When I’m suffering a slump or need a break, I like listening to music from ‘Playing for Change’—an organisation that is “built on the belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome the differences that divide us.

Here’s ‘The Weight‘—a delightful tune written by Robbie Roberson.

It doesn’t cease to move me. Do you feel the same?

Interested in the lyrics? Take a look here.

People still seem to be a bit insecure as to how to start an email.

Business writing has changed over the years. This means that rules aren’t as strict as they used to be.

You might like to replace those formal greetings (also called ‘salutations’) like “Dear Mr Miles” with the more informal “Dear Charles” or “Hello Charles” or even “Hi Charles”.

Of course, if you’re replying to an email, you can just use the greeting the writer has used. That way you’re playing safe!

Watch my 1-minute video on the topic:

I arrived in Germany on a Friday. And I started my very first ‘real’ job on the following Monday.

And although I was the first person at the bus stop early on the Monday morning, I was the last person on the bus.

So what happened?

I stood directly behind the bus stop, as I had always done at home. Nobody came to stand behind me. Some people stood near the bus stop, some further away. 

You can imagine how shocked I was when the bus stopped some metres away from me, and everyone just rushed into the bus to take their seats. 

I felt really bad. But we have a saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them”.

So it was a lesson learnt. 

But I still secretly wish that people here would learn how to queue properly. 

Perhaps they should all listen to William Hanson and Emmy Kenny on the BBC Breakfast Show!

“People don’t resist change; they resist being changed.”
Peter Senge

If people resist being changed, how can we motivate them to embrace it?

A little food for thought today!

It might be an interesting exercise for you to tell your story in exactly 100 words.

Do you think you could do it?

Warby Parker, an American online retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, based in New York City, did—as you can see here.

Test your general knowledge with Merriam-Webster’s quiz, and learn some interesting things along the way.

You have 15 seconds to answer each question. The faster you answer, the higher your score. The harder the question, the higher your score.

You’ll get 10 questions, but once you’ve completed the quiz, you can play again. 

Have fun!