Beth Bialko never doubted for a moment her life would unfold in a successful arc. The child of middle-class professionals, she knew when she was in high school she would attend college. And after she graduated from Ohio University with a bachelor’s degree in communication, she figured it was just a matter of time until she owned her own company. She’s always been blessed with an ample supply of self-confidence and been surrounded by people who supported her in her pursuits.

We frequently refer to life as a game. As with any game, rules prevail. Yet in life, we’re not given a rule book. Each of us plays with our own unwritten game book, made up of our own rules, as well as those that have been imparted to us by our parents, friends, and peers. But the rules are not standardized; not everyone plays the same way and conflicts occur. The key is to be intentional and develop a clear game plan for our own lives. No other person can get you to awaken to the present moment in your life but you.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue has been the good luck wedding custom for years. Now it looks like the good luck is rubbing off on spas, since the wedding tradition increasingly includes pre-wedding spa events, complete with body wraps and scrubs for the bridal party.

One need look no further than a newspaper’s advice column to better understand the human condition. Amazingly, the questions don’t change all that much over time; neither does the advice. Do we ever learn?

Few of us actually write letters to columnists, but nearly all of us seek the advice of friends or family at some point in our lives. In a recent online survey I conducted, respondents were asked to share some of the best and worst advice they ever received.