When you speak, do others hear you? Do they "listen" to you? Are you listening to them?

Listening and hearing are different actions. Hearing is the physical act of the ear picking out sounds from another’s voice. It simply happens. Listening is what you consciously choose to do. Listening requires concentration so your brain can create meaning from words and sentences.

Listening leads to learning.

Job stability seems a rare promise these days. Downsizing and resizing companies continues to be a predominant sign of our economically-challenged times, and there is plenty of worry about the axe falling when you least expect it. However, on the other side of the coin, you may be hanging onto a job that is actually doing you more harm than good.

Every relationship’s cornerstone is based on trust. And trust comes from telling the truth. So what is the reason so many relationships fail? Here are five:

When it comes to running a business, there is so much to think about. Organizing and keeping on top of daily operations, marketing, bookkeeping, customer service, employees, vendors, etc. It all pretty much takes up a business owner's time. These are definitely important areas to focus on, but when have you (or have you ever) made a point of literally stepping outside of your business and into the shoes of your customer to see how your business is perceived?

What gets your employees, contractors, or freelancers charged and ready to go? If you don’t know you should find out because the very success of your business could depend on it. And besides, why wouldn’t you want to work with a group of people who are raring to go, bringing you tons of customers, making you huge profits, and eagerly spreading your message?

So what can you do to keep the spark alive? Listen to what motivates them. Here are the top 5 things that motivate your closest allies: