Jim Collins' "Good to Great" is a book that can help professionals focus on their most important skills instead of trying to do it all, writes Maureen Harrington. Another helpful book for professionals is Andy Grove's "Only the Paranoid Survive," which shows readers how complacency can impede them from being able to identify a crisis in today's volatile business climate.

If you feel like your colleagues aren't taking to you like you'd expect, the problem could be that you don't smile enough or you tend to hide your emotions. Researchers have found that those simple mistakes, along with name-dropping or humble-bragging, can make co-workers dislike you.

When you ask for help from a mentor or networking partner, make sure it's something that you can't learn on your own with a little bit of effort. In addition, always make sure your requests are short and specific so you don't waste your networking partner's time, writes Alyse Kalish.

A survey found remote workers were more likely to be happy with their jobs than brick-and-mortar employees, but they had problems drawing boundaries between work and home life, researchers wrote in the journal New Technology, Work and Employment. David Ballard of the American Psychological Association said telecommuters should take breaks in which they do not think about work to reduce stress.

When you can't seem to generate interest from employers despite having the necessary experience and skills, it may be time to work with a career coach, writes Karla Miller. "A career coach can help refine your resume and outreach messages and get more mileage out of your LinkedIn account -- for example, making yourself visible to well-connected recruiters and other professionals who can warm up cold contacts for you," Miller writes.

When it comes to work-life balance, there's no one size that fits all. You may be happier when you come to terms with the fact that you prefer juggling your roles throughout the day or blending your work activities with the rest of your life, writes Andy Molinsky.

A Kentucky man dressed as Pokemon character Pikachu jumped a concrete barrier on the White House's outer perimeter, but failed to get any further before being caught by Secret Service officers. Curtis Combs informed police that he was unarmed and was hoping to upload his White House adventure on YouTube to become famous.