Psychiatrist and business consultant and best-selling author Mark Goulston, MD (www.markgoulston.com) recently sent me a pre-press copy of his new book, Just Listen, looking for my feedback. His advice about how to get through to hard-to-reach people was very powerful, but what really caught my eye was chapter 11, "Steer Clear of Toxic People."

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I had an interesting debate with Josh Moritz, managing partner of Customer Growth, a marketing company in Westport, CT. His high school-age son started downloading his books for English from the town library's web site to listen to on his MP3 player rather than sit down and do the actual reading.

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Anyone feeling depressed about the US economy should spend some time with someone who moved here from another country. I am writing this immediately after an incredible conversation with the manager at the Budget Rent-a-Car near my office (I rented a car while my own car was being repaired.) The manager emigrated from Pakistan and is now a naturalized American citizen. Our conversation started with my feedback on how the car drove (I wasn't keen on it -- idled fast, but slow pickup).

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Sometimes the silliest -- and least sophisticated -- things can make a difference.  At dinner recently, Allen Klein, author of The Healing Power of Humor, shared this playful exercise to dispel tension.  We were talking about traffic in New York City, but it can be used any time you're stuck with absolutely no ability to change the situation, or simply want to dig yourself out of an emotional rut...

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I've been struggling to figure out what to write about today, and then it hit me. Or, rather, I hit it. Driving home the other day, I hit a stop sign. It was situated in a stupid place (in the center of the crosswalk), but I was more stupid to hit it. It's an intersection I'd driven through many times before. As I turned, the sign fell into a blind spot (where the windshield meets the car frame)...

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