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The snow is starting to melt, the sun is starting to come out of hiding and the birds are starting to sing in the trees.

Soon the flower buds will begin to open and the grass will transform into a lush carpet of green.

Spring is on the way and this time of rebirth and renewal is a great time to give a “spring cleaning” to all aspects of your life. You might do a spring cleaning on your home every year, getting rid of clutter and brushing away the cobwebs.

However, have you ever thought about giving a metaphorical spring clean to your lifestyle?

Taking some time to spring clean your life can help you eliminate old stresses, set new goals and approach the summer feeling fresh and energized.

Dale Carnegie, author of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” said that a person’s name is the “sweetest and most important sound in any language.”

Whether in a business networking situation or a friendly party, being able to remember people’s names is an important skill for your career and your social life.

Here are a few tips for cementing those names in your memory so that you never have to be embarrassed again:

Every so often you will be on an internet forum, sitting around the dinner table, or at a cocktail party, and someone else will utter an observation or an opinion which will be so completely misguided and wrong that it will make you want to smash your head against the table and weep for the future of humanity.

Do you ever wonder what the best way is to follow up after a job interview? Is email to impersonal? Is snail-mail too slow? Will the interviewer even notice or care?

Well, one thing is for certain. If you don’t follow up at all, you’re quite sure that they won’t notice at all. In fact, so few people follow up in any way you might just set yourself apart and make the difference in being considered for the position.

One of the hardest things in the world can be to receive negative criticism on something we have done. No one wants to feel like they have done something wrong and hearing someone talk about our faults and mistakes can make us very frustrated and discouraged.

However, criticism doesn’t have to be so bad when you approach it with the right attitude. In fact, when you think of it in the following way, it can actually benefit you positively and help you improve.