This was the question Randy Pausch pondered when he agreed to give a "last lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University (where he's a professor in the computer science department).

A "last lecture" is where a professor discusses the topic of what matters the most to them in life and then has the audience think about what kind of wisdom they would impart on the world if it was their last chance. Little did Randy know when he agreed to provide the lecture that he would soon find out he was dying of pancreatic cancer and was given only months to live. The requested lecture suddenly became very personal.

Randy's thoughts about what matters the most to him are incredibly insightful and I wanted to share the highlights with you here:
• Always have fun
• Dream big
• Ask for what you want
• Dare to take a risk
• Look for the best in everybody
• Make time for what matters
• Let kids be themselves

After he gave his lecture, it was viewed online by millions around the world. He used his unexpected fame to advocate for pancreatic research and to fulfill a few childhood dreams: playing in the NFL and being Captain Kirk on Star Trek. I highly recommend you read the entire article about "The Lessons I'm Leaving Behind" and view the online video on the same site – it will truly move and inspire you.

~ Lisa Quast

The Fall 2007 issue of NAFE Magazine had a great article on how to max out your retirement savings while avoiding common planning pitfalls. The article was written by Jennifer Pellet, who received these great tips from Arne Morris of the consulting, accounting, and tax firm RSM McGladrey, Inc.

Here's a summary of the tips from the article:

• DO – Start saving now: Even if you haven't started saving, it's not too late to begin. Try to place 10 percent of your annual salary in a retirement plan and another 10 percent in a traditional savings or investment account.
• DO – Budget for today and for retirement: Document your income and living expenses and determine how much you can feasibly save.
• DO – Take advantage of plans with a tax advantage: Use your company's 401k plan and matching program. Save at least what the company will match and as close to 15 percent as you can get.
• DO – Invest your funds: Invest to see your retirement funds grow, but stay away from funds with high fees, which will eat into your gain.
• DON'T – Rely on social security: "Even if you're able to collect, it won't be enough to live on comfortably in retirement."
• DON'T – Neglect to consider changing needs: Don't forget expenses of leisure activities such as travel or fail to factor in rising medical costs or long-term care.
• DON'T – Forget to plan for other potential expenses: Try to build up at least six months of living expenses in an emergency fund so you don't have to tap into your retirement savings if you should ever lose your job.
• DON'T – Invest too heavily in individual securities: Especially as you get closer to retirement because you don't want to have market swings wipe out your savings.

Great advice! I'm going to sit down with my husband and our financial advisor for a complete review of our retirement plan in the very near future. Have your own saving tips? Please share them here.

~ Lisa Quast

Looking to get promoted at work? Sometimes it's better to know what not to do if you want to get ahead at work. In a blog by Marshall Loeb, he notes five common mistakes to avoid at work if you want to become a star, based on information from Cynthia Shapiro, author of the book "Corporate Confidential":

1. Following your own agenda: Instead, work on what your boss or company thinks is most important.
2. Voicing negative thoughts: Being positive is important.
3. Complaining to Human Resources: HR is often portrayed as a service to employees, but their job is also to protect the company. Be careful about voicing issues to HR.
4. Being too smart: Showing your smarts can actually make you appear to be a threat to others. "Use your smarts in support of your boss and your peers."
5. Not knowing when to jump: Gauge whether you're in danger of losing your job and make sure you look for a job as soon as possible. You're more appealing to a potential employer if you're already employed.

Great advice to follow! In my coaching practice, I always recommend employees meet with their manager and learn about their company's strategy because they can then use that information to draft personal goals that align with their manager's and the company's plans. I've also seen that being negative or complaining at work is one of the fastest ways to lose out on promotions. Companies look for employees who can solve problems, not complain about them. No surprise here. Now, go climb that career ladder!

~ Lisa Quast

I came across an interesting article by Christopher Elliott in The Seattle Times titled, "Customers complain of bias in travel industry." He tells about people who have been experiencing bias in the travel industry, especially women.

One of the examples he shares is of Kathleen Anderson, who was the only woman in business class on a recent flight. The flight attendant took the meal orders of everyone else before approaching Ms. Anderson – by then, only one meal choice was available. After several other similar situations occurred, she sat there wondering, "Is this the way women are normally treated in World Business Class?" The entire experience made her "feel like a second-class citizen."

I travel a lot for business so this article really piqued my interest because over the last few years, I too have experienced these kinds of situations when riding in first class or business class (I save my air miles earned and use them to upgrade). I always treat everyone with the utmost respect at all times, so these experiences were very surprising and saddening to me. At first I thought maybe this was happening to just me. When I asked other women in business about this topic, I realized my experiences weren't unusual.

According to Mr. Elliott's article, "There are no reliable surveys on discrimination of travelers…but a review of my case files leaves little doubt that travelers now face discrimination at almost every turn."

I would love to hear from other women who have experienced these kinds of situations – tell us your story. I would also love to hear from female flight attendants – why do you believe this bias against women (by women) occurs in the travel industry?

~ Lisa Quast

Did you know that buildings use 2/3 of the electricity in the United States? With Earth Week in full swing, I thought it would be prudent to share with you a local program the city of Kirkland has put in place to inspire locally-owned businesses to go green.

The Kirkland Green Business program requires companies to meet a series of steps to become certified, but regardless of your location, the requirements translate well into tips for all businesses to implement in honor of Earth Day:

• Reduce Waste: Mandate recycling of all paper, plastics, electronics – even food items in compost bins
• Use Less Water: Have waterless hand sanitizer available, report leaks, encourage car washes (which are required to reuse water) for company vehicles
• Cut Commuting: Give employees incentives to use public transportation with company-sponsored bus passes, encourage carpooling, and reward bicyclists with secure areas to store bikes and onsite showers
• Conserve Energy: Switch to fluorescent lighting, use natural light whenever possible, consider occupancy sensors, program your thermostats
• Purchase Green Power: Most cities offer a green power program that invests in future use of alternative energy sources such as wind.

Work for a company that's already environmentally friendly? Take these tips home. I'm increasing my efforts by using only reusable bags for groceries, changing to fluorescent light bulbs, turning my heat down, and taking advantage of our city's rich recycling program. Share your sustainable tips.

~ Lisa Quast

It's time to plan ahead for April 24th, Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work® Day. This date is designed to create an enriching educational experience for daughters and sons around the world.

For over 15 years, individuals, families and workplaces have joined together to expand opportunities and transform the lives of millions of girls and boys both nationally and internationally.

According to Carolyn McKecuen of the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation, the day is designed to be more than just a career day. "Exposing girls and boys to what a parent or mentor in their lives do during the work day is important, but showing them the value of their education, helping them discover the power and possibilities associated with a balanced work and family life, providing them an opportunity to share how they envision the future and begin steps toward their end goals in a hands-on and interactive environment is key to their achieving success. Each year, development of new interactive activities and partnerships will assist us in taking girls and boys to the future they dream of."

Making Choices for a Better World is the 2008 theme. It's purposely broad in nature in order to encourage discussions among the participants because it's open to many interpretations on different levels. "The choices can be very personal ones, such as whether to be self-motivated or not, whether to seek a good education or not, whether to vote, or whether to get involved in the community or not."

If you have a daughter or son or if you're the mentor to one, I hope you'll participate on April 24th!

~ Lisa Quast

In celebrating their 10th anniversary, Dress for Success® Seattle (DFSS) is launching a year-long campaign to raise $100,000 by the end of 2008! The campaign, titled $10 for 10 years, hopes to draw support from the Seattle and surrounding communities to continue to fund existing programs that have helped women get their lives back on track for the past decade.

Here's how the $10 for 10 works:
• Give $10: Click DONATE NOW or visit Dress for Success Seattle and donate $10 (or more).

• Send 10: Send 10 (or more) friends to Dress for Success Seattle encouraging them to donate $10 and/or at least pass the link forward to their communities.

•Celebrate 10: Help the Dress for Success Seattle organization celebrate their 10th anniversary of helping women in our community.

It's that simple!

Best known for providing suits to women for job interviews, Dress for Success Seattle works year-round to offer job-related coaching, skills and support to low-income women. Celebrating it's 10th anniversary in 2008, Dress for Success Seattle continues to provide business attire and career development services to local women in need.

Now, DFSS is in need, and your $10 and 10 friends will not only help them reach their goal of $100,000 in 2008, but continue their mission to guide women to self-sufficiency for another 10 years! Visit DFSS at www.dressforsuccess.org/seattle or call them at (206) 325-3453.

In addition to interview appropriate apparel, Dress for Success Seattle is now requesting donations for their Annual Closet Treasures Sale in October. This means, bring in your funky, fabulous, trendy, high-end, gently worn items to sell with ALL proceeds going to DFSS! Thanks in advance for your support of this wonderful organization.

~ Lisa Quast

To Captain Andrea Ourada, it was probably just another day on the job but to many women it was a milestone – she was part of the first American combat mission involving two Blackhawk helicopters and carried out entirely by women.

Becoming a Blackhawk pilot in the American armed forces wasn't easy and Ms. Ourada had to overcome many hurdles – from Pentagon regulations designed to limit women's role in combat, to her own personal hurdles such as her brother Daniel's tragic death in an automobile accident.

As you can imagine, once Ms. Ourada became a pilot, the challenges continued. On the lighter side, Ms. Ourada gets her share of teasing from males. While walking into an operations building one day she received a lot of "Hey, honey, I'm a pilot" comments from the guys. But when a friend of Ourada's commented back, "You know, she landed her Blackhawk in Sadr City last week in a compound about the size of this table" I'm guessing teasing turned into that of a proud comrade.

It's Ms. Ourada's attitude that I love. There's absolutely nothing she can't do. "The problem I see is the perception girls have growing up," she says. "The limitations are not real – we can do the things we dream about. Of all the jobs somebody might think females wouldn't do, maybe flying in combat in Iraq is one of them. But here we are. We're doing it. So can you. Or you can do anything else you want." I couldn't have said it better! Inspired by Andrea Ourada? Share your stories of inspiring women.

Click here to read the full article.

~ Lisa Quast

When Autumn Bayles was about two years into her job as the first chief information officer at Tasty Baking Company in Philadelphia, a supply chain executive quit the company. What did Autumn do? She raised her hand and volunteered to take on the supply chain responsibilities!

The Tasty Baking Company executives divided up the former executive's responsibilities, giving Bayles a portion. She jumped right in and gave it everything she had. So they gave her more responsibilities…then even more responsibilities, until finally, they gave her the entire job.

According to this wonderful article I found about Autumn Bayles on Knowledge@Wharton, what Bayles learned from this experience is how important it is for women to volunteer to take on projects and job responsibilities if they want to get noticed at work. She recommends women raise their hands, "because that's the way you're going to get the opportunities you want. It's not always going to be handed to you."

Bayles is now the senior vice president, strategic operations for Tasty Baking and is ready to take on her next big assignment of relocating the company's Philadelphia operations. She's learned a lot from her business experience and has this advice for women:
• Follow your passion
• Always be the best
• Always be nice
• Seek help
• Continuously learn, improve and grow
• Take care of your people
• Be a salesperson

I especially agree with her closing comments that there's really no magic trick for business success. The simple rule is to "Treat people with respect. Be good at what you want to do. Volunteer."

Click here to read the entire article; it's worth your time.

~ Lisa Quast

It's already April – time to mark your calendars with these key dates:

• March 30-April 5: Dress for Success "S.O.S." (Send One Suit) Week. Donate one new or nearly new business suit to help another woman enter the workforce. By dropping off your suit donations at any Dress Barn store or Dress for Success® location (part of the YWCA organization), you are giving a disadvantaged woman the confidence to take the first step towards economic independence.

• April 2: National Employee Benefits Day. Those responsible for employee benefit plans need to be acknowledged for their dedication to providing quality benefits and the important role they play in their colleagues' well-being.

• April 3: Don't Go to Work Unless it's Fun Day. I wouldn't take advantage of this day without getting your boss' approval first!

• April 16: 2nd Annual National Start Walking Day: A day devoted to helping Americans improve their health by adopting a healthy lifestyle and passing the message along.

• April 22: Equal Pay Day. Originated by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996 as a public awareness event to illustrate the gap between men's and women's wages. Wear RED on Equal Pay Day to symbolize how far women and minorities are "in the red" with their pay.

• April 23: Administrative Professional's Day. Formerly known as "Secretary's Day", is a time to recognize and celebrate the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, executive assistants, office managers, receptionists, and other administrative support professionals.

• April 24: Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work® Day. Designed to "bring an opportunity to create an enriching educational experience for daughters and sons and transforming the lives of millions of girls and boys both nationally and internationally."

~ Lisa Quast