Listen for opportunities to connect and then share relevant information about yourself. Don’t wait to be asked about yourself. It’s your job to establish rapport.

Learn as much as you can about your new environment in advance. Familiarize yourself with the stated values and language of the organization.

Decide what three qualities you want to be known for. This is a basic rule of “personal branding.” Being certain of your three top qualities will allow you to establish a strong platform early on.

Be polite to everyone. The person you push past may turn out to be the person who sits in next to you. The receptionist you ignore now may someday be your boss. Courtesy will pay you back with rich rewards.

Try to speak at the same volume as those in your new environment. Studies show that people respond best to others who speak at the same volume as themselves. Your vocal volume is something you can control, so pay attention to it.

If the transition involves a move to a new city, state, or country, get out and explore. The more you know your way around, the more comfortable you will feel.

Transitions are stressful, so make sure you take care of yourself. Get plenty of rest, eat well and exercise. Now is not the time to crash in the middle of the day from too much sugar or not enough sleep. You want to be alert, refreshed and ready to go.

Just because your environment changes does not mean every aspect of your life has to change with it.

Focusing on this familiarity will still give you that connection to your former situation while transitioning and adapting to a new environment.

Think of it like a security blanket that gives you that safe and calm feeling while you go through something new.

TAKE WHAT IS FAMILIAR AND FIND A WAY TO INCORPORATE IT INTO YOUR NEW ROUTINE OR ENVIRONMENT

If you do not notice any similarities in your new environment, choose something that you truly loved and find a way to add it into your new routine.

Just because your environment or routine changes does not mean you cannot include some old habits—as long as they are good for you, of course.

DEVELOP A NEW ROUTINE AND KEEP AT IT LONG ENOUGH SO IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE AND FAMILIAR

One of the best ways to adapt to a new environment is to start a routine and keep at it for a few weeks until it becomes your new norm.

Instead of always trying a new café every morning for your cup of coffee or going different routes every time you come home from work, stick with the same thing.

Just having one or two things that are consistently regular in your daily life will make you feel a lot more grounded and comfortable in your new surroundings.

DO NOT SHY AWAY FROM TACKLING NEW GROUND AND FORMING NEW ROUTINES. You need to accept the fact that your life is going to include some major changes.

Sometimes settling into a new routine gives you an opportunity to restart your life in a new, and hopefully better direction. Do not be shy to try different things, go to different places and be open minded when it comes to something that you are unsure about. Remember—nothing ventured, nothing gained.

EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN. If you truly want to settle into a new environment, you need to embrace the unknown as if it is an adventure that you have no idea where it will lead you, but it is worth every minute spent on the ride there.

Sometimes one of the best ways to adapt to a new environment is to have a goal that keeps your focus and attention that your life is going through some big changes. Having something to reach for will redirect your attention and keep you from worrying and stressing about these changes.

Try doing something that is completely enjoyable and relaxing, whether it is yoga, photography, sewing or joining a local book club. Time spent doing something you truly enjoy means less time stressing about everything else.

Adapting to a new environment is more about a positive attitude than anything. If it’s your decision for change, see it as your next great adventure.

If it’s your decision for change, see it as your next great adventure. If the change has been forced upon you, make it easier to settle in by accepting that the change is going to happen so you might as well do everything you can to make it easier to deal with.

Concentrate on the positive aspects of your new environment. Big life changes are never easy and making a few mistakes comes with the territory. Relax, take things one day at a time and give yourself time to adjust. Before too long your new environment might just begin to feel a lot like home. 

If there wasn't mystery, people wouldn't have anything to ponder. If you already knew everything, you wouldn't have anything to think about and life would just be really boring.

I don't know a lot about politics.

People such as Hunter S. Thompson and the Beats were a huge influence on me, not just in what they were saying, but how they said it.

I'll definitely say that, before film school, I didn't have much of a film-history background. I didn't know much about classic cinema.

I don't bow down to the federal government.

With music, I get to a much darker place. Where I'm able to go with 'Portlandia' has a wider range, but also a brighter range.

Rather than improving the wealth of their own nation, the Mexican government encourages its poor to come to the U.S. and send money home.

When you are happy, you enjoy the music. But, when you are sad, you understand the lyrics.

I learned my French through school. I was lucky in that the tutor on 'The Wonder Years' set spoke fluent French.

I always felt out of place. I wasn't a cool kid, but I wasn't a nerd, either. I had trouble finding my place. But when I found the music, I had a place of my own.

I pay attention to my diet to be a healthier gymnast, but I'm not obsessive over it.

You have two pages, that's the whole credit card agreement. The terms are clear and flat and easy to see so anyone can read them. So you could lay four credit cards in front of you and say, 'Oh, that's the one that has the highest rate, that's the one that has the really scary provision that could hurt me.'

The hardest thing in the world for a writer is to amass a readership. So many good books come out, and so many good books disappear.

I don't have memories of Ethiopia as a child. I didn't learn about Ethiopian culture until after I moved to New York and started meeting people from the Ethiopian community.

Atlantis will rise again.

Atlanta? I think it's the greatest city anywhere I know of.

All free governments are managed by the combined wisdom and folly of the people.

It is not easy to stand up against your constituents or your friends or colleagues or your community and take a tough stand for something you believe is right. Because you always want to keep working and live to fight another battle and it might cost you your career.

The Lord, over the years, grew a seed in my heart to make faith-based films.

The United States Constitution has proved itself the most marvelously elastic compilation of rules of government ever written.

There is an English saying that the king is always happy, or, 'happy as the king' - which is not true at all. But I can be as happy as a king if all of you know what is right and what is wrong and cooperate to fix things.

Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it.

The most exciting breakthroughs of the 21st century will not occur because of technology but because of an expanding concept of what it means to be human.

Very few of my characters are based on people I've known. It is too constricting.