With the US unemployment rate slowing creeping down from 10%, I’m seeing many clients with unemployment and underemployment on their minds. Worse, conventional techniques for job-hunting seem to be less effective as time wears on. But I’ve found there are new, less-conventional approaches that can help put job-seekers back in the game.

You might want them to see the self-defeating and other-harming consequences of their behavior, but the fact is many disturbed characters already see, they just disagree.

In almost every social circle, there’s at least one busybody who habitually sticks his or her nose where it doesn’t belong and someone else who is oblivious to what’s right in front of them. If only we all could learn to say “that’s not my problem” at just the right time.

What do misbehaving toddlers, out-of-control rock stars, and sleazy online vendors all have in common? They’re all depending on the same psychological principle to keep themselves in the limelight.

One of the most insidious ways to lie is to report a series facts that are technically accurate but nonetheless don’t tell the “whole story” — a practice which modern politics has elevated to an art form. But the real tragedy lies in how numb and indifferent we have become with regard to this kind of behavior.

Seeking connections with others is an innate human drive, and having a strong social network of friends and loved ones has clear health benefits. But in a fragmented world, is ‘connectedness’ too much to hope for?

Smiling can actually add years to your life, counteracting the effects of stress, alleviating pain, lowering blood pressure, and boosting the immune system.