Mary: “I want to move near my grandchildren, but how on earth will I move myself up there alone?” You: “Just call a moving company. What is your PROBLEM?”

Abby: “I hate being an entrepreneur, but you have no idea how hard it is to get back into a corporation with all downsizing. You: “Just call a career coach. What is your PROBLEM?”

Millicent: “I ought to get a raise, but how on earth do I ask him for one?” You: “Just ask. What is your PROBLEM?”

Antonio: “How on earth do I tell my wife I’m in love with another woman?” You: “Just tell her. What is your PROBLEM?”

Liu: “I hate this house. I hate it.” You: You’ve been saying that for 3 years now. What is your PROBLEM?”

What is PROBLEM when solution is so EASY?

++Easy to us who are on outside. ++Easy to us who are not emotionally involved and can therefore be objective ++Easy for us who are not hamstrung by ambivalence (indecision) and can think clearly ++Easy for us because we can think logically, and steps are obvious IF decision has been made AND there are no emotions involved.

How do you ask for a raise? Gosh, there must be 50 ways to ask for a raise.

Remember that great old song by Paul Simon, “There Must Be 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”? He’s talking with a woman …

And because our brains are way they are, we are way we are, -- we endure love, grief, excitement, inconvenient passions, attempts at rational control, impotent anger and need to push to head of line. And we do dumb things like fool around with Jose's faithless girl. (Don't go there!)

EQ is about experiencing and managing those emotions -- yours and theirs -- and it's in all our songs.

It used to be Western tradition to have a poet laureate – starting in England in 1600s, appointed for poetic excellence and being a salaried member of royal household with no official duties, they spoke feelings for people. (Poets laureate of England included Jonson, Dryden, Wordsworth and Tennyson, among others.)

Though states in US continue to appoint poets laureate, poetry is no longer “popular” (as in 'enjoyed by many people') and their original function is now filled by our popular music.

EQ is about experiencing and managing those emotions -- yours and theirs -- and it's in all our songs.

1. Kodachrome (Paul Simon) / EQ can matter more than IQ, especially when it means being able to "read writing on wall"

When I think back on all k*** I learned in high school, it’s a wonder I can think at all, and my lack of education hasn't hurt me none, I can read writing on wall.

2. Heaven’s Just a Sin Away (The Kendalls) / Primitive (Reptilian) Brain’s winning out over limbic and neocortex

Heaven’s just a sin away, just a sin away, can't wait another day, I think I'm giving in. How I'd love to hold you tight, be with you tonight, that still won't make it right, 'cause I belong to him. Way down deep inside, I know that it's all wrong, your eyes keep tempting me, and I never was that strong. The devil's got me now, gone and got me now, I can't fight him any how, I think he's gonna win ... Heaven help me when I say, I think I'm giving in.

3. The Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time (Mickey Gilley) / Reality check, chemical , low impulse control and intentionality, low EQ

Ain’t it funny, ain’t it strange, how a man’s opinion changes when he starts to face that lonely night... The girls all get prettier at closing time, they all begin to look like movie stars. If I could rate 'em on a scale from 1-10, I'm looking for a 9, but 8 could work right in. A few more drinks, and I might slip to 5 or even 4, and when tomorrow morning comes and I wake up with a number 1, I swear I'll never do it any more.

4. Count on Me (The Statler Brothers) / Empathy, communication, interpersonal skills, intuition, high EQ, what a couple