4 Excellent WSJ “Lifestyle” Articles
“Had It Up to HERE? Despite Risk, Some Say Quitting Is Way To Go” (subscription required) Tuesday August 14
One of the hardest decisions most of us face at some point is whether or not to quit a job we dislike. And we’ve all felt like Anne Marie McClaran:
‘I just wanted to turn around and take a swing at him. And I wanted to yell and scream at the top of my lungs. And I wanted to hurl my computer and my phone through the window.’
Ultimately Anne Marie decided “It doesn’t do me any good to have a secure future if I don’t have any future” and quit.
“When Kids Are Appreciative …. Not” (subscripton required) Sunday August 12
Because kids growing up middle or middle upper class today have never experienced real deprivation they don’t understand the sacrifices their parents make to provide for them monetarily. To be more blunt: the younger generation could be a little spoiled.
It can be frustrating for parents who do so much when their kids don’t understand what is being done for them.
“How Not To Kill Kids’ Love of Sport” (subscription required) Thursday August 9
Youth sports have gotten so competitive. It used to be that they were fun and paved the way for a lifetime of fun and fitness. But now parents and the culture as a whole is obsessed with winning. It can be a problem.
“Character Counts: Too often, we hire the person with the lowest price, or the most charisma. Then we get hustled” (subscription required) Monday July 9
So often when doing business with people we don’t get what we feel like we paid for. The price comes in higher than we were led to believe, the quality is poor, we can’t seem to get in touch with the person we hired, etc…
Ultimately competence and reputation only go so far. You also want to do business with people you trust. You want to leave them to do their work knowing they’ll do what they said for the price they said and that they will make decisions in your best interest.
In business as in life: nothing counts more than character.