Perhaps you remember Madge Manicurist, a television commercial character who commiserates with her clients about their chapped hands. While she is filing nails of one hand, she conspiratorially confides that her client is actually soaking her other hand in Palmolive dishwashing liquid. After all, "It softens hands while you do dishes."

It was a memorable pitch--good visual, element of surprise, great what-it-will-do-for-you line. That commercial, in several variations, ran for nearly thirty years. Jan Miner, actress who played Madge, died earlier this year at age of 86, but her persona lives on.

Softening hands is nice, but here's a better idea. How about softening our hearts while we do dishes?

Seriously. There's not a lot of multitasking you can do when you're elbow-deep in suds. Singing works, though your dance moves are a bit limited. You could talk on your hands-free wireless phone, but let's hope you can disconnect for few minutes it takes to clean up after a meal.

Given free rein, our minds tend to go into worry mode. We're likely to spin our stories, get locked into our beliefs, or ponder our personal list of things to do.

What if we got intentional about that time spent at sink? Take advantage of task and use those soapy bubbles as a trigger to be mindful.

Imagine! 40 is old. The California State Supreme Court has said that when are you are 40, employers can discriminate against employees using this age as excuse.

I attempt to ignore all headlines in newspapers. I try not to react to how I feel when I read them.

I try I really do, but I cannot stop today.

It’s not new, but now, extremely blatant. I’m angry, but so what. That’s my problem. Let it go and move on.

I gave up that particular battle years ago. I became self-employed in various disguises. I chose to be in a business that did not discriminate because I was a woman.

In my last salaried position I was paid half salary of former male manager. Did more and received less. I then decided only to work in a way that I was paid for my skills, not my age, weight, gender or marital status. This was my motivation. Enough was enough. Finished up, walked away and never looked back. On to better things.

I started as an independent contractor, then went on to manage other independent professionals. The next step was owning my own business. I reinvented my business several times over, and in process, myself.

During all this time, I don’t recall reading a newspaper or paying attention to headlines. Maybe I knew more than I thought at time.

As my wise daughter so brilliantly asks: "What does it have to do with me?" Rightly so. Stop wasting time with things that have nothing to do with you or things and people you cannot change.

The solution?

Ignore what doesn’t serve you- in my case, news headlines- and use that time to start your own business. Small, big, it doesn’t matter. Just do something.