How to be Smarter: You don’t make polite small talk with other people just to make their day better. You do it because it makes both your days better. Humans need other humans, and even just sharing a quick exchange about the song playing on the radio with the secretary at the dentist’s office can [...]
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How to be Smarter: Even when the day just seems average, or maybe even a little bad, I like to remind myself that the next email, or phone call, or encounter I have, could come with the best news ever. We all can be perpetually on the edge of the best day of our life, [...]
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Hope you have a million and one reasons to be thankful. Love, Molly
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How to be Smarter: It’s important to look at someone’s intentions before getting annoyed or angry. If someone’s intentions were kind but misguided, that deserves a different reaction than someone whose intentions were mean-spirited. How to be Prettier: A trim means different things to different stylists. Instead of asking for a trim, ask for a specific [...]
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How to be Smarter: A step everyday eventually equals a mile. If you can do one thing that will get you closer to your goal each day–just one thing–you will reach the goal. It might take seven days or it might take 70, but you will get there eventually if you keep stepping. How to [...]
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How to be Smarter: 25 Worst Passwords of 2011 (and how to create a better one). How to be Prettier: Getting your hair blown-out by a professional before a job interview can help you feel more confident in the interview. (And your hair will still look great when you go out later to celebrate your [...]
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How to be Smarter: Pretty much the most surefire way to prevent getting what you want is to refuse to ask for it. How to be Prettier: I think you can build a whole beauty (and life) philosophy around the idea that nobody ever looks worse when they smile. How to be (less) Awkward: It’s [...]
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How to be Smarter: If you enjoyed Bossypants as much as I did, then this Authors@Google video with Tina Fey is very enjoyable. How to be Prettier: I love the mixed-metal, sleek but quirky vibe of these earrings. (Which I’m wearing as I type this). How to be (less) Awkward: When you are throwing confetti, [...]
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How to be Smarter: Success in life isn’t really about being the smartest, it’s about being the sharpest. To stay sharp, remember as much as you can about everyone and everything, and always be looking for ways to find that edge or that shortcut no one else has thought of yet. How to be Prettier: [...]
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How to be Smarter: The only way I have found to conquer writer’s block is by following a simple rule: don’t get up from the chair until you have written something. You can always go back and revise what you wrote later, but you must write something before you can get up. And usually the something [...]
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How to be Smarter: If you rely too often on a band-aid solution for bigger problems, in time the quick-fix solution stops being a solution and starts becoming the problem. How to be Prettier: Keeping a pair of statement earrings tucked in your desk at work can help an outfit go from the office to an [...]
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How to be Smarter: The blogging community is a great place to start if you are interested in learning about a new topic, or want to apply some fresh ideas to your life. If you want to start eating better, find some blogs to love on healthy living. If you want to start saving better, [...]
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How to be Smarter: Today over on 40:20 Vision’s Flash Friday, check out tips and advice on the subject of cross-religion dating. How to be Prettier: Dress the part of the person you want to be, even if you are not quite that person yet. How to be (less) Awkward: Feeling confident in what you are [...]
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How to be Smarter: The song “Question” by The Old 97′s is presumably about a man getting ready to ask a woman to marry him. But I really like the line “Some day somebody’s gonna ask you/A question that you should say yes to/Once in your life.” That lyric applies to more than a marriage proposal: [...]
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How to be Smarter: I always think it’s about quality, not visibility or popularity. If I told you that you could meet one of the most popular musicians of this year, you would probably be interested. But you might actually be more excited about meeting a band with a much smaller following that you have [...]
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Smart Pretty and Awkward turns 35 months old today! Approximately 1700 tips later, thank you all so much for your support and readership. As always, I’m available via email (molly@smartprettyandawkward.com), and on Twitter, Facebook, or Tumblr. And, of course, Coffee with Molly, SP&A’s newsletter, turns 6 months old today. You can subscribe here to receive more content outside [...]
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