That warm happy glad-to-be-on-the-team feeling that creeps into offices sometimes could be an everyday event.  All it takes is some kindness and a focus on creating career karma.

How do you do that? I’ll give you 10 good ideas – and then hope to hear 10 more from you, my readers.  My first 10 suggestions appeared here and on GenPink.com as a guest post. These next 10 are an eclectic lot, but many will make the workplace an easier, happier place.

11. Develop a team ritual. Maybe it’s a monthly birthday celebration for anyone born in that month. Or a wine after work night once a week – whining may not be your style, but a little camaraderie could be. Whatever it is, make sure everyone feels welcome. And if alcohol is involved, switch it up once a month so those nondrinkers and who are in recovery can join in.

12. Volunteer at work. Start a canned food drive for your local soup kitchen. Collect gently used suits for a job seekers group. Backpacks for kids going to school. Talk to your HR director or CEO about a team building day at Habitat for Humanity or for KABOOM!, which builds playgrounds.

13. Bring a jobless friend to work day. There’s already a bring your dog to work day and a bring your parents to work day, so why not a day dedicated to our unemployed friends?  Maybe you could arrange an interview for them while they’re in-house. Or a few introductions to the kindest, most-connected coworkers and bosses in your organization.

14.  Teach the new techno-tools or marketing marvels. You know how to use the software that confounds your coworkers. Or how to use FourSquare or the latest productivity app. Or some other technology that terrifies some others. So show the way. Set up a lunch and learn for your department – and teach everyone how to use it. When you do, pull out your best ah shucks Gomer Pile approach and tact and be gracious about follow-up help too.

15. Create a universal “I need to concentrate for an hour” signal. Everyone needs time to focus intently on work, with no interruptions. Everyone needs think time too. So you could help yourself and your co-workers gain this by creating some flag, some token, something that says – stay away, I need to work.  A little red elf that sits atop your computer perhaps? Or a piece of that yellow warning tape that says do not cross this.  Find something that is clear and clever and suits the culture of your workplace – then find a way to introduce it this month.

16.  Fill the copier drawer or printer with paper. If you do this regularly, you’ll find it takes only a minute or so (as long as the paper is stashed very nearby). Then you will win you the gratitude of the administrative assistant and other heavy users – as well as a cavernous amount of karma.

17.   Make a miracle happen at work. “Pull a rabbit out of a hat.”  Achieve what they say cannot be done. Work a miracle for your boss or a colleague who’s hopelessly behind on a project. Solve a very difficult problem and make it look easy. Then be sure your attitude seems modest yet pleased to help.  (You’ll hear more about making career magic in some blog posts planned for mid- to late-January.)

18.  Create a recognition space. One of my editors at Newsday called it the “wall of love” – and he posted articles that he really appreciated.  Maybe yours is a bulletin board with a folder full of blank stars and exclamation points. Anyone can write an appreciation note to a teammate – and the bosses are expected to post something every Monday for the previous week. Or perhaps yours is a weekly award – not money, but the parking space nearest the entrance for the worker who went furthest to help others.  Or a weekly email or Facebook posting shouting out praise and accolades. If you’re not a manager, you may want buy-in from a boss first. You could even get her to send out the words of praise – written partly or completely by you. They mean even more when they come from the brass.

19. Seek out a master, a mentor, an advisor. This may sound like something that will bring you benefits – and it will. But it also will bring you good karma, as you show respect for another’s expertise and wisdom, and then share what you learn with others in your circle. You may add still more karma by helping your advisor with some situation or question or need.

20.  Beat the deadline by a few hours – or even a day. If you can finish up a project or some research early, you ease the burden of those who await it. You give them a small gift of time (as well as gain a bit for yourself or another project.) So use the motto I once tried as a business editor: “Get ahead by getting ahead.” And give others the chance to get ahead too.

Now it’s your turn. What are you doing to create good karma in your cubicle or your company? Please share your ideas and insights here – and be prepared for an interview. I hope to write about this for a magazine article in coming weeks. (If you don’t want to be interviewed, I respect that so just make a small note of that in your response.)

If you think of your life as a bunch of blank canvases, you could  start painting with big bold strokes, and mix in glitter or sea shells into your works.
But if you want your finished piece to hang in the Detroit Institute of Arts or the Met as your legacy and gift to the world, you may not feel the artistic freedom to be truly creative. It may seem difficult or off-putting to tackle such a huge painting or project that will be our legacy.
That’s why I am offering up five questions to help us – you and me – to define our path and identify our legacy:

1. What am I the best at? Where do I shine?
Know these answers and your life and career will be easier to conduct. Create a life and personal brand based on these and you’re sure to excel.

2. What do I want to be known for? If I could write my own obituary in advance, what would I want it to say and show?
This approach is used in plenty of life planning seminars. If you don’t like to write, you could create a comic book telling your life story or a scrapbook or collage showing your major achievements (you can’t photograph the future but you can use pictures gleaned from stock photo sites or magazines to show them).
3. How will I create a plan or blueprint for developing my legacy? How can I visualize it and plan for its creation?
This is where you pull out your ‘vision of the future telescope’ – and look at your life comic book or obituary to determine what it will take to make those a reality. You need to put some time and thought into the blueprints – understanding that you can and will adjust as you go. Plot out the the action links – all the major steps needed to get your legacy standing and structurally sound. If you don’t know how, take time to find a mentor, a guide or a good book on the subject.
4. How am I making the world better, kinder, more generous? What cause or issue will I champion and contribute to in abundance?  What is my legacy project?
Chris Guillebeau, author of The Art of Non-Conformity, writes about creating his legacy project - “something that provides tremendous value to others and outlasts your own life.” His essay on it is clear: “Answer the question, ‘How will this really help people?’ His legacy will include his thinking and writing on living a life of gratitude and unconventionality.
5.  How am I working on my goals and my legacy today? What will I leave behind when this day ends that ripples out and builds my reputation and legacy?
These small steps – placing three bricks a day to build your dream house – may sound insignificant but they add up. My checks now are imprinted with the reminder: Practice Everyday Kindness. I don’t know how that will change anything or anyone (besides myself) but it was a small visible step toward one of my goals. If you spend just 15 minutes a day on your blueprint, it may take you a lifetime to achieve it. Or you may start getting so excited about your legacy that the 15 minutes turns to an hour and the hour turns to a career change or a blog or a commitment to join a committee charged with raising $1 million for a charity you support.
If you’re still not certain what your lifetime’s contribution will be, join the club – and start a journal.  Write about your ideas, hopes, possibilities.places, stumbles and fears. Write about your dreams for yourself – your earliest aspirations and your recent visions. And keep writing as you advance your career or life and gather more information and insights.

Make sure that as you go through each day and each week, you take time for inspiration, for reflection and for learning more about yourself and your contributions. Other ways to explore your legacy:

• Read. Biographies are great – choose people whose legacies you admire whether that’s feminist icon Gloria Steinem or Presidents Abraham Lincoln or Jimmy Carter. Blogs can work too – if their subject inspires and their aim is lofty. Or try books on goals or achieving greatness or creativity.
• Volunteer. Choose the cause with care – it could lead to your life’s calling or legacy. Spend time talking to the long-time volunteers and the senior staff to hear their stories and wisdom.
• Travel. Go to the city where your grandparents were raised or to the place where you’ve always dreamed you’d live. Visit ancient ruins and read about the enduring legacy of their creators. Couchsurf with people who have achieved something -  ask about their turning points and how they found their path.

As for me, I’m using all of these and more to work toward a legacy that eventually might sound something like this:
She asked great questions, and offered wise counsel. She practiced Everyday Generosity and Kindness. She raised three children and loved dozens more. She wrote many books and helped others develop theirs. She created nonprofits and businesses to improve the world through aiding homeless, unemployed and young people. She lived by her values and ideals. She inspired others. She encouraged many to use their talents and build their legacies.

This post is part of a blog series on Brazen being sponsored by Entrustet.  They asked Brazen members to answer the question:  What do you want your legacy to be?

Anyone heading home for the holidays may want to plan now for a “one day job hunt” during the visit.  And if you’re visiting family or friends in Dallas, Denver or Detroit, detour from the home fires to develop your professional network amid the holiday festivities.

I started considering the one-day job hunt a few years ago when I visited San Francisco on a long weekend, and spent a few hours meeting a couple of editors. Though I don’t write for any of them, I cultivated a positive relationship with those visits – and still hope that someday MarketWatch will want my career column.

More recently, a member of the D.C. Web Women social list asked how to search while visiting a city for business. I shared a few ideas, and began thinking about how valuable it is to mix business and pleasure over Christmas – or Passover, Diwali, homecoming or any other trip home.  It’s the kind of activity that could be especially valuable if you have aging relatives who may someday need your care and presence.

The holidays create a feeling of goodwill, as well as some slower work days (so expect many of the people you’d like to see may be off seeing their family or replenishing their energies for 2011).

Here’s seven tips for a one-day job hunt on your next trip home:

1. Ask Aunt Sue or cousin Juan to name a few well-connected people who they know. Find out where they work and what kind of professional network they have. Then schedule a chat with one of them, explaining your interest in finding a job and returning to their fair city.
2. Identify three major employers in the region you’re visiting, and see if you or your family know someone there. They may be members of your college sorority, part of a LinkedIn group, a family friend or even an in-law. Connect with them – and be clear you’re eager to return home once you find the right job at a great employer.
3. Set up an “informational interview” with a manager at one of those employers.
4. If you’re active in Rotary, Toastmasters, Couchsurfing or some professional or social group, go to one of their meetings. If that’s not possible, write the chapter president to arrange a coffee or breakfast during your visit.
5. Return to your high school, church, synagogue, fairgrounds or other stomping grounds and say hello to former teachers, friends, members.
6. Discover where the small business incubator and business development organizations are located and drop by to pick up nuggets on what organizations may be expanding and need to hire in coming months. Or spend two hours in the local library researching employers and talking to librarians and patrons about possibilities
7. Job hunt when the rest of your family won’t miss you – early mornings or during a shopping trip that has plenty of participants. Don’t skip out on family activities like ice skating or a trip to the family homestead, now grown into a subdivision. Those may yield surprising leads or connections that could turn your old neighborhood into your next neighborhood.

Make sure you bring along copies of your resume along with the gifts for family, and at least one professional suit (with a festive holiday tie or pin) in case one of the chats yields an immediate opening. And once you leave, make  sure you send a thank you note or email of appreciation with everyone you connected with at home.

This post also appears as a guest post on GenPink, part of Elysa Rice’s A to Z series this month. I cover K for karma or perhaps kindness to colleagues – and I’m eager to write more about this topic. So here’s part one on career karma:

Never mind building your personal brand. Instead, start creating good karma in your career and  your office.
Karma has strength and longevity, yet also builds a bond today. Karma is simply the ripple effects of your actions, which many believe determine your future or even your next life.  It’s a pay-it-forward approach to office kindness and cooperation. It’s easy and joyful and it may even advance your career.  Here’s 10 ways to create karma in your workplace:

1.Be friendly and inquisitive.
Smile and say hello in the halls and bathrooms. Be the happy coworker, the one that everyone is glad to see. Welcome newcomers and be curious about senior staffers’ latest projects.

2. Start with small kindnesses.
You know, the little things – hold the door open for a colleague or answer the phone when the admin is away or very busy. Refill the copy paper tray. Make fresh coffee. Share a worthwhile link or article with everyone, even the office malcontent. For many more examples, read The Power of Small by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval.

3.  Fill in for your boss.
Give the gift of time. Take over for a week so she can really get a vacation or finish a huge project uninterrupted. Or work the holiday shifts no one wants. Offer to take over for the manager who’s out on medical leave. Yes, you’ll end up with twice as much work for a week or three, but you’ll also prove your talents as a leader. And it’s huge kick of karma.

4. Clean up the office kitchen.
If you’re like me, you hate this task – and the people who leave dirty dishes for days That’s why you gain gobs of karma if you clean it all up and don’t  ask for recognition for your dish-pan hands.  If you truly cannot lift a sponge, then stock the kitchen with all sorts of snacks and treats – dried fruits, trail mix, boxes of cereal, fresh fruit.

5.  Be a connector.
Share your connections freely. Introduce recent graduates and old friends to the head of HR or the manager who must fill a dozen temporary jobs by Jan. 1. Share job openings with your social networks. Agree to the 20- or 30-minute networking coffee or informational interview. If you do that a few times a week it could qualify as your volunteer work, says Kate Wendleton, president of the Five O’Clock Club, a career coaching organization.

6.  Feed the crew.
Bring in muffins or bagels once a week. Or offer a spontaneous sweet treat: flavored popcorn, chocolates, a box of clementines. If you and your coworkers prefer the healthy treats, stock up on darker colored grapes, oranges, dried goji berries, suggests Sharon Greenspan, owner of Wild Success. Or bring in something you just discovered at the Farmers Market. (For more  ideas see my Glassdoor.com blog post on sweet treats).

7. Bring a meal to a crazed colleague.
I still recall the times a colleague at Newsday brought me a plate of food because he saw I wouldn’t have time to get up and get it myself. It felt like the best thing that had happened to me and as warm as a sauna in a South Beach resort. So use your Groupon or two for one coupons to bring lunch or dinner to some overworked coworker on deadline. Just make sure you know if they prefer veggie, vegan or meat meals.

8.   Pass along praise. Deliver good news.
Recognize others successes, small and big. Acknowledge the extra efforts of your peers, your boss, anyone who works with you. As Emily Bennington and Skip Lineberg say in their book Effective Immediately: coworkers love to hear you say “You did a great job on that!” or “You look nice today.” And  “bosses love good news.”   It’s also great to really pass along praise – when you hear someone’s work lauded in a management meeting, share that with her.

9.  Serve as the office medic.
Stock up on aspirin, cough drops, antacids and maybe a little first aid cream. Add a few bandages and some Vitamin C. Then place these large bottles on your desk or a prominent shelf beneath a sign that proclaims their availability for anyone.

10. Appreciate the little people.
Send an effusive email to the admin who helped you so much and make sure you copy her boss. Take an extra minute to chat with the security guard or receptionist and find out about their family or interests. Leave the janitor a thank you note – or a holiday tip or gift. Thank the intern for their assistance and offer a recommendation or some mentoring. Who knows? One of those people could be your next boss or the person who comes to your aid when your laptop or your tire blows up.

I know I’ve missed many good ways to cultivate karma and kindness – so please share your ideas and actions.

And if this sounds like a lot to do all at once, pick one thing – or even one day of the work week – as your karma creator. Then consider it an investment in your future.

“Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal.  It’s a way to live.”  ~Attributed to Jacqueline Winspear

My morning rituals have a new piece:  my gratitude journal.

I write in it almost every morning, usually while lying under the covers and watching for a hint of sunlight. Some days, it’s just a few lines – often because I’m in a hurry to get started on the rest of my day. Sometimes though I fill an entire page with people and moments and small joys that I appreciate. The list may include a ripe avocado waiting to be turned to guacamole; a bowl of fruit (leftover from a Hanukkah dinner), heading to my Mom and Dad’s for the weekend; a new writing assignment from Fortune or a friend who I ran into at a favorite Ann Arbor coffee shop. My sweetheart and my children show up regularly, so do an array of fruit and all the new skills and ideas I’m learning.

Nature’s beauty. Time for meditation. Christmas lights. A delicious dinner at Josephine’s in Ferndale. Petting a sweet dog. A very productive day. All inspire my gratitude and show up in my journal.

Often after my gratitude journal, I turn to prayer – thanksgiving and requests. Other days I jump out of bed, run through a few stretches and head downstairs for some water and coffee, some writing and some small act of Everyday Generosity. I’ve already seen  so much good in those few moments of journaling that I am glad to get going on a day of work and play, connection and creativity, all kinds of moments and people that will show up in the next page.

This new ritual makes me believe this fair quote from Henry Ward Beecher:

“Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. “

More posts on gratitude and appreciation will return in a couple of weeks. Watch for new posts soon on storytelling for career success and creating a wisdom jar for your desk.

My thanks to The Quote Garden for these and other quotes.

It’s so easy to say the wrong thing in a job interview. So before you are even invited to interview, practice saying the right things.

Here’s seven smart tips on what to say – and how to say them- all of which I picked up at a speed interviewing practice at the Ann Arbor Center for Independent Living:

1. Practice, practice, practice. And prepare, prepare, prepare.  “Rehearse until you don’t sound rehearsed,” said Ed Chappel, a human resources consultant.
2. Adapt to the circumstances. If it’s very noisy in the job fair, speak louder, said Lee Gorman, owner of Barton Consulting Services.
3. Keep your answers concise. Tight your stories. Brighten your answers. This is my suggestion – and you do it by a combination of practice and creativity. And  Kim Goodyear, who works in HR for Thompson Reuters, suggests when you’re asked to give an example, be specific and don’t speak in generalities.
4. Develop language that’s positive. Say something like “after a successful career in retail management, I’d now like to apply my skills to a nonprofit organization.”  When you’re asked to tell about yourself, be sure to sprinkle in some success or a mention of one of your best attributes.
5. Don’t tell me why you were laid off or what misstep you made that led to your current unemployment. “Don’t make excuses for the past. Tell me what you’re going to do in the future,” said Chris Hall, RepairClinic.com president. Or as HR consultant Jeremy Little put it: “Don’t answer the unasked questions.”
6. Have examples of how you handle conflict with a boss or coworkers. Many recruiters are going to ask that one, said Little.
7. Put on an attitude of confidence, enthusiasm and energy. “Be excited about this role,” said Baxter Hall, New Horizons Computer Learning Center career consultant.

My article on speed interviewing for the AARP Bulletin gives more advice and suggestions.

Here’s a related blog post on getting the recruiter and hiring manager talking that appears on Glassdoor.com’s blog.

The book The 101 Toughest Interview Questions: And Answers That Win the Job By Daniel Porot and Frances Bolles Haynes (10 Speed Press, 248 pages) is excellent.

I hope to add another online resource here soon. Or please recommend something you really think is valuable.

More career advice from the Ann Arbor Center for independent Living is available online.

As the sun shines into my Sunday, I want to share three more thoughts on appreciation, and my thanks to BrainyQuote.com for the inspiring words

“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” – Voltaire

“The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.” -Amelia Earhart, the aviation legend

“Appreciation is the highest form of prayer, for it acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.” -  Alan Cohen, author of Are You As Happy as Your Dog? and other books

And I’d like to send my appreciation out to my parents, for their enduring love, and to my sweetheart, Mark, who makes life easy to appreciate.