“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” (Mother Teresa)
How many of us have grand ideas of how we would like to help the world..in a BIG way…someday? It is very honorable to wish for this. If only we could help, to that extent, today.
I have wonderful news…we CAN!!!
As Mother Teresa said, if you cannot feed 100 people, just feed one. Imagine helping just one person to enjoy a healthy meal…today. Then imagine if 99 other people did the same. BOOM! 100 people, healthfully fed!
We are all individual spokes in a wheel. We do not have to each be an entire wheel. When all the spokes move together, the world moves forward in a positive direction.
In the same vein, if you cannot hug 100 people today to bring some comfort…hug just one person. You can, and will, make a difference.
Is there someone in your world who could use a bit of cheering and encouragement today? You can provide that. You don’t have to cheer on every member of the team…just choose one person, and trust that somewhere, someone else will be cheering on another.
See how easy it can be? We are all part of this experience called life. And we can all help out one other person who is just like us. Some days we need that hug, or word of encouragement, or meal.
And isn’t it a wonderful feeling when someone takes the time and effort to help us?
Are you willing to hug someone today? To offer a cheerful greeting and support? To offer some healthy food to someone who desperately needs it?
The opportunities are not just halfway around the world, on a desolate continent. They are right there in your home town.
Seize the day, and make a difference.
You can do it. I know you can. You know you can.
We all can.
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Fire Up the Change Machine!
“We must become the change we want to see.” (Mahatma Gandhi)
As you roll out of bed at the dawn of a new week, go over your checklist.
Brush teeth? Check!
Drink orange juice? Check! (ugh, should have done this FIRST!)
Start complaining because today is Monday? Check?
Hmmmmm…how many of us will begin this new week by grumbling about everything that is wrong in the world, at home, at work? How many of our problems grew even bigger over the weekend, and are waiting to dig their claws into us as we cross the threshold into a new day?
I’ve got a friend who reminds me every Sunday: ”Tomorrow is Monday…and Mondays suck“. This person has a long list of things wrong with the world, and the workplace.
What he doesn’t understand is this: complaining about the problem and not taking action to resolve it only adds more negative energy. He is feeding the monster, not defeating it!
At times, I’ll bet we are all been guilty of this. We are human. It’s okay.
However, today is a new day, and we can head out hte door with a new approach, if we really want to.
Got a complaint on your mind? If not, just look at your local paper. Pick one situation with which you are unhappy, and decide to take even one little action toward improving it.
Did someone vandalize a local business? Offer to help the owner repair the damage.
Got a problem with a co-worker? Perhaps a discussion with your boss, or HR, could clear the air and create a better office environment.
Dissatisfied with local political leaders? Sit in on a town meeting and voice your opinion, calmly and rationally.
As Gandhi said in the above quote, it is up to us to create the change we wish to see.
You have the opportunity to initiate that change. Somewhere out there, someone is secretly wishing that you will strike that first spark.
Are you willing to take that step, and become the change you want to see?
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Keep Digging, the Gold is There!
As much as I prefer to not watch the TV news (where tragedy is compounded by flashy special effects and dramatic music), I will admit that I do still read my local newspaper…selectively. Generally, I start from the back page, because that is where the ‘human interest’ stories appear. For those unfamiliar with that term: it means the entertaining, fun people of the world.
They are the ones who rob a gas station and get caught because their getaway car ran out of gas, who construct a 16-ton ball of rubber bands, who play the trumpet for 218 hours straight to set a world record, and so on.
Also sprinkled far from the front page disaster-zone are the golden members of society. These are the people I admire most. While they are too positive for the front page, and not flashy (read: weird) enough for the back page, they are my favorites.
They are the passing motorists who save someone from a burning vehicle, the local contractors who build a wheelchair ramp for a local woman who had been unable to leave her home, and the Boy and Girl Scouts who collect enough food to keep the local Soup Kitchen open.
These are my golden nuggets!
Where are you in the pages of your local paper?
Are you screaming doom and gloom on the front page?
Are you hanging in the freak-flag flotilla of the back page?
Or are you nestled with the golden nuggets on the pages in between, adding positive energy to your community?
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Happiness: Feel It & Share It!
   “Happiness always looks small while you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and you learn at once how big and precious it is.” |
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Is there something in your life about which you are happy…right now? Have you kept it to yourself, or shared it with the world? In my life, I have been blissfully happy gazing at a sunrise, observing a playful puppy, seeing a favorite television show…and that is wonderful. However, if I share that happiness with another, it can become an even greater experience. as two of us can appreciate the happiness. A third person may be affected, and brought into the experience as well. And here is something amazing: each person added does not increase the happiness quotient by just one…it can become exponential, very quickly. Is there something in your life which, at this very moment, is making you happy? Please consider sharing it with at least one other person. If you can do it via e-mail, great. If you can speak over the telephone, even better. And if you can share it, face to face to capture the full-on no-holds-barred joy of the moment…then you have encountered one of life’s most bountiful gifts: a shared moment of happiness. Enjoy!
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As Major League Baseball’s regular season ended this past weekend, I felt that one final tribute to the Boys of Summer would be fitting. There are so many life lessons to be learned from America’s pastime. You know, ones that do not involve spitting, scratching or (the one which drives my mom crazy)…adjusting.
The biggest lesson I learned from baseball, which has stuck with me from my Little League days, is this: you can’t get a hit with the bat sleeping on your shoulder.
This season, I enjoyed watching many end-of-game heroics capping off mammoth comebacks. You know, the ones that many so-called ‘fans’ heard on their car radios after they left early to ‘beat the rush’ out of the parking lot.
Two outs, three balls, two strikes, down by several runs with the bases loaded, a pitcher staring down the batter…and crack! Whether the ball cleared the fences, or shot through a gap, the winning runs scored because the batter, and his teammates, hustled and did not give up.
How is your team doing in the game these days? From what I have seen and heard, many have hit the showers early, giving up and calling it a day due to darkness, stormy weather, or worse: a self-imposed ‘mercy’ rule (in which they have been scored against so often, they just ‘gave up’).
No matter what the score is, please remember this: you cannot get a hit (i.e. create success) unless you stay up there at the plate, swinging away. You may foul a few off. You may miss a few. But, your pitch is coming. Wait for it, keep your eye on the ball, and swing with all you’ve got.
And when it happens, take off full-speed with every step…until the winning run crosses the plate and you, your teammates and your fans celebrate the victory!
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Tell Me Somethin’ Good!
As that Rufus & Chaka Khan song played in the car this past weekend, I had to laugh. It reminded of my early days in radio as a copywriter and production director. I’d be walking the halls and suddenly, around the corner, an exasperated salesperson would emerge, paperwork in hand.
As I noticed the petrified look in their eyes, I used to sing:
“Tell me somethin’ good, tell me that you love me, yeah!”
Far too often, a knock at my office door was bad news, especially Monday mornings at 7:58, just before the sales meeting began.
We all hear bad news every day, don’t we? With the challenges of the economy, health care and the job market, it seems we can’t escape the dark clouds that the media, and those around us, have decided to hand out free with the dawn of every new day.
In case you haven’t heard, there are great things happening in this world, and in your home town, every day. You’ll find them at the end of the local newscast, or buried in the back section of the newspaper.
There are also many positive people who paths cross yours every day.
Perhaps you can reach out to one of these people today and share something positive. Create the expectation that, whenever you meet, a positive word or thought is a great place to start.
Want to create a smile and a great memory? Sing the song, loudly and proudly, as they approach. Then tackle the task at hand.
If life has a soundtrack, let yours be dominated by this song’s powerful, positive message:
“Tell me somethin’ good, tell me that you love me, yeah!”
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All right, I know…I just became one of those motivational speakers who uses rhymes to make a point. In my defense, I was trying to create an affirmation that you, my reader, can use to protect yourself from negative people.
I have been sharing some Social Networking messages with friends who are suffering from negative clouds drifting into their dream skies. For many, the mere sharing of a thought or goal is quickly blotted by dark clouds, complete with planes towing banners containing the words “You CAN’T do that, you SHOULDN’T do that”, etc.
Throughout my eighteen years of entrepreneurial endeavors, I have had numerous people try to rain on my parade. Can I say that I have always protected myself from the storm? No. There are days I have let others dump all over my dreams, causing me to doubt my own thoughts and goals.
Have you ever seen similar storm clouds? Are you seeing them right now?
I found a way to eliminate most of them. I now subscribe to a different weather report. How did I do this? I changed the channel and found new people who report sunnier skies.
Essentially, I have managed to surround myself with more positive people who are willing to support me and offer advice on how to give strength and direction to my dreams.
And, as I have done this, I have noticed those who felt the need to dump on my dreams have managed to find new skies to darken, as mine have become brighter.
Their own personal skies are none too calm as well, as they consistently fail to improve their own lot of life, all the while complaining about the rain.
Do you have dark clouds looming on your horizon, just waiting to unleash their fury upon your sunshine? Even if it is someone whom you must encounter every day, you do not have to ‘allow’ that person to do this to you.
You have the right, and the power (if you wish to use it), to change the channel and discover a much better forecast.
Try it today.
You might just find a whole new network of people to brighten your skies!
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I am very proud to live in New Hampshire for many reasons.
We have it all: four seasons of interesting weather, easy access to beaches and mountains, spectacular fall foliage and a ’social contributor’ in Dean Kamen, visionary head of DEKA Research.
In addition to the Segway and many other contributions, Kamen’s latest project (10 years in the making) is the Slingshot, which is capable of turning contaminated water, even raw sewage, into pure, healthy drinking water.
One drawback: the current cost of assembly. Each unit taps out at several hundred thousand dollars to build.
Perhaps if government coffers were overflowing with ‘Cash for Clean Water’ stimulus money (clunker-free), life would be simpler (this is as political as I will get, I promise).
In Kamen’s own words (according to CNN.com): “The biggest challenge right now between this being a dream and a reality is getting committed people that really care about the state of the world’s health to get involved”.
The goal is not to make as much money possible, as quickly as possible, with justification that the product can serve people well. For Kamen, helping others is paramount.
Where are you in the equation of saving the world? Are you searching for ways to help those who cannot help themselves, without your first thoughts drifting to the bean-counters of Corporate America? Or are you looking to cash in, even just emotionally, on the suffering of others?
Is there one action you can take today, this week or in the fading months of this year, to make the world a better place?
Perhaps you can unite a team of people marching in the same direction, with similar dedication and care in their hearts, to make the world a better place for all its inhabitants, without thought to a balance sheet.
Where do you see yourself needed?
With whom can you align your dedication and resources?
How will you take action?
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Give It Some Gas!
In a conversation with a close friend this week, I mentioned how some people never seem to take action in their lives. They will spend forever outfitting themselves with the best accessories, dreaming of how great their life will be (or could be)…yet they never pull the trigger and make something happen.
The excuses I have heard (and yes, used myself) include “when I get my new business cards, when I get that new suit, when I lose that 20 pounds, when I have more money, blah blah blah”.
This is the equivalent of having a car and waiting to drive it until it has a new paint-job, the best accessories, is vacuumed out, shiny new tires, etc.”
Does the car run? Is it operable? If so, turn that key and give it some gas!
Is your life running? (hint: if you are reading this, it is).
Sitting in the breakdown lane of life is no way to enjoy it. People are blowing past you, on their way to something great, leaving you in the dust, literally and figuratively.
Does your life have a few dings in it? Maybe a couple of rusty spots? Got a headlight out?
So what?
Vehicles were made to be driven. Lives were made to be lived.
Get yours out there, and give it some gas!
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A recent news article made me smile. Not all of them do, as they generally trumpet doom and gloom and showcase the ‘worst’ of humanity. This one was from Australia.
A female student was caring for her parents, struggling to help with their financial woes. She came upon several lottery tickets in a drawer, including one which her father had purchased as a birthday gift 10 months prior. On a whim, she decided to have them checked…and found she had, in her possession, a winning ticket worth $10,000,000!
Happy (belated) birthday, indeed!
Her reaction was one of comfort that her parents’ money difficulties were finally over, and they could now live with the comfortable reassurance that they were out of the woods regarding debt.
Her next comments included her desire to give some money for research and charity.
Honorable endeavors, both.
Where this story went off the rails for me (as my smile dissipated) was in the list of comments following the article. The first two were of a congratulatory nature. The third sat firmly in opposition. I could almost hear the thunder and see the lightning from the top of Mount Negativo (neg-ah-TEE-voh)
“She should tear up the winning ticket and run the other way!!” (paraphrased, with negative comments condensed into this one line)
Let me examine the situation:
1) Parents are struggling with money issues
2) woman caring for them wins $10,000,000
You’re right, this is terrible. She should flush it down the toilet and let her good fortune swim with the fishes.
Do I think that money is the answer to all of life’s problems? Certainly not. There are plenty of tragic case studies to show that it doesn’t automatically work that way.
However, a gigantic windfall can definitely help to overcome problems attributed to the lack of money, in the same way finding an amazing true love can end of period of feeling alone and unloved, finding an abundant source of food can solve hunger issues, etc.
It is the negative attitude from this source which creates the issue for me. There is an old proverb which states ‘Never look a gift horse in the mouth’. Apparently, one can tell the age of a horse by looking at its teeth, and assess its value.
According to Answers.com, the proverb warns against questioning the quality or use of a lucky chance or gift.
The comment given here is basically advising this woman to shoot the horse, or perhaps tear it up and flush it down the toilet. I do not condone either action.
In my opinion, this is yet another doom and gloom, glass-half-empty response to what I consider to be an opportunity for a positive outcome.
Sadly, I have heard the same thing over and over throughout my life:
* Look, a new puppy! Response: Oh great, it’s gonna crap on the rug.
* Let’s go on vacation! Response: Why, the airlines are ripping us off!
* Wow, I got a raise! Response: Great, now you’ll have to pay more taxes!
Have you had a taste of good fortune recently, only to have someone dump all over it?
Are doom-and-gloomers raining on your parade?
Is someone trying to shoot your gift horse?
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- Feed, Cheer and Hug the World, One Person at a Time
- Fire Up the Change Machine!
- Keep Digging, the Gold is There!
- Happiness: Feel It & Share It!
- Swing Batter, Batter, Batter…Swing!
- Tell Me Somethin’ Good!
- Never Let the ‘Nays’ Wreck Your Days
- Saving the World With a Slingshot
- Give It Some Gas!
- Never Shoot a Gift Horse (in the mouth or elsewhere)
- Playing Dodgeball With the Devil
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