attn:money » motivation

Insensitive advice

Ken Kaye — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:15:08 +0000

Here’s an example of bad ADD advice to a 25-year-old college grad who sounds like his ADD (which may be the cause of his depression, or an additional problem) has paralyzed him with regard to work and money. The advice columnist, Salon’s Cary Tennis, is apparently clueless about adult ADD as well as arrogant in his [...]

Motivate, Teach, Support

Ken Kaye — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:44:24 +0000

“How much do you need?” a father played by Jason Robards in the movie Parenthood asks his hapless son (Tom Hulce), with a look that says “… you worthless, disappointing, lying bum”—while reaching into his pocket.

As a psychologist as well as a father, I wanted a way to communicate exactly the opposite. A way to give my sons and daughters the consistent message, “You’re worthy, you’re capable of succeeding, I love you, and we’re going to help you.” A system that helps by teaching them to fish rather than merely handing them a wad of fish.

Believing I Could Do the Job

Nick Kaye — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:53:09 +0000

My first job in the adult world was a summer job when I was sixteen, in the main offices of Ameritech. I got hired to work on their website, only because my brother was the head of that department. My boss, who was about forty years old, reported to my twenty-eight-year-old brother, which made me even more nervous. The first day, the guy handed me a four hundred page operations manual with a million tabs all down the side, in a binder, and told me to make an exact replica of the thing.