Seven Habits for Moderately Effective People

Fancy Simple today wants me to list the habits that make me "effective." So here it goes.

1) Hard work-I may spend a lot of time doing not much, but when it comes to things that are important to me or others it can never be said that I half-ass it. I believe that if it comes down to natural talent or hard work, hard work will win out every time.

2) Believe you can accomplish it-If I don't have confidence that I can complete the task, I won't.

3) Plan, plan and then plan some more-There are never too many lists and no one has ever been too organized. I plan for every possible contingency, because it is always what you think will never happen that does.

4) Catching flies with honey-My mother and husband, the attorney, dispute this principal, but it has never let me down. Be honest, but kill them with kindness and you will get further in my book.

5) Dress for success-Back when I did work, and even now, I believe dressing for an event needs to have professionalism, but more importantly, comfort and pockets. I used to work long performance days with children who always needed pencils, kleenex, paper clips and tape. Now I need to not look like a crazy bum, but i need to be able to be colored on, spilled on and yes, wiped on-nose and otherwise.

6) Firm handshake-This goes hand in hand with eye contact. Whether you are speaking to a three year-old or someone twice your age, give a firm handshake and look in their eyes when you introduce yourself. It shows you are interested in them and confident in yourself.

7) Be willing to make a fool of yourself-My work now requires a hell of a lot of creativity. Lots of times I need to act like an idiot, occasionally in public, to get what I need done. I also need to do a lot of things that I don't feel entirely comfortable with to experience a little give and take with Olivia and I am rewarded.

Of course, by following my path to success I can only gurantee that you will get your child to actually wash her hands before she touches everything in the bathroom, but it is the small things, right?