Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Beyond the Book 2
Where to Go from Here 2
Part 1: Shifting From Surviving To Thriving 3
Chapter 1: Experiencing the Thrill and Fear of Running Your Own Life 5
Taking One Step at a Time 6
Entering the age of maturity 7
Understanding that change is inevitable 8
Mapping Out Your Destination 9
Appreciating who you are 10
Thinking big 11
Making Your Mark 11
Understanding Character 13
Navigating the Necessities 14
Providing the Goods 15
Stepping Up: You Got This 16
Chapter 2: Knowing What You Want and Getting It 19
Setting Achievable Goals 20
Pinpointing your potential 20
Considering categories of goals 21
Creating achievable goals: The short and long of it 23
Getting gritty 24
Decision-Making: Its All You! 25
Outside influences 26
A never-ending process 27
Consequences 30
Advocating for Yourself: Scary, but Doable 30
Getting to know you 30
Being uniquely you 31
Speaking up 32
Baby, youre worth it 33
Chapter 3: Keeping up in a Changing World 35
Navigating the Murky Waters of Digital Ethics 35
Taking it at face value 36
Understanding rights and responsibilities 36
Being cautious: Dont be quick to click 37
Evaluating Appearances: Social Media Isnt Always What It Seems 39
Finding a balance 40
Capturing your success 41
Staying linked 42
Part 2: Dating, Relating, and Communicating 43
Chapter 4: Making New Friends While Keeping the Old 45
Recognizing the Importance of Friendship 45
The work of being a good friend 46
The art of meeting new people 47
Squad goals! 47
A friend in need is a friend indeed 48
A healthy friendship 49
Recognizing Fake Friends 49
Peer influence 50
The friend/acquaintance paradox 50
Energy vampires 51
Time to move on 52
Chapter 5: Youll Always Be Their Kid: Family Dynamics 55
Understanding Roles and Responsibilities in Families 56
Playing your part 56
Navigating the family life cycle 57
Getting Along 60
The mother of all battles 60
Rivalry in the family 61
Appreciating Families Uniqueness 61
Establishing strong families 62
Appreciating the wisdom of your elders 62
Navigating Crisis in the Family 63
Functioning in the dysfunction 64
Receiving a dreaded phone call 66
Chapter 6: Bumbling through the Dating Scene 67
Getting Out of the Friend Zone 67
Engaging in purposeful dating 68
Figuring out where to meet people 68
Getting what you give 70
Knowing When Its Time for Those Three Little Words 71
Stupid Cupid, stop picking on me! 71
Types of love 73
Acts of love 74
Chapter 7: Saying What You Mean 77
Understanding the Basics: Communication 101 77
Brushing up on conversation starters 79
Speaking without words 79
Polishing your email etiquette 80
Texting, snapping, and chatting 82
Hearing AND listening 83
Sending Mixed Messages 84
Its all in the delivery 84
Arguably the best 85
Peacekeeping 87
Solving Problems: Its a Process 88
Part 3: Earning Enough to Live On 91
Chapter 8: Its Called Work For a Reason 93
Whatever You Are, Be a Great One 93
Someday is not a weekday 94
You do you 95
Aptitude versus attitude 96
Finding the Best Options for Good Choices 97
Investigating career clusters 98
Pursuing the pathway to success 102
Now Hiring! 103
Finding the right fit 104
Dealing with the necessary evils: Applications and other paperwork 104
Making lasting first impressions 109
Chapter 9: Impressing the Boss and Succeeding on the Job 111
Youve Got Skills 111
Putting school smarts to use 112
Performing on the job 114
Dressing for Success 115
Accepting uniformity 116
Demonstrating professionalism 117
Understanding casual day 119
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome 119
Chapter 10: Champagne Tastes, Beer Budget: Saving and Spending 121
Getting Paid: Show Me the Money 122
Wait, what!? Taxes? 123
Ive got bills: Theyre multiplying 126
Managing your bills like a pro 127
Putting your paycheck to work 128
Securing Your Future 129
Giving is better than receiving 129
Saving more and spending less 130
Putting your money to work 132
Keeping Yourself out of the Red 133
Why do I need a budget? 133
How do I stay on track? 134
Managing Credit Cards 139
Giving credit where credit is due 141
Making the grade: Credit scores and reports 143
Buying now and paying later 143
Chapter 11: How Much?! Paying for Housing and Buying a Car 145
Moving Out It May Be Time 145
Honey, Im home 146
Different types of housing 148
Renting versus buying 149
Moving day 151
Better Living by Design 152
Designing for your best life 152
Designing for safety and security 154
Sitting in the Drivers Seat 157
Needs versus wants: Affording a car 158
You gotta pay for that 159
Part 4: Maintaining a Healthy Mind In A Healthy Body 163
Chapter 12: Eating For Fun and Fuel 165
Nutrition: More Than Taking Your Vitamins 165
Introducing the team of nutrients 167
Running on empty 170
Fueling thought 171
What Goes in Must Come Out 172
Soul Food 173
All-you-can-eat buffet 175
A Tale of Two Fats 176
The fine print 177
Relating to food 179
The latest fads 180
Hydration station 181
Chapter 13: Exercise: Good for You in the Long Run 183
Good Good Feelings 184
Anti-aging: More than a cream 185
Weight: Its just a number 186
A dumbbell a day keeps the doctor away 187
The Heart of the Matter 188
Exercises That Are Right for You 189
Walking it out 190
Getting swole 191
Getting flexible 192
Taking it one day at a time 193
Chapter 14: Loving Yourself with Healthy Habits 195
Getting Some ZZZs 195
Lying in the bed you made 196
Dreaming big 197
Having Some Good Clean Fun 198
Lookin fresh 198
Staying tight with your BFF: SPF 200
Getting some breathing room 200
Coughing and sneezing spread diseases 201
Protecting Yourself 202
The best defense is a good offense 202
After dark 204
Safe travels 205
Painting a Picture of Health 206
Setting a time and date 207
Handling an emergency 210
Chapter 15: Minding Your Mental Health 213
What Is Mental Health? 213
Stressing out 214
Finding your happy place 216
In the Eye of the Storm 217
The calming effect 219
People need people 219
Addiction 221
Recognizing signs of addiction 221
Craving technology 222
Part 5: Completing Household Jobs 225
Chapter 16: Keeping It All Clean 227
Taking Control of the Mess before It Takes Control of You 227
Tidying up 228
Becoming a chore conqueror 230
Gathering dust 231
Decluttering the clutter 232
Airing Your Dirty Laundry 233
Caring for your garments 233
Sorting it out 236
Doing the ol wash, rinse, repeat 237
Spot cleaning 237
Drying time 238
Sharing the secrets of the folding gurus 239
Giving New Life to Old Threads 240
Calculating cost per wear 241
Embracing the reuse, repair, recycle philosophy 241
Tackling a hot-button topic 242
Patching things up 244
Chapter 17: Stirring Things Up in the Kitchen 247
Knowing Your Equipment 247
I need coffee! 248
Is this thing on? 250
Measure, mix, and cut Oh my! 251
Playing It Safe 254
An accident waiting to happen 255
Dont play with fire 255
Its all quite shocking 257
Healthy clean fun 257
Cookin up a Storm 259
Measuring twice, pouring once 261
Boiling, basting, baking, and BBQ-ing 263
Getting on the same wave length 265
Chapter 18: Preparing for the Unexpected 267
Caring for Your Homes Health 268
The magic of electrons 268
Flood zone 269
Take Murphys Law to Heart 270
Brainstorming the storms 271
Evaluating risk versus reward 272
Being prepared 272
Calling for backup 274
Part 6: The Part Of Tens 277
Chapter 19: Ten Ways to Be a Responsible Citizen 279
Having Integrity 279
Being Productive 280
Helping Make Improvements 280
Staying Informed 280
Exhibiting Patriotism 281
Living up to High Standards 281
Showing R-E-S-P-E-C-T 281
Making Judgment Calls 281
Facing Your Fear 282
Paying It Forward 282
Chapter 20: Ten Tips and Tricks for Car Maintenance 283
Paying Attention to Spare Parts 283
Going for the Good Oil 284
Caring for the Car Battery 284
Breaking for New Brakes 284
Keeping the Air Clean 285
Maintaining a Squeaky Clean Windshield 285
Working Those Shocks, Struts, and Springs 285
Talkin about the Car Wash 285
Running on Empty 286
Doing a Tire Check 286
Chapter 21: Ten Rookie Mistakes 287
Maxing Out Your Credit Cards 287
Staying in a Relationship Even When You Realize It Will Not Last 287
Not Putting Verbal Contracts in Writing 288
Breaking Up, Then Trying to Remain Friends 288
Putting Dish Soap in the Dishwasher 288
Buying Too Much Furniture 289
Dropping Out of School and Thinking You Will Have Time to Go Back 289
Moving Locations and Realizing You Havent Solved All of Your Problems 289
Washing a Red Sweatshirt with Your White Clothes 290
Forgetting to Preheat the Oven 290
Index 291
