Our Best Advice

HUMOR AND WORK

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 | Our Best Advice | No Comments

Having good HUMOR is part of doing great work on any job. Katherine Hepburn appreciated Cary Grant’s humor off screen as well as on. She spoke about Grant being so funny, and that he had a wonderful laugh. Hepburn said when you looked at Cary’s face it was full of a wonderful kind of laughter in the back of his eyes. Cary Grant was one of my most favorite clients. I’ll never forget that megawatt smile he turned on me when we met, which made me laugh, and he laughed right back. We enjoyed conversing and sharing our light heartedness with lots of spontaneous laughter. He made me feel as if there was nothing else in the world worth doing then our moment together (naturally, there wasn’t!). Grant was a wonderful flirt for the sake of having fun who really enjoyed making others happy. He knew that enjoying life was far more important then work, even through the tough times.

If you’re out of work during these transitional economic times make part of your daily yoga improving and refining yourself by watching old films. Model yourself after characters or actors you find inspirational.  Watching comedies in particular really helps. Everyone finds Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, irresistible. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a hilarious must.  Cary had an extraordinary presence that Louis Jordan characterized as an innate sense of the absurd. He was a master of the absurd, as if Grant had a secret that life was hilarious and he wanted it shared with everyone. It is! TIP for today, have a ready smile and sense of the absurd to bring out in others and yourself. Life is too crazy to be taken seriously, so smile and laugh to cure the madness.

We place people in jobs that require having a great attitude, a “can do anything” response to any task or job challenge as part of the job. Browse our ISA website  photo gallery page for some of our famous clients we took care of in the past. You will note how many had sensational smiles that promised life is magical. They didn’t get those smiles after becoming successful, rather, they had them before, which got them noticed more then other actors for the job while they were trying out the role. Because of their unwavering certainty that a job was right around the corner, they were always ready with a smile and easy laugh. Sometimes all you need is a good  laugh, particularly when you’re out of a job and concerned about working.

It is important for any candidate looking for employment to put out their best. Nothing engages other people faster then candidates who have a great attitude and open smile. Smile often during the interview, it’s memorable and shows you’re relaxed, ready to create a good impression. Regardless of how experienced or great your job background, others may have that too. What might set you apart could be your body language rather then what you say or talk about. Employers look for the chemistry to be there for who makes them feel most comfortable, not just your skills and experience. While you’re describing your experience, job-skills, and top references they’re also checking out how you greet them, sit in the chair, handle yourself with questions they ask or ones you inquire about, how you say goodbye and leave the room. So much is communicated without any language at all. If interviewing with the business manager, personal assistant, or estate manager, they want to feel you’ll be great to add as part of the client’s employee team.

If you catch yourself worrying day of the interview practice letting go of your “self” and instead think of the other people you will meet as experiencing your good will, regardless of whether you get the job or not. The first sign of a true professional is being ready to spread your good energy for others to enjoy. Over the years we’ve learned that those who have an open ready and happy smile always do better on interviews.

As with smiling, laughter attracts friends, helps get jobs, improves your health, and extends life, among other good things humor brings. Take laughter seriously and smile more! Research shows that people who laugh or smile, even when they don’t feel especially happy, make part of the “happy zone” in the brain’s left hemisphere surge with electrical activity. It is now known that smiles and laughter moves brain activity towards spontaneous happiness. Laughter increases oxygen in the blood, which not only helps healing and improves circulation it also expands the blood vessels close to the skin’s surface (and why we turn red when laughing hard). It can also lower the heart rate, dilate the arteries and burns up calories, or if underweight stimulates appetite.

Use laughter readily to infuse your body with joy, healing, and job preparedness. Try to watch a funny movie the night before an interview to put you into the mood. And if something happens the day of your interview to cause you feeling down, or anxious about getting the job, have a sense of the absurd to help generate that beaming smile.  If you don’t get the job, remember that despite any disappointments, there’s always a new day around the corner with new possibilities just for you! The universe is overflowing with joy to fill us up, so spread your smile and laughter and fill up some more.

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HAPPY SPRING!

Serving Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Torrance, Hancock Park, Laurel Canyon, Los Feliz, Marina Del Rey, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Melrose. Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, Woodland Hills, Topanga Canyon, Westwood, Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, San Mareno, Santa Barbara, Orange County, Ventura County, California, New York, & the greater United States…

Our Best Advice has been brought to you by www.ISAstaffing.com, renowned Best of The Best in Household Work and Domestic Help staffing. Visit often for other great ideas, use our Tell A Friend featured link to this blog, and our Domestic Staffing website to pass our HOT TIPS and renowned services. THANKS!

Tags: Best, Business Manager, Cary Grant, Clients, Employee, Employer, Estate Manager, Gallery, Happiness, Happy, Health, Hilarious, Humor, Interviews, Jobs, Katherine Hepburn, laughter, Personal Assistant, Professional, Smile

HOT TEA – Tips and History

Thursday, April 16th, 2009 | Our Best Advice | No Comments

Many of the potential health advantages of TEA are well known in the East and West after thousands of years of consumption. Wars, intrigue, theft, and subterfuge are all part of the history related to tea and its value to the world economy which began long ago with trade routes in ancient times. Some of us are coffee drinkers and it too has beneficial properties. Today we concentrate on TEA although I won’t cover ones that are commonly known. Our TIP is to have tea preferably using varieties that provide greater health benefits  you’ve never tried before. In China there are hundreds if not thousands varieties of tea. Practically every Chinese town has its special variety the people consume all day daily. A pot of tea is kept brewing handy, ready to be imbibed the way we’ve become obsessed with drinking bottled water. However, the Chinese have a longer lifespan then ours, as does Japan, both nations drinking mostly tea. We must consider that too much water may not give us the best benefits and switch some of that hydration to tea. Tea is known for so many benefits it’s difficult to narrow down into catagories. Most known is life extension providing antioxidants, and its digestive aid, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties have been widely used in Eastern medicine for millennia. In India, Tulsi tea (a basil different then our domestic variety) has been widely known for its health-promoting properties — for body, mind, and spirit over 5000 years. Commonly called “sacred” or “holy basil,” Tulsi is a principle herb of Ayurveda, India’s ancient holistic health system. Ayurveda means “knowledge of life” — with herbs lying at the very heart of Ayurvedic practice. The company Organic India sells Organic Tulsi Teas you might wish to sample for a new tea experience.

Support your memory function*

Promote your heart health*

Boost your immune system*

Slow down the signs of normal aging*

Promote your healthy vision*

Relax your body and mind*

One of my favorite Chinese Teas is GREAT WHITE TEA, which is more of a gray colored tea leaf then white. Only the tips are harvested for the most benefit and must be gathered solely at certain times of year. A strict following that produces the best flavor and maintains its beneficial reputation. Due to the relatively small amount of processing that the Great White undergoes, it retains most of the chemical compounds naturally found in the leaf.  This means that, among all varieties of tea, white teas have the highest levels of antioxidants and other nutrients that benefit the body.  It has also been shown to be the most effective to help fight the signs of aging, which is why you are starting to see it in many creams and spa treatments.

When steeped, the Great White is a mostly clear infusion (thus called a “white tea” due to its lack of color) with a subtle, lingering fragrance and a sweet, floral taste. This is why  they call it “peony” after the flower. It is devoid of astringency or grassy flavor.  Due to its subtle qualities, the Great White is excellent both as a light, refreshing iced tea and a soothing low caffeine hot tea. Picked only between March 15th and April 10 due to processing reasons (yes, it’s that specific!), and never when it is raining or there is frost, the Great White is a product of only the top two leaves and a bud of the Narcissus tea plant. Thus, they are the newest leaf and could be called “baby tea leaves”. Our TIP is to try these two varieties which you can add honey, Stevia, organic sugar, or whatever you prefer, and my favorite to drink it gently steeped as is. Just remember that if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medication, consult with your doctor first and never give these teas to babies (under two). If giving to children you can dilute tea with more water added to taste, mixed with a sweetener of your choice. For those who are diehard coffee drinkers, my TIP is to try tea for variety in your life and alternate between the two. I do like a cup of good coffee too but many will note they feel more relaxation benefits from tea whereas coffee can be too stimulating even if it’s decaf. Tell A Friend about our TIPS.

HAPPY SPRING!

Serving Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Torrance, Hancock Park, Laurel Canyon, Los Feliz, Marina Del Rey, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Melrose. Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, Woodland Hills, Topanga Canyon, Westwood, Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, San Mareno, Santa Barbara, Orange County, Ventura County, California, New York, & the greater United States…

Our Best Advice has been brought to you by www.ISAstaffing.com, renowned Best of The Best in Household Work and Domestic Help staffing. Visit often for other great ideas, use our Tell A Friend featured link to this blog, and our Domestic Staffing website to pass our HOT TIPS and renowned services. THANKS!

Tags: Ayurveda, Basil, benefits, Body Mind Spirit, bottled water, CHEFS, Coffee, Domestic Help, Great White, Health, Herbs, Japanese, Jobs, life extension, Longevity, organic, Our Best Advice, Relaxation, TEA, TIPS, Tulsi