‘Life’ Articles

Why am I stuck in Memphis? I’ve been in four airports in the past 24 hours, which is how long I’ve been trying to get home to Colorado. I started in Fayetteville, North Carolina yesterday at lunch after an amazing day at Ft. Bragg speaking to soldiers (I got to try on the parachute uniforms of the mighty Golden Knights – don’t I look dorky?). But my flight left three hours late, so I missed my connection in Atlanta. I went to Atlanta anyway, because there aren’t many flights out of Fayetteville and I couldn’t picture myself staying in the 100 degree heat and 42,000% humidity for an entire weekend.

In Atlanta, I unsuccessfully stood by for three flights, all of which were closed to those of us with no mileage status on Delta. (Insight: I’ve gained a deep and bitter empathy with all of those travelers who don’t get the status perks we spoiled business travelers normally enjoy – flying as part of the herd humbles you like a lame dog left behind by the pack.) So Delta finally agreed to put me up in the Best Western. But the Best Western van (last of the night at 12 midnight) didn’t have any seats left, so I had to ride with the luggage in the back of the van.

Since you can’t protect yourself 100% from identity theft, make sure that you Monitor the Signs! Heading into a new year people make many resolutions that they may or make not stick with, but protecting your identity should always be a top priority. Here are 3 effective tips to help discover and recover quickly if you become the victim of identity theft:

1. Create a Dossier – A dossier is a collection of documents that are stored in a fire-safe and that you regularly review and update. It is a paper summary of your identity as the outside world sees it (businesses, organizations and governments). It is made up of several key documents: your credit report, bank and credit card statements, Social Security statement, wallet photocopies and your password list. Virtually any of your vital documents could be included in your dossier as well (birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc.). A dossier is a place where you can quickly access a complete record of your vital information in case your identity is stolen and you will have the necessary account and phone numbers at hand to cancel credit cards, bank accounts and to file credit disputes. And you can do it quickly.

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

That is the best way to Think Like A Spy and be alert of Social Engineers that are trying to manipulate you.  With such a gloomy economy and many people without work, offers for fast cash and huge discounts become more and more attractive. Most of these Identity Theft cases use the technique of Social Engineering.

Social Engineering is the act of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information by playing on their human emotions. The term typically applies to deception for the purpose of information gathering, fraud, or computer system access; in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victim. These days most thieves can nab your identity over the phone, mail, email, and through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

While some schemes scam you into giving out social security numbers, bank account numbers or other confidential identity pieces, others are as simple as a pickpocket distracting you emotionally while another thief steals your wallet or purse. Here are what a few of the most widely used savvy cyber attacks look like:

• Phony charitable phishing scams, many of which are designed to look as if they come from real charities. Always enter in the exact URL for the Charity that you wish to donate to rather than clicking on a link.

I had an amazing experience last week. I was lucky enough to share the stage with the very energetic Suze Orman (thus the self-promoting image to the left) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. But Suze Orman wasn’t the amazing part, despite being a very dynamic woman. And I wasn’t the amazing part.

Our Warriors in Transition were the amazing part. They are in transition because they’ve sacrificed their limbs and eyesight and hearing and sanity and dignity defending our country in Afghanistan or Iraq. And it was the honor of a lifetime to meet some of them.

Talking with these wounded soldiers changed the way I look at the daily problems I have. To summarize Nando Parrado, one of the “Alive” survivors, comparing his life now to 30 years ago when his rugby team crashed in the Andes, I don’t have problems, I have issues. Surviving 72 winter days at 14,000 feet with no food while those around you are dying from a plane crash, frostbite and starvation? That’s a problem. Returning from a tour of duty with no legs, no job and night terrors? Problems. Facing everyday issues like looming project deadlines, stock declines and even unemployment? Issues, and nothing more.

We are obsessed with finding and leveraging our strengths, and it makes us boring.

For example, Marcus Buckingham, an intelligent, dynamic and well-spoken best selling author (with a lot of strengths), tells us to Go Put our Strengths to Work. One of his premises, as discussed in his article What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differntly, is Imbalance. In discussing why more women are less happy than ever, he says it’s because they are too focused on balance:

… when you are balanced, you are stationary, holding your breath, trying not to let any sudden twitch or jerk pull you too far one way of the other. You are at a standstill. Balance is the wrong life goal. Instead, do as these women [the self-proclaimed “happiest” ones in his survey) did, and strive for imbalance. Pinpoint the strong-moments in each aspect of your life and then gradually tilt your life toward them.

In other words, do the things that make you feel good and get rid of the things that don’t. It strikes me that things like growth, risk, failure, mistakes, and heartache add a richness to life that can’t be had by staying permanently transfixed in your comfort zone. I think Marcus needs to get out of his intellectual zip code. Not everyone’s definition of success includes the word MORE or BETTER.