Although homeownership doesn’t make good financial sense for everyone, some experts say you may be qualified to purchase real estate without realizing it.

“Factor in today’s very low interest rates and current home prices, and affordable mortgages are within reach for many qualified borrowers who may have been hesitant to enter the market,” says Christina Boyle, senior vice president and head of single-family sales and relationship management at Freddie Mac.

After receiving your application, along with the required paycheck stubs, W-2s, bank statements and tax returns, lenders will evaluate the four Cs:

• Capacity: Your income, employment history, savings, and monthly debt payments — such as credit card charges and other financial obligations — help lenders determine whether you have the means to take on a mortgage comfortably.

• Capital: The money and savings you have on hand, plus investments, properties, and other salable assets.

• Collateral: The value of the home that you plan to buy.

• Credit: Your bill- and debt-paying record.

More loan application tips can be found at myhome.freddiemac.com.

“You have choices, so interview lenders to compare costs,” says Boyle, who also recommends getting the process started early. “Getting pre-approved for a loan can help you shop with confidence.”

(StatePoint)

How would you like to spend 2016 as contented and centered as your dog?

As a psychotherapist, I spend a lot of time dealing with people and our big-brained problems. On most issues, like how to create a telephone that uses 3D touch to show birds catapulting into pigs, we are just brilliant. But we leave a lot to be desired in such areas as how to deal with each other, and how to live…those “human” quandaries!

So a few years back, I started watching my dog, Shirelle, to see how she avoids these problems. And I’ve tried to pass on what I’ve learned.

Now, many people have this idea, that you should only improve your lives once a year, when the calendar changes. A dog would say that’s crazy. If Shirelle found an imperfection in her squirrel-chasing technique in March, she wouldn’t wait ten months to adjust it – but oh well, that’s what makes us human.

Below, I’ve shared some key life lessons for us sapiens as we embark on 2016. Not to improve you so much, as to just make you happier – which, of course, is what dogs crave to their cores.

1. A few more times a day, forget that you have a past and a future.
Wise people will tell you to “live in the moment.” Pooches do that all the time; that’s why no dog ever needed a yoga class. But let’s face it – our jumbo-tron brains are too powerful not to constantly refocus on tomorrow, next summer, and yesterday.

However, we can pause that time-traveling, for moments. Try checking in right now. Treat this second as the only point that exists. What do you have, what do you need (right now, not for dinner or your retirement), what feels good, what hurts? And once you’re done, go back to your regular mind.

Try this a few times a day. If you already do it, add a few more and just see how it resets you.

2. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes, more.
Even the least selfish person often has trouble relating to others. How many of us sing about brotherhood, but the second we click onto our beloved social media, rant that anyone who disagrees with us about a tax rate is uglier than a naked mole rat?

When you’re positive someone else’s point of view is evil and insane, try to admit, instead, that we all have similar brains and figure out what led them there. Once you do, you can still disagree with them, but you’ll have lost the unhealthy prejudice.

After all, dogs mostly find us folks incomprehensible, but they still love us and try to follow our thinking. If you can do this same for others, your humility might make you as lovable as…okay, not quite as lovable as Marley, but closer than you are now.

3. Pollute and poison less.  
All animals pollute, but humans are the only ones brilliant enough to create materials that don’t serve the earth at all. When you throw a plastic bag out, or dump millions of gallons of toxins into an ocean, you can’t just kick some dirt over it and make your mess okay, the way mutts can.

A dog would suggest, and request, that you simply improve. If you’re a lazy slob, and you just start recycling your beer bottles, that will help things a bit. And if you already re-use paper, save your shower water, and drive an electric car charged by the sun, maybe you could also buy more locally-grown food? Every bit helps!

And just to clarify, animals don’t really notice which individual humans or corporations do the polluting. As far as they’re concerned, all us humans left that trash there, and all us humans haven’t cleaned it up.

So please, go a little out of your pathway and pick up that can, or try to help a river not turn to poison. It’ll make you feel good. And the stray pup out on the street would do it too if he could. Just for the feeling.

4. Find more moments to enjoy and find more to enjoy about more moments.
When you open your front door in the morning, what’s going though your head? Lateness? Upcoming traffic? Some argument you had over breakfast?

You know what goes through a dog’s? The smells! The hit of fresh air with an unexpected temperature! Hundreds of sounds suddenly so clear! And even though her eyes are nowhere near as powerful as yours, millions of things to see!

Do you take in the sky? Do you count the stalks of grass? Do you check to see if there are any squirrels or ants or bees or lizards or even cats in sight?

And that’s only one moment. Each day has 86,400 seconds in it. Do you spend even one just rolling in what is? Or do you rush to media, to hear some pundit tell you whether the day was worth living or not?

Right now, pick a leaf off an interesting tree, look it over carefully, sniff it, run your fingers over it with your eyes closed, and chew it. Feels like being a kid, doesn’t it? Back when you did such things by instinct – the way a pup does all the time.

5. Give yourself just a bit more sleep.
Scientists estimate that dogs sleep twelve to fourteen hours a day on average, which means some snooze a lot more.

I’m not suggesting you go to that extreme, but one reason dogs tend to be so healthy and active is that they grab z’s whenever they can. What if you found a way to go to bed just a half hour earlier tonight? Or to take a nap this afternoon?

Maybe record that TV show, curl up, count sheep, and see what happens to your mood, your skin, your work skills, and even how others treat you.

6. Be silly more – silly for you.
People say dogs are clowns, for the way they act when they see a leash, or the signs of oncoming dinner. But what’s wrong with that?

Silliness isn’t just a part of life; it’s a core of it, a celebration of it. Now, if you’re great at telling naughty jokes at dinner parties, that’s fine. But when’s the last time you ran around in a sprinkler on a hot day? Sang so loud you hurt your vocal cords? Or barked in conversation with a dog?

Here’s my definition of silliness: Any action, the doing of which would normally make you blush in embarrassment. Every silly act actually helps you overcome your fear and shame. Every dog lives it, and any good doctor would prescribe it often.

7. Tell and show those you love that you’re crazy about them more.
Here’s where canines most excel. When you come home at the end of a long day, do you tell your family how happy you are to see them, and that they even exist? What about at your job – do you find ways to express your feelings about your coworkers?

The most common deathbed regrets humans report are not having spent more time with those they love, and not having let them know it. And that’s dumb, because nothing is easier! Just let it out!

Jump on a friend and kiss the top of their head. Yell across a business networking confab, “I have the best assistant in the world!” And call your mother and tell her you’re grateful.

No one can control what the world does to them, but these tools all help making living whatever hand you’re dealt more enjoyable. And, in all my years of watching dogs, if there’s a way to do too much of any of these, I haven’t seen it.

So try them, and good luck. May this be the year your tail learns how to wag!

Douglas Green is a psychotherapist, specializing in helping kids and teens build lives they can be proud of. He is also the creator and writer for AskShirelle.com, which helps kids, teens, parents, and others around the world with advice from the point of view of a friendly dog, and is the author of The Teachings of Shirelle – Life Lessons from a Divine Knucklehead. Learn more about Green at www.CavalleriaPress.com, and connect on

Leadership development programs designed to increase emotional intelligence have matured during the last 15 years. So why haven’t we seen a big change in the way executives relate to one other? Despite reading books and articles, taking assessments and attending seminars, leaders still lean toward old habits.

Emotional Intelligence scores typically climb with titles, but peak with middle management, according to Travis Bradberry, author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0. Any higher up the ladder, and the scores plummet. CEOs rank at the bottom.

Poison Still Exists in the Boardroom

Toxic behaviors from leaders are still prevalent, from the warehouse to the boardroom. Leaders openly yell at, embarrass and publicly criticize subordinates. Tempers flare, anger surfaces, and emotions are unchecked or mismanaged. In toxic work cultures, passive aggressiveness is the rule, not the exception.

This happens for two reasons: One, leaders simply don’t have sufficient desire to be better—i.e., they don’t care. The other is lack of self-awareness.

All models of emotional intelligence start with a foundation of self-awareness.  Most coaching time should be spent on self-awareness because that is where the gold is still to be found. There are two ways to gain self-awareness:

Listen to and honestly examine the stories you are telling yourself in your head. Are they true? How do you know? This simply requires quiet time for self-reflection and to practice mindfulness.

Seek feedback from others. This requires you to identify people who feel safe with you, who you would freely invite to tell you how they react to you, and how they think others react to you. It requires honesty and, of course, the right time and environment where the conversation can occur without interruption.

Easy,right?  No, of course not. These steps take time and commitment to change.

1. If Business is Good, Why Should You Care?

Coming face-to-face with your flaws, defects of character, pride, ego, distrust, fear – being vulnerable – does not come easily. Further, if business is booming, deadlines are met, and stock value is going up, why go through this exercise? Why dig deeper when all is well on the surface? You dig because you can always up your leadership game and because it will make a difference in how you engage with your team, your vendors and clients.

2. Listen to Your Own Stories

Force some quiet time every day where your cell phones go off completely and your door is shut for 10 minutes. I have clients who break out in a cold sweat at the thought, but I urge you to try it. Breathe deeply and slowly, and see what surfaces. Let the thoughts roll through your brain like a digital ticker tape. Notice what is happening and see if you can articulate how that experience feels. Pay special attention to anything that feels difficult or sparks negative emotions, as these feelings point to something larger underneath. When you take the time to look below the surface, you can see a glimpse of the source.

3. Listen to Stories of Others

Pick one person who you trust to tell you the complete truth about how you look to them. Ask them to find something they believe you do that causes others to disconnect from you – to avoid you, to shut down around you, to be less the honest. This is tough stuff. It requires both courage to take this feedback and a desire to hear it. If you are doing something like this now, keep at it – do it more.

Following these three simple steps will put you well on your way to better self-awareness—not only as a leader, but also as a person.  And that is good for everyone.

Kevin McHugh is the president of JKM Management Development, a management consulting firm specializing in increasing organizational performance and coaching business leaders to develop emotional awareness, conflict resolution capabilities, and maximize executive effectiveness. He is author of The Honest Executive. Learn more at http://jkevinmchugh.com/. 

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All organizations want to foster innovation. After all, it’s how we grow, improve, delight our customers, and—yes—keep getting paid. In today’s rapidly changing global landscape, our ability to come up with new ideas is what keeps us relevant. Organizations are augmenting their business value proposition on average every three to five years, and we can do that only with a focus on and widespread commitment to the I-word. Yet, all innovations are not created equal. So, how to separate the “WOW!” from the “Eh, not now”?

          This is a question that confounds many leaders, says Patrick Stroh. And the answer is (ironically) to ask more questions.

          “When I talk with organizations about innovation, I ask them to answer, ‘Define what important innovation means to you,'” says Stroh, author of Advancing Innovation: Galvanizing, Enabling & Measuring for Innovation Value! (Institute of Management Accountants, 2015, ISBN: 978-0-9967293-07, www.imanet.org/ivs). “It sounds pretty basic, but you’d be amazed at how few people can answer it.

          “The truth is, if you don’t have a measuring stick to evaluate important ideas from so-so ideas or even poor ones, then it’s hard to expect your employees and others to innovate,” he adds. “Every company needs a set of questions and a repeatable method for considering innovations. It’s the answers to these questions that will determine which ideas drive innovation impact faster—and which ones are just noise.”

          So what types of questions should you ask? Well, whether you’re creating or evaluating the innovation ideas or projects, Stroh says it’s important to start with the following three overarching queries:

1. Is the idea or project core to your value proposition?
2. Is it either big or leverageable?
3. Will it take priority?

          These three questions can help you determine which ideas are worth pursuing and which ones just sound interesting. Still, you need to go deeper into each one if you’re seeking to truly create value in your business. Here are some questions to guide that deeper dive as you decide whether something is an important innovation—or just lipstick on a pig:

Is the idea or project core to your value proposition?

• If it isn’t core to your value proposition, why would you want to spend resources on it?
• Are you innovating just to say you are trying something new?
• Is there a market and customers for this? (It can be a new market, of course, but define it.)
• Would we be willing to add or divert existing, core business sales and marketing dollars to promote this new product/service?
  
• How will you launch and service this offering with existing and new customers?

Is it either big or leverageable?

• Is this a big opportunity in market size?
• Is this a key area or opportunity for our industry or market?
• Is this a highly leveraged initiative that has cumulative impacts across our value proposition?
• Do we have suppliers or partners that could do this for us already?
• What is the impact if we don’t do this?

Will it take priority?

• Would I stop other priorities that we are currently working on to take on this initiative?
• What would our board of directors or customers say if they knew this was moving to the top of the priority list?
• Considering our current operating plan, can we execute on this new initiative?
  
• Will this initiative survive the resource and implementation gauntlets in our organization?

         “Keep in mind that these are meant to be clarifying questions, not disqualifyingones,” adds Stroh. “Clarifying questions keep digging into the idea with positive intent. You are digging to find the sweet spot, the spot where the idea can be unleashed and add value to your organization. If you are asking questions in a disqualifying manner, you are questioning as a means of judging before fully understanding.

          “If you take a ‘judging’ approach, you’ll be seen as putting up barriers, and your efforts to encourage innovation will be poorly received,” he warns. “Ask questions and do due diligence, but have a mantra of finding ways to ‘get to yes’! And don’t make these questions a secret. Tell employees how you evaluate ideas. Tell them the rules to the game so they can play—and play to win for all.”

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About the Author:
Patrick Stroh is president of Mercury Business Advisors, providing management advisory services in business strategy, innovation, and product development, and author of Advancing Innovation: Galvanizing, Enabling & Measuring for Innovation Value! and Business Strategy: Plan, Execute, Win! He serves on the board of directors for the Institute of Management Accountants and was also appointed as a fellow in Palladium’s Positive Impact Research Institute.

As 2016 begins, we might find ourselves thinking about new years resolutions for how we can better parent our children.  More than ever, it feels important to help our children develop tools that will allow them to grow into a conscious, healthy adults.  One of the most important skills for emotional well being is that of gratitude.  Here are give quick, easy (and free!) ways to encourage an attitude of gratitude in our children.

1.  Engage in random acts of kindness:  Children will often spontaneously share a toy or friendly words with a teacher, friend, or relative.  Notice when children are acting or speaking in a kind manner, and say out loud how much you value their kindness.  Similarly, allow children to witness you modeling being helpful and kind to others in small or big ways.  Children will often model our behavior.  Noticing and participating in acts of kindness as a family allows for more connection and positive experiences, which we can all be grateful for.

2.  Spend time in nature:  Nature allows children and adults like to slow down from the constant stimulation of day to day life.  At a slower pace, we can become more mindful and use our senses to notice all of the beauty in the world around.  We can feel grateful for the cool shady trees or the colors of a vivid sunset.

3.  Create a nightly reflection ritual:  After a meal, bathtime, and a story, children are often more relaxed and open to connection with parents.  Use this time as an opportunity to reflect on the “highs” and “lows” of the day.  Parents can start by sharing their own joys and challenges, which opens up the lines of communication and encourages children to reflect and share as well.  Taking time on a daily basis to think about the day and consciously focus on big and small things that went well, encourages gratitude from a young age.

4.  Engage in meal time mindfulness:  Encourage children to be mindful at mealtimes.  Removing toys, electronics, and books from the table can help children focus on their food, and use all of their senses to enjoy and appreciate their food as they eat.  While eating, consider asking children to reflect on how their food came to be on their plate.  For example, a strawberry didn’t just magically appear.  There needed to be fertile soil, wind, sun, water, a farmer, a truck, a market, just to get the strawberry from the field to the plate.  Allowing children to reflect on all that had to happen in order for the strawberry to grow and be eaten, affords a greater sense of wonder and appreciation for food.

5.  Volunteer in age appropriate ways:  Volunteering can help children realize how fortunate they are, by giving them the opportunity to help those less fortunate.  Children may have an inherent compassion for a particular cause—some might feel strongly about protecting the environment, others may feel strongly towards protecting animals.  Consider your children’s natural interests, and discover ways of helping that are age appropriate.  Ideas include raising money for a local animal shelter, helping out at a food bank or soup kitchen, or even running in a 5K to raise money for a particular cause that touches your child’s heart.

Encouraging gratitude in our children from a young age will help them develop lifelong skills that  support their emotional well being and happiness.  Activities that support thankfulness need not be expensive or time consuming.  Most importantly, make gratitude a daily part of your own life, and children will naturally follow suit…the whole family will benefit!

Monisha Vasa, M.D. is a board certified General and Addiction Psychiatrist in private practice in Orange County, CA. Dr. Vasa is the author of the non-fiction children’s books, My Dearest One andSaying Thank You. She is also a marathon runner and a student of yoga and meditation. Learn more about Dr. Vasa at http://monishavasa.com/ and read her blog on The Huffington Post.