What's a little thing someone noticed about you or did for you that made you happy?Michelle Hozey, WriterWritten Sep 16

One day, I received a text from this guy I'd been talking to for a while. He said, “I've decided that we're going to lunch on Tuesday.”

Well.

What could I say, besides “okay”?

We met at a cute little sandwich shop where I ordered a loaded panini and then proceeded to scrape off the tomatoes while we chatted.

“Why didn't you just order it without the tomatoes?” he asked.

“I always forget.” I shrugged.

A few weeks later, he invited me to have lunch with him in the park. He brought sandwiches from our favorite little shop.

I unwrapped my sandwich, then opened it up to pick off the tomatoes.

Much to my delight, the panini was tomato-free.

I may or may not have gotten a little misty-eyed as I said, “Awwww! No tomatoes! You remembered!”

“Are you crying?” he asked, with a grin.

I rubbed my eyes and blamed it on allergies.

He didn't think it was a big deal that he remembered, but I thought it was the sweetest thing ever.

Nine years later, I still forget to order my sandwiches without tomatoes, but he always remembers. That's why he's the designated sandwich orderer.

What are things that teachers do that students might not know about?Mohammed Wong, studied at I Am Almost Exclusively Potty Trained.Written Sep 16

I had a drop-dead-gorgeous English teacher in high school who would, at the final bell, run down the steps of the main entrance to the curb, throw her leather bag of books and paperwork into the back seat and leap into the front seat of her boyfriend’s red Mustang convertible without opening the door. The boyfriend would then “lay rubber,” as we used to say, squealing the tires out of the parking lane into the street. What our teacher and her boyfriend did when they got to wherever they went was the subject of endless, painful speculation on our part.

What is the one sign you will be wealthy?

We all have different goals, but I think you will agree that most people want to gain material wealth. But few who do think deeply about how they will make it happen. So, do you know the one sign that you will be financially wealthy? ONLY 1. NOT A TON

Benjamin Davis, Working towards Early Retirement: fromcentstoretirement.comUpdated Dec 27

I mentioned on Quora a study I conducted myself, by interviewing millionaires around the physical location where I am planning on retiring. Here are some good hints:

• You accept delayed gratification. You accept the fact you won’t be rich overnight.
• You can’t accept to have money just sitting in the bank, i.e. not generating more more money.
• You find yourself finding it awkward that your account manager does not understand inflation.
• You are more receptive to invest your money to gain more money than keeping it stopped so that you don’t lose it.
• You think about how much money your favourite restaurant makes, when you go there to eat.
• You understand that money is a tool and you don’t desire money, you desire cash flow.
• You find it so much better to open you own business than working for somebody else.
• You educate yourself financially (here’s a good list of Books).

What is the best advice your mother ever gave you?Do you feel it has benefited you as an adult?
I used to joke that the best advice my mother ever gave me was to never do my deep-fat frying in the nude.  But joking aside, I think the very best advice I ever got from anyone, mother included, was simply that you cannot change other people, you can only change your REACTION to other people.  This advice is put to use by me on an almost daily basis, as I encounter one situation after another wherein I would do something completely different or choose a radically different option than what I see others take.  What is the best advice you were ever given and in what ways has it added to your success in life?Abraham Schneider, My parents have been married for thirty-three years now and radiate happinessWritten Aug 3 · Upvoted by Michelle Callard-Stone, Behavioral Psychologist. PhD.

My mom was giving me a haircut. This was back in high school, and I had just started dating this girl I was absolutely crazy about. Stay-up-all-night-thinking-about-her crazy. I was very open with my parents about my dating life, because they had been married twenty-five years (at that point) and radiated happiness, and what I wanted most was what they had.

So I asked her a question: “Mom, do you think you enjoyed being married more when you first got married, or do you enjoy it more now?”

My mom takes all questions with gravity and consideration. The hair clippers stopped for a long time. Then she said: “You know, a marriage is like a river. When it first starts out, it can be quite fierce. There are so many rocks and turbulence. Whitewater stretches where you can be holding on for dear life. And that’s exciting. When your dad and I were first married, I loved how everything was a new adventure. There was so much discovery. But as you keep going down the river, the channel cuts deeper, and the current flows more smoothly and stronger. I have to say that I love my marriage so much more now that I’m sailing on a deep current.”

She could be a poet on the spot, my mom. I remember this almost word for word, and as I’ve gone through life, in tough times I recall these words and remember that life is long, and that good things are worth sticking with, because in ten and twenty and fifty years, they will be deep currents I cannot imagine at this moment.

How can I improve my public speaking skills?Dushka Zapata, Avid learner.Written May 28, 2016 · Featured in Inc

I do presentation training for a living.

In the years that I have done this I have noticed a theme.

People feel they are not presenting well because they are not good presenters.

Instead, people are not presenting well because the content of their presentation is disconnected from who they are.

The presentation, for example, has been done over and over so their brain is on automatic.

If your brain is on automatic you are going through the motions but are not really there.

How can you demand from yourself that you be a good presenter for something you are not present for?

Another common example to this same point: the slides were copied and pasted from other presentations, so there is a lack of cohesion and order.

If I was in front of a large group of people and my slides were barely hanging together I would not feel comfortable either.

Another example: the presenter is making claims or promises on behalf of their company and they are not in full agreement or don’t feel like they are telling the truth.

Or, they are using “marketing-speak” and don’t feel like what they are saying makes sense or is accurate.

How can you connect with a presentation if you don’t believe in the words that are coming out of your mouth?

How can you “connect with your audience” if you yourself are unplugged?

For me, the best part about presentation training is that it is a metaphor for life.

The way you present will change if you, instead of being on automatic, wake up.

If you take responsibility for what you say.

If you, rather than forcing yourself to be like someone else, step fully into the person you already are.

What is a polite way to say 'none of your business' when people ask nosy questions?Annie Sumner, I managed as many as 185 teenagers daily for over ten years.Written Nov 30

Years ago when I was pregnant, people I barely knew would ask me the most invasive questions!

Like, “Aren’t you a little old to be pregnant?” Or “How much weight have you gained?” Or “What will you name it if it’s a girl/boy?” Or “So that’s what you and Gil did in Hawaii!” followed by a snigger.

So one day the answer came popping out and I have used it in many circumstances since then, and yes, it is rude but so are the questions: “I’m flattered that you think you know me well enough to ask such a personal question” followed by a polite look and a direct gaze at the offender.

Most people giggled nervously and found somewhere else to be.

Why isn't Microsoft Office free?Apple gives away their equivalent software for free.Mark Harrison, IT Consultant, once and future CTOWritten Nov 24, 2015Consider the two options.

• Coffee - $5 a cup.
• Coffee - Free with every $100 of gasoline.

If you sell petrol, and want to give away stuff to make people buy your petrol rather than someone else's, then you can offer "free coffee."

If you run a coffee shop that doesn't sell petrol, you probably want to charge for your coffee.

Should I work harder or enjoy life more?

I am a 23 year old guy and lately l am stuck with this question in my mind, wondering if I should spend more time foucing on building my skills and studying to become successful. Or Should I spend more time with friends, go to parties and spend money on vaccations, in short I live the momoent.

Dushka Zapata, Things don't go as planned. That's the best part.Written 5 Sep 2016

I had the same question.

Here is what I did to answer it.

I asked myself what my superpower was (we all have one, you know.)

What was it that I loved doing the most?

That thing that I could do all day without getting bored or tired?

What gives me the "where does the time go" Feeling?

To answer these questions, I took my time.

Today, I do that for a living.

It never feels like work, so I don't have to choose.

What is the most useful skill I can develop in 3 months?

I am 17 and finished high school last year.I spent the last 7 months travelling and now    I have three months of free time. I'd like to learn something that could eventually lead to some income and/or be  useful for the rest of my life, in any way.Thanks in advance for your answer !

Brian Woody, Constant student, always teaching myself new things.Written Apr 13, 2016

There is a great Ted Talk you might be interested in:

Three months is more than enough time to not only experiment with different skills, but to actually learn them to a fair degree. You could conceivably learn around 12 new skills during that time at a lazy pace, or around 24 with the same time commitment as a full-time job (40 hours per week).

That said, I would highly recommend the skill of "learning how to learn". Consider it the compound interest of education. Focusing on it this early in life will allow you to learn new things more easily and more fully for the rest of your life!

She also has a book (How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra): Barbara Oakley: 9780399165245: Amazon.com: Books) (don't be thrown off by the title; it's literally her Ted Talk in book form), and a free Coursera class (https://www.coursera.org/learn/l...).

Along the same lines, did you know that you can train your own memory like any other skill? Imagine how fast you could learn new subjects if you could memorize foreign language vocabulary, the periodic table, or geographical facts instantly with little effort! For that, you'll want to read Amazon.com: Remember Everything You Want and Manage the Rest: Improve Your Memory and Learning, Organize Your Brain, and Effectively Manage Your Knowledge eBook: Helmut Sachs: Kindle Store

and

The Memory Book: The Classic Guide to Improving Your Memory at Work, at School, and at Play.

Finally, mental math is a skill that will come in handy for the rest of your life. For this, you'll want to read Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician's Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks, Arthur Benjamin, Michael Shermer (and can generate practice problems at Math Worksheet Generator).

With those three skills under your belt, there's really no limit to how far you'll be able to go in your chosen field. Good luck!

[Edit] As far as actual business-applicable skills go, there are three that have proven to be invaluable in my own life: Photoshop, Excel, and programming. If you can learn those three, you can do anything.

How will my life change if I do 200 push-ups every day?

Jonathan Orr-Stav, After half a century, beginning to get the hang of it...

Updated Jan 2 · Upvoted by Rehan Khan, Form...