This crossing of the line between work and play doesn’t just happen when your career trickles into your personal life—it can go the other way too. You might take a personal call during work hours or kill some time online shopping before your next meeting. Of course, our lives aren’t packaged into neat little compartments, and it’s only natural that there’s bound to be some blending between work and personal identities. In an ideal world, we could integrate the two, rather than being obsessed with  balancing them . But, for those of us who require a black and white approach to time management? Well, some firm guidelines...

Seriously ladies, it's SO worth it. Calvin was perfect. The last guy Jenna dated never spent a dime on her. “Hanging out” is fine, but every. single. time. they got together? No thanks. Calvin was different. He brought flowers, made reservations, and wrapped up thoughtful gifts. All the time. He was perfect. Until he wasn’t. Cut to reality. The shower of gifts was actually a torrential downpour of bills. Calvin was drowning in debt. He couldn’t actually afford any of it. With her morning coffee in the kitchen they often shared, Jenna stared at his monster-sized credit card statement and wondered how she got here. Jenna is not alone. Couples aren’t talking about money before they couple-up. And the results are ugly. Research shows “money” is the number 1 thing divorced couples point to when asked why they threw in the towel. A credit survey in January 2017 found that 71% of the divorced women surveyed say “their ex’s spending habits were different than expected afte...