Should I Lie In Social Situations?

I’m a 26 year old guy with Autism. A friend of mine introduced me to your site and I have been enjoying your articles- Thank you.

In many social interactions I run into, I find myself asking the question: “Should I lie like everyone else, or should I be honest and truly help them…or in most cases hurt their feelings.” … Sometimes I get asked questions for advice by a friend or something and I really try to help them with the situation where instead of getting help…they are just wanting to share with me. I obviously miss this most of the time and I have gone so far as to say, “Well do you really want my honest opinion of this?” Anyway, I’m not sure if I asked a question in there or if you get what I’m trying to communicate. I would just like some help with this situation.

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Workaholic Boss

What if your boss is a workaholic. Is it worth trying to make him love you?

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Business Idea: Help People be Creative

I´m an ex creative director. I worked in advertising for many years and then had to leave the agency life because I was unable to combine it with parenting.

Now that I go to playdates I´m quite horrified of the lack of creativity that I find in most homes. I strongly believe that creativity thinking should be a compulsory subject in any school, specially nowadays. We know that academic results won´t translate into success and our kids will have to invent their careers, and yet we put them in front of the tv or give them toys that are all but inspiring or challenging.

I want to start a business to teach creativity thinking in schools. I also would like to teach directly to families ( I would visit them, talk about their values etc, play with the kids for a while to understand their personalities and then give them a bunch of tools and info they could use to improve their creativity skills).

What do you think about it? Any advice, ideas…? I´ve never started a business so I´m quite clueless of where to start.

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I Need a Manageable Workload

Do 9-to-5 jobs exist anymore? If so, in what industries? What type of jobs should I be looking for? I’m a proposal writer, and I moved from a Fortune 100 company to a non-profit in an effort to find more work/life balance. But I’m still have more projects than I can do on under 50 hours per week. Any advice on what I’m doing wrong?

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Can You Coach My Wife?

I read your blog all the time. I saw at one point that you mentioned you do career coaching but don’t really advertise it.

As I read your blog, I see in so many ways reflections of my wife, except for her extreme introversion. I was wondering if you’d be willing to potentially work with me to work with her (with the goal of eventually having her talk to you directly) because she’s reticent to seek this sort of help herself.

As a little additional background, she’s 29, an INTJ, possibly with undiagnosed Aspergers, though probably on the milder end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, though you seem to have navigated particular difficult parts of your life by having a friend or two to give you advice at crucial times, she has had so many failed interpersonal relationships (especially with medical professionals or so-called ‘experts’ whom she already knew more than) she has become nearly incapable of seeking or asking for help. She feels she has no practical skills and only chases after fairly un-challenging jobs that cater to neither her abilities, nor interests; eventually leaving her emotionally and psychologically drained.

If this sounds like something you are willing or able to help with, I’d love to hear back.

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Am I Revealing Too Much?

How often does Facebook/Twitter and other social networking tools hinder your chances of landing/keeping a job? I know that more and more businesses are searching prospective employees on Facebook prior to interviews. What kind of information should you keep from the public eye?

I would like to continue to be an active social networker but I am finding it increasingly more difficult. Do the pros outweigh the cons for the average user?

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Career Paths for Engineers

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I’m an engineer with aspirations for making it to the top of the management pile at my 6000-person company.

Right now I’m in an amazing opportunity where I’m working directly with a vice president as his assistant.

How do I capitalize on this opportunity? What can I do to help launch myself from this point? I’ve done great things to get here, but I want to keep the momentum going.

My other question is do I need an MBA? Do you need a second masters degree to be promoted up the ladder? Or will my experience and abilities get me there? What if I want to move to another company, do I need an MBA?

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Using Social Media to Network

I’m writing an article for Real Simple magazine. Can you send me a few points about how to use social media to network more effectively?

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Turning a Blog into a Book

I’m writing a white paper about how bloggers become authors. Since you have done this yourself, could you answer a few questions for me?

1. What’s the biggest difference between writing a blog or blog posts and writing a book?

2. Many bloggers think writing a book makes them rich and famous. Certainly that can happen, but what is the reality of what a book can or will do for your career and/or finances?

3. If you could share three things a blogger should do to get ready to write a book — even if just level setting expectations — what would those things be?

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Funding for Non-Tech Companies

I am trying to get a startup funded, but high tech seems a lot easier to get funding for. I am interested in the fashion industry and I think it is harder to get funding.

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