In a column for Forbes, Samantha Smith discusses the concept of “Idea Commitment & Passion Management.”If you ever felt victimized by the competition of great ideas in your mind or wrangled over which career fantasy to nurture, then you’re in need of this concept. Smith outlines several things to consider when choosing what to focus on including:

• If you had to, how do you prioritize salary, mission, the type of people you work with, location?
• Think about the space you want to be working in 5, 10, and 20 years. Is this something that will put you on that track?
• Think about the skills you want to develop, things you want to own, what you want to be known for over the next years.
• Which of these ideas has the strongest team interested or already committed?
• Factor in your personal strengths, your network, and your knowledge.
• Is this idea a challenge you enjoy thinking about and working on? Is it something you wont be bored with in a few weeks or months?

Many of these considerations apply best to one’s immediate career. Reflecting on these considerations will help you hone in on an area that you’ll most likely sustain an investment. As for your other interests, Smith suggests that you use your free time to nurture your other interests and schedule those into your weekly routine.

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Source: typef.com

Everyone has a bad hair day. You wake up in the morning and your hair just won’t lay right. Of course, you need to be out the door to work, school, or an appointment and your hair is telling you that it doesn’t care about your timeliness. The frustration of bad hair days is real. But regardless of your hair type or texture there are some quick fixes that can help you navigate your hair’s bad timing.

thirstyroots.com

1. Keep it simple, bun it up.
Simplicity is key and a bun ‘do is the essential quick fix to a bad hair day, whether straight/relaxed or natural. Use a small amount of water to smooth the back of your hair into a ponytail, and spritz your hair with water (add a dash of essential oils to keep it healthy), and also smooth the hair down with your hands. If you have pressed your hair straight then obviously you want to stay away from the water; simply pull your hair back into a ponytail. Use a weighted cream, like whipped Shea butter, or gel to help smooth your hair down and tie a silk scarf around the front of your hair. Keep this on for as long as possible to smooth down your hair and create a sleek look. If your hair is long enough, you can pin your ponytail, with bobby pins, into a bun. If you need added length for the bun, use Marley hair (for the naturals) or jumbo brand Kanekalon hair (for the relaxed/straight), to pin down around your ponytail into a bun. Voila!

Source: http://store.ebonyline.com

2. The emergency wig
A definite essential is the go-to wig for when you’re in a crunch. Whether a half wig or lace front, having one wig that can help you out on a bad hair day is a great option. For a curly hair look, Creta Girl is a great half wig option for around $22 (depending where you buy it from). It’s a half wig that can be easily blended with your hair regardless of texture. The Tori lacefront wig by Freetress is a popular straight hair look that can save any bad hair day.

By Taylor Lea Thomas

Question:

Any suggestions for a formal vow renewal ceremony complete with bridesmaids and groomsmen and traditional wedding attire?

Taylor:

Dear Miss I-Love-You-So-Much-Let’s-Do-It-Again,

First, it’s always so wonderful to hear about marriages that are thriving. Wishing you many, many more blissful years of marriage! You are to be commended. When a marriage works, nothing on earth can take its place. As a wedding planner, I love hearing inspiring stories like yours. Congratulations to you both.

Overall Vow Renewal Theme: “I Still Do.”

I like the idea of redoing your original wedding in a modern way. For your invitations, create one that allows for two photos side by side: your original wedding photo, and a current photo of the two of you all these years later with the invitation wording beneath. On the original photo side, write a sweet caption, something like, “I vowed to love you for better or worse.” With that, add the original wedding date beneath. On the current photo side, you can also write the caption, “I did. I still do. And I’ll forever do,” with the date of your vow renewal ceremony beneath. You can also incorporate the number of years you’ve been married as part of the theme.

If you have children, have each of them read a special passage or a heartfelt letter to the both of you – this would be especially touching if done during the ceremony in place of the Officiant’s or Minister’s typical readings. During the reception, if you have video from your original wedding, before your first dance together, lower the lights in the room and allow the video to play of your original first dance. If you have no video but you have photos, a slideshow would be just as touching to play. Upon its conclusion, the lights can rise again revealing the both of you dressed in the same wedding attire (or modern versions of it), dancing to your original wedding song. If it’s possible to have your original guests attend, invite them too. If they can’t make it, perhaps have them send a short video in to offer their recollection as a guest at your original wedding and what it means now to see you both celebrating your love for each other once again. As a gift to each other, in your wedding bands, engrave “I Still Do.” The most precious possession that ever comes to a man in this world is a woman’s heart.  May you be inspired…

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Know people who spend their days at work, in your face talking about what they’re “going” to do one day? How they have all these big plans, million dollar ideas that are going to blow up big time? Isn’t it funny that those people are still, to this day, after all that talking, sitting next to you still working in the same cubicle? Well, it’s not so funny if that big talker and little walker is you.

Got a lot of great ideas but don’t know where to get started in making your dreams come true? Well our friends over at Black Enterprise say less is more. You shouldn’t be boasting about the plans you have if you can’t put them to action. When communicating with your bosses, or people you hope can help to take you to the next level, you shouldn’t sound like a mayoral candidate with a scroll full of promises. Keep quiet. Keep quiet with your plans until you’re able to start making something happen. If this is an issue for you, you’re definitely not alone.

To read more about what you should do to see more results and provide less chatter, check out what Janell Hazelwood has to say over at Blackenterprise.com.

If you want to start a company and are working on new ideas, here’s how I’ve always done it and how I recommend you do it.  Be the opposite of secretive.  Create a Google spreadsheet where you list every idea you can think, even really half-baked ones.  Include ideas you hear about (make sure you keep track of who had which idea so you can credit them/include them later).

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