Want to Build Self-Confidence? Strike a Power Pose

Harvard researcher and author Amy Cuddy lives in a world where people spontaneously pose like Wonder Woman when they encounter her. Her email inbox is stuffed with stories from strangers detailing how she helped them get the part, job, promotion, date and much more. Her celebrity is largely due to the 2012 TED Talk she gave […]

Charting a Course for Family Giving

Affluent families have long supported the notion of giving back to society as a way of expressing appreciation for their good fortune. Nurturing a tradition of family giving — of both assets and time — may bring a family closer together and develop a shared value system that can be passed down to future generations. Identifying Your […]

Why Organic Farming is a Top Choice for Socially Conscious Investors

Sometimes, investing in the stock market can feel so nebulous — where is your money really going and how is it being used? Dave Miller, a former finance and real estate executive, started seriously pondering those questions about a decade ago after he purchased some farmland in Iroquois County, Illinois. He converted the land to […]

Does Change Stress You Out? How to Reframe Life Transitions

You’re being transitioned. I’m in transition. The word “transition” has taken on a negative connotation in the American vernacular as something imposed or forced — beyond one’s control. In the movie “Up in the Air,” George Clooney plays a suited shark who fires people for a living. He forces people out of their livelihood with […]

Mesirow Financial’s New Strategy: Make Money While You Change the World

Steven Mesirow, grandson of Norman Mesirow, founder of the eponymous Chicago-based financial firm, is honoring the values he inherited from his grandfather in an innovative way. Mesirow says his grandfather espoused three key management principles: Be good to your employees; Treat your customers how you would like to be treated; Give back to your community. […]

The Surprising Way You're Hurting Your Kid’s GPA

If you want your children to do well in college, the answer may lie not in what you give them — but in what you withhold. A recent study found that as parental financial support increases, students’ GPAs often decrease. University of California, Merced sociology professor Laura Hamilton, who conducted the study, says that when parents […]

4 Tips for a Strong Financial Year Ahead

A new year brings new opportunities to evaluate your financial habits and create goals for the coming year. Ensure you’re beginning 2016 on the right financial foot with these tips:  1. Make smart goals. We know you’re not making dumb goals, but truly smart goals are: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timely For example, instead of […]

26 Poems to Help You Celebrate Poetry at Work Day

What better way to celebrate Poetry at Work Day (Jan. 12) than with reading poems about – you guessed it – work! We asked our poetically immersed friends at The Poetry Foundation to recommend some poetry of this ilk. What follows are 26 poems about the ups, downs and in-betweens we experience in pursuit of a living. Honoring […]

Should You Donate Your Car to Charity?

Is donating your car the best idea? Do good by donating your old car to charity. That’s what the charities tell you. But the reality is that you might do better selling your car to a used car dealer or to a junkyard and donating that money to charity. Here are the pros and cons […]