Though I am not religious, around Passover/Easter, my thoughts always turn to matters of spirit. Good Friday is an especially reflective day for me. For one thing, I can't figure out why it's called "Good Friday." What's good about getting nailed to a cross while being forced to wear a crown of thorns?

The key to success: serving others.

Is it ironic or paradoxical that this is because people mainly care about themselves?

The smartest business advice I've ever gotten:

"Nobody gives a f*** about you."

Sorry, but that's the way it is. Hiring managers don't care about your shoeless children. Potential customers don't care how hard you work. All they care about is what you can deliver for them. As you build relationships with these people, they might come to adore your family or appreciate the fact that you burn the midnight oil for them, but when you first meet someone in any business capacity, they really don't care one whit about you.

Therefore, to be exceptional, to set yourself apart from the pack, you have to do two interrelated things:

To regular long-time readers, it might seem like I'm repeating myself, but as I've said before, some things deserve to be said more than once, especially in the blogging world where old posts sometimes sink deep into the abyss.

This is important.

Come to think of it, you could make your own holiday gifts, too.

Read this warning first, though:

WARNING: Every link in this post will be an affiliate link. Though this information comes from the goodness of my heart, I am also trying to make some dough like everybody else.

In addition to being entertained and informed, you are about to be exposed to powerful sales copy. If you are unemployed and you are the kind of person whose credit card burns a hole in your wallet, I beg you...

... stop reading now, before it's too late!

You've been down so gosh darned long it looks like up to you, and now the unemployment checks are about to stop flowing. This is where the ability to survive financially takes precedence over all the other stresses of unemployment. What to do?

Here are a few ideas. You may have to swallow your pride to execute some of them, but that's not a bad thing. Hey, it's survival, right?

1. Hold a garage sale. This is a great way to clean out your closets and bring in some cash.