If it’s your birthday

Your key to success is to keep a cool and objective attitude at work. Drive your passion into doing what you do artfully, and minimize friction with management types and people who report to you. Be reasonable: State your motives, state your ideas, build consensus and never let things get personal. And of course, honesty remains the best policy. You share a birthday with Neil Patrick Harris, Ice Cube and Helen Hunt. APRIL 20-MAY 20 Venus in your sign is a reminder that you can handle anything, but even better, that you can do or create whatever you set your mind to. The more you do, the stronger this feeling will get. The greater the challenges that you rise to, the more you’ll discover you’re capable of. JULY 23-AUG. 22 Right now you have a wide berth, professionally and socially, allowing you to do what you want, and to consciously influence the impression you make on people. This is the time to reveal your true talent and creativity, with no fear of being perceived as too weird or too much. AUG. 23-SEPT. 22 One of your most important assets is that people know you’ll take care of them. That may seem to contradict being in a position of influence or authority, though in truth leaders must be submissive to the people they serve. If you understand this, you’re way ahead of society. SEPT. 23-OCT. 22 One thing everyone born under your sign needs to know is the connection between your emotional health and how you feel physically. If you work this connection, and emphasize your psychic wellbeing, you will feel better physically. If something seems to have “no cause,” investigate your emotions. OCT. 23-NOV. 21 You can push certain lingering, complicated projects through to completion over the next 48 hours. The thing that’s lacking is coordination, and you’re in the perfect position to offer that. Don’t ask permission; just take over and start getting things done, the way you know they need to be done. NOV. 22-DEC. 21 A meeting of the minds is possible today, even where there seems to be no hope of an agreement. For that to happen, you’ll need to take a flexible position, and make a few concessions. This will help you update your views and concede that others really do have a valid point. DEC. 22-JAN. 19 You’re holding most of the cards, no matter what anyone else may think — and regardless of your official position. Yet you must know your influence, which is on the level of ideas more than anything. You’re the person with the plan. You can see the big picture. Assert yourself. JAN. 20-FEB. 18 Now is the time to resist any inclination to take a certain viewpoint because you think others will approve. Indeed, your current role is not merely to push back against public opinion but also to think, say and create what you do just because it’s the thing to do. FEB. 19-MARCH 20 The past may seem closer than it is today, though let that serve as a reminder of how much you’ve grown emotionally in recent years. There may be one particular family issue nagging you. I would remind you of that line in the film “Good Will Hunting”: It’s not your fault.