Success

Being the "nice girl" at work has its perks — everyone gravitates toward you because you're always trying to please other people. However, in terms of getting what you want in your career and having your career progress at the rate you want it to, being too "nice" might hinder you. Lois Frankel, author of Nice Girls Just Don't Get It advises to "get outside your comfort zone and be willing to deal with other people's discomfort, because if you spend your life making other people comfortable, you may feel good, but you're not going to get what you really want."

To get ahead at work, you need to be more assertive, but you don't have to be too aggressive about it — there are ways to do it in a positive manner. Here are some tips Frankel has for women to drop the "nice" act:

• Leverage Your Relationships: If you have cultivated a great network and relationships, don't feel bad about reaching out to someone for help. Many "nice girls" feel bad asking others for help, but they need to get over that and take advantage of the relationships they worked hard to build.
• Don't Say Yes All the Time: Pick and choose what you'll say yes to, and be sure to "manage people's expectations" by stating your limitations about the project and what you'll realistically be able to get done.
• Use Less Words: Instead of talking too much, try to make your messages succinct and to the point. Frankel says, "Women tend to use more words than men because they either feel as if they have to compensate for something or prove themselves." Use less words and gestures. Be sure to be mindful of filler words such as "like" and "uh-huh" as well.

High forehead? Check. Flared eyebrows? Check. Billionaire? Check! According to a new study, if you share some of these certain facial traits found on the UK's richest men and women, you're more likely to be successful.

The Daily Mail listed some of the facial characteristics that might propel you towards the ranks of the wealthy and fabulous:

• Roman nose. "Has an eye for a bargain, very cost conscious and a desire for money."

• Sloped back forehead. "Quick to respond and can think on their feet."
• High forehead on women. "Needs intellectual challenges and thinks outside the box."
• Flared eyebrows on women. "Enjoys the limelight and is very creative."
• Ears set back on head on men. "Focuses on the future and can be extravagant
• Protruding chin on men. "Tenacious."
• Wide set eyes on men. "Sees the bigger picture and is a multitasker."

Of course, even if you possess all these facial features, it doesn't mean you're going to hit the jackpot. "Whether or not you match up to our ‘Face of Success’ images, one of the most important factors in business success is being in the right job at the right time," says Mark Riley, Marketing Director of MyJobGroup.co.uk, the company that commissioned the study.

I agree wholeheartedly with being at the right job at the right time — luck is a big factor of success. But oftentimes, one can make their own luck, no?

I was reading an article today that touted the power of yes, then I was reminded of another one I read a while back that encouraged saying no. So which is it — do I willingly open myself up to new experiences by saying yes or do I stand my ground and refuse? It all depends on the situation and you don't have to stick to one path, the best way to go about things is to balance both of them and learn when it's best to agree or refuse. Saying yes or no are really important decisions that you face every day at work. Here's when you should say no:

• No Time: This is should be pretty straightforward, if you find yourself stretched for time, don't do it. If it's going to eat up your sleep and take time away from your work or leave you without time for leisure activities (because it's important to have a healthy work-life balance!), just say no or you may risk the chance of burning out. It's not conducive to your well being if you have too much on your plate. Remember, you don't want to be the jack-of-all-trades and the master of none.
• Stressed Out: When you're stressed, taking on another activity, even if it's fun and challenging, will not be as enjoyable if it starts feeling more of an obligation rather a growing experience. You need to be in a good state of mind when you're agreeing to commit.
• Pushover: If you find yourself saying yes too often and regretting agreeing to it later, you may very well be a pushover. If you know have a tendency to cave, experiment with saying no more often.
• Hurting Feelings: If you're afraid of hurting your co-worker or boss's feelings, don't be. They understand because they've said no plenty of times before.  They'll move on, because they'll know that there will be other times when you'll say yes.

Here's when to say yes:

This simple tip is guaranteed to get you ahead: be nice. Don't scoff at this till you hear me out. I've come across many people in my life, and the "nice" quality is something that sets some apart from the rest.

Throughout your life, people will help you get to where you are, and it's really touching to see successful people who haven't lost sight of that. This was something I realized over the course of the many interviews I've done. I just marvel at how nice and down to earth many of my interviewees are.

Further driving this home is the recent quote from investing legend Bill Draper in Inc. magazine. When asked about the lessons he learned from his experiences, Draper said, "I learned that being friendly and open comes back to help you. The people that have the hardest time in business are often brilliant but rub others the wrong way. People really wanted to do business with [my partner] and me because we were good guys."

Doing a kind act doesn't have to be complicated or take up much time. Even simple things like responding to an email or declining politely are "nice" moves. "Please" and "thank-you" don't take much effort to say as well. Being nice is such a simple tip that will guarantee success so why not start today — go out of your way for someone even if you don't know them well, because I'm sure many people have bent over backwards for you.

Failure doesn't have to crush you, it can even make you stronger. It's OK to fail as long as you learn from it, CEO of VMware Diane Greene said last night at a Women 2.0 event. It's a line that I've heard from many powerful women: don't be afraid of failure. In fact, the queen of fantasy, J.K. Rowling, said in a Harvard commencement speech two years ago that "rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." You're only selling yourself short if you play safe your whole life because you're too afraid of making a mistake.

It's refreshing to hear this, because we've all been taught that failure is a dirty word, and we're mostly driven by our fear of doing something wrong. In fact, even science agrees with this — research from MIT says that we learn more from succeeding rather than failing. However, I don't think that's true for every scenario, and I think it's ultimately up to us to reap the benefits and learn from our failures. Sugar readers seemed to agree with this, and 76 percent of them said on a TrèsSugar survey that they have learned more from their mistakes than their wins.

You don't have to be a CEO of a company or a billionaire author to make mistakes; it's something that everyone inevitably experiences in their life. It can be a time when you're stretched at work with too many meetings or are struggling to graduate from school. Or maybe you're feeling overwhelmed by a massive credit card debt. Just take a deep breath and take a page from these power women — pick yourself up and get going, and see these blunders as a learning experience.

If you failed the marshmallow test when you were a kid, chances are you won't see success, according to a study by psychologist Walter Mischel. Researchers place the white, fluffy sweet on a plate and tell the kids to either eat the marshmallow now or wait for a moment to eat two marshmallows. It's apparently a great indicator of impulse control, which is a good predictor of SAT scores. In fact, those who chose the delayed gratification path scored 210 more points than those who succumbed to the allures of the yummy marshmallows. Do you think this is a smart test to measure a person's chances of succeeding?

Check out the cute video below of a professor who carried out this experiment: