I pride myself on being fairly well-educated and tolerant of diversity.

Here are four completely out-of-the-ordinary ideas I've recently been exposed to. I've had a hard time wrapping my head around each of these, but I think that each is a very early indication of different trends in our modern world, and in terms of a business approach, it would be wise to consider ways to integrate these ideas into your existing business model or your marketable job skills: natural remedies, open source mentality, overall collaboration, and green extreme.

Beyond Natural Remedies

1. Happiness - You can use money to buy things that make you feel better, but you cannot directly purchase happiness.
    
2. Health - You can get better healthcare by paying more, but you cannot literally buy health.
    
3. Smarts - You can purchase a good education, but you are either born with brains or you're not. You can always improve your chances of developing more "smarts" through self-directed experience and taking advantage of any opportunities that come to you.
    
4. Respect - It is impossible to buy someone else's respect. Self-respect also exists beyond money.
    

I always like to think of myself in the moment, here, today -- as a "bridge" between the me of yesterday and the me of the future. Every day that I inch along, I am evolving away from the person I used to be and I am embodying more of the person I am becoming: today is a day where I bridge the gap, where I bring myself simultaneously away from my past self and closer to my future self.

When I hear the tales of so many people who are laid-off from their jobs, I feel that, as women and as wives, mothers, friends, and sisters, we have an absolute responsibility to increase our abilities, to give ourselves permission to take risks, and to give ourselves more and more freedom through diversifying our income streams.

When you have just one job, you have one boss -- your employer is your main "client" and your only "customer." If your job lays you off or you're fired, for whatever reason, you now have no more client and no more customer.

If everything around you is drudgery and toil, you'll soon start to think of yourself only in those terms.

If every achievement is met with a shrug and an admonishment to keep plugging away, you'll soon start to feel underappreciated and unenthusiastic.

If every opportunity to experience pleasure is tainted by guilt or a sense of feeling unworthy, you'll soon forget your innate ability to express thanks and gratitude.

Believe in the joy that is your birthright and carve out time, every day, to celebrate.