Work + Money

Monday marks the 100th birthday of Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon who ignited the Montgomery Bus Boycott when she refused to give up her seat and move to the "blacks-only" section on December 1, 1955. Though Parks' actions that day undoubtedly took an enormous amount of courage, she is often described as "quiet" and even "polite." A new book, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Parks, focuses on Parks' more aggressive (and lesser known) activism. Here are a few things you might not know about Rosa Parks, before the bus:

Rosa Parks was raised by her grandparents, who believed in self-defense.

When a white man taunted a young Parks, she threatened him with a brick. When her grandmother reprimanded her, she responded, "I would rather be lynched than run over by them." Her grandfather would sit on the porch of their house armed with a rifle in case the Klan showed up. Rosa would often sit with him because "I wanted to see him kill a Klu Kluxer."

She worked for the civil rights cause for t

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I had set a lot of goals for the New Year and didn't make nearly half of them. That's the truth of it straight up. January found me tired, worn and haggard with not much energy or desire to meet my personal and professional goals for growth.

Some would say that this is an affliction many fall under right after the holidays or during the long, dark, cold winter. Sure, there's some truth to that. Some other truths were that I desperately needed to take back some 'me time'. I needed to re-focus on what I really love about writing, outside of service posts and contractual deadlines. I needed to re-focus on my health and fitness in a way I haven't done since before my children were born.

I felt a longing to get get back to story-telling and felt bereft of the ability to do so. My mojo was gone. I could only see in lists and fodder and what was trending on the internets. Which are all necessary parts of my job - but can't ever be the whole of it.

The biggest part of me as a writer has

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Unless you're on the set of Days of Our Lives, crying is generally something we all try to avoid at work. But, try as we might, it happens, and when it does, it's pretty awkward-not only for the crier, but for everyone nearby. As a manager, I was faced with the uncomfortable responsibility of calming a crying employee on several occasions, and while never would be too soon for me to want to do it again, I did pick up some valuable insight on handling an upset employee or colleague.

The Golden Rule

Now, as uncomfortable as you might be, the first and most important consideration when you're staring into the welling eyes of a colleague is empathy. I know, sounds obvious. But the first time one of my employees started to cry in front of me-and the entire team-my first reaction was nearly laughter. I was so surprised, not to mention completely unprepared to handle the situation, that all I could think to do was burst out laughing. Of course, this would've been the absolute worst thin

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Ah, the video bomb, a classic rite of passage for live television reporters. Most anchors regard it as a pesky occupational hazard of working in unedited television but on Wednesday one reporter took it very seriously when a video bomber interrupted her Superbowl segment.

Traffic anchor Jessica Sanchez of WKMG in Orlando unleashed her inner mean girl while reporting live from New Orleans on Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.

When a tipsy woman stumbled into the camera frame and began cheering for the 49-ers, instead of ignoring her or laughing along like a seasoned reporter might do, Sanchez seized  the opportunity to insult and humiliate the woman saying, "We were just talking about the STD rate that's going on here. So how long have you had an STD?"

The woman quickly reacts answering, "I don't have an STD."

"Oooh, then why did you want to talk?" asked Jessica in a mock surprised tone.

"I don't have an STD; that is so disrespectful," said the woman...Read More »

Source: 6 Ways to Find Out What Your Peers Are Making

More and more companies are revealing how much each employee is getting paid, according to the Wall Street Journal. Advocates say this helps employees "better understand their individual contribution to the whole group." This wage transparency is most often practiced by start-ups, but if you're keen to know how much your peers are making even though your company doesn't reveal the numbers, here are a couple of alternatives:

• Glassdoor: If your company is big enough, you may be able to find out the pay of employees through anonymous salary quotes at Glassdoor.com. What's great about this tool is it gives you specific information on what someone in your position is doing at your company, so the numbers aren't too generalized.
• College career center: Even if many years have passed since your graduation, you can approach your college career center and ask the counselors if they have any statistics of what your fellow

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