At 14 he is already a hero
At 14 he is already a hero. He smelled smoke, saw the fire and grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran over to the neighboring apartment. When he saw his disabled neighbor struggling to get out of the apartment, he rushed over and got him out of the building.
The 62 yr old neighbor said his dog was still inside, so he rushed back in and found the dog and brought him outside too. Then to be sure no one else was still inside the building, he went back in a 3rd time calling foranyone that needed help.
The firefighters said that he instinctively did everything that they are trained to do. He said he learned about the physics of fire in school. It is clear that a future firefighter has been born.
See more: http://www.nydailynews.com/…/calif-teen-saves-62-year-old-d…
Fear is like the Wizard of Oz
Fear is like the Wizard of Oz, projecting itself onto the screen, when in reality it is a small man behind the curtain. Don’t be afraid to move the curtain and expose the fear. Finding the blessing in the fear, is the opportunity to open your heart and mind to the idea of change and reinvention.
Sometimes we consciously choose to change. Other times we stumble upon ( notice the word stumble) an opportunity. Sometimes you trip over something and you catch yourself before the fall, hopping across the floor as you regain your balance. Other times you can trip over something that plants you face on the ground, and has you digging rocks off your skin. Either way there are still choices to make.
Change is an opportunity to reinvent yourself. This is where the stress really hits you fully in the face. Picture the scene in Jurassic Park when the dinosaur screams into the characters face and you can see the hair being blown back by the sheer force of the scream – that is the fear that you feel when presented with the opportunity to reinvent yourself.
The classic opportunities for reinvention tend to come from two things. With a heartbreak such as; losing a job, ending a relationship, the death of a close friend or family member. The classic “good but scary” opportunities for reinvention are; you go away to college, you move to a new town with a new job, you get the really big promotion such as those COO, SEO, CFO types of promotions or the best of all, you decide to be an entrepreneur and your own boss. You fill in the blank that is closest to your life today.
Bringing an idea to life is hard work. You can expect it to cost you more personally, financially, and maybe even reputationally than you thought it would. There are sleepless nights. You become a master of second guessing your choice to make this move.
But like the early explorers in Mexico to truly re-invent yourself you need to burn the boats. Take away the lifeline and go all out for what you are passionate about. Follow your bliss. Look at what is working and not working. What you love to do and hate to do. The key is to get immersed in what you are passionate about and hire help for the rest.
Ways to make it easier: Surround yourself with people who love to learn, share and build. Join or create a mastermind group with people who are putting their ideas into action. Seek out those in your community who solve problems and ask for suggestions. Create that special group of people who will be your cheerleaders, helping you to remain positive and take the risks that need to be taken, instead of holding yourself back.
And remember the three most important words in your fear busting vocabulary: Improvise, Adapt, Overcome
One of those days
Sometimes I have a day where every mistake I made in the past year shows up at my doorstep, all at once. It is overwhelming as they are all vying for my attention. All I hear is the screaming inside my head competing with the screaming happening in the chaos around me.
My self esteem takes a nose dive, as it scrambles away, trying not to get trampled by the growing crowds of people asking if I know what the hell I am doing?
What do you do when you have those days? I decide to make snow angels. If I try to shovel my way out, the snow just keeps falling and in a few minutes I can’t even tell where I was shoveling.
When I have those days, I can’t dig myself out. So rather than beating myself up, calling myself names like loser, screw up, worthless and so on, I choose to go a different path.
I make snow angels. I give myself a forgiveness pass. I acknowledge that I am only human. I love the Christina Perri “Human” song. Sometimes I crash and fall down. That is the best time to make snow angels.
Carrie Fisher is a total badass
Carrie Fisher is a total badass. Her recent article in Huffington Post has quote after quote the reflects that.
She says, “Well, I am hoping to get the centerfold in Psychology Today. … Now, it seems every show I watch there’s always someone bipolar in it! It’s going through the vernacular like ‘May the force be with you’ did. But I define it, rather than it defining me.” – that is the thing about any illness we have, YOU define it, don’t let it define you.
The actress, who we will all be seeing in December in the next installment of Stars Wars roles out, has been speaking out on mental illness for more than 10 years — something that was almost unheard of in Hollywood at the time she began. She says, “One of the things that baffles me (and there are quite a few) is how there can be so much lingering stigma with regards to mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder. In my opinion, living with manic depression takes a tremendous amount of balls. … At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you’re living with this illness and functioning at all, it’s something to be proud of, not ashamed of.” Again, DON’T let any illness define you, be proud of what you can do, despite the illness.
She lives everyday with her illness but still says, “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” This is great advice for all of us – STAY AFRAID, DO IT ANYWAY.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/carrie-fisher-mental-health…
Taylor Swift Pay it Forward
Last year some frat boys totally nailed the Taylor Swift song, Shake It Off. Their You Tube went viral and she said she would get them tickets to her tour in 2015.
Sure enough when she reached Kentucky, they received two tickets each to all of the Delta Sigma Phi – Beta Mu boys.
Now here is the good part, no make that great part. Instead of going to the concert with dates, they donated all of the tickets to the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Bluegrass. Truly a pay it forward. The kids had never been to a concert before. Truly something that those kids will never forget. You can see how each of those kids as adults will remember how happy and excited they were, and they will pay it forward when they are older.
These boys are Lemonademakers.
Have a good night
You are a teenager working at a Ice Cream Pallor and you are taking orders for drive through. You get an order but the woman is obviously crying as she orders a shake.
What do you do? When she came up to the window to pay, he gave her the shake and said it was on him. “Have a good night.”
She took the shake and drives off, with the glimmer of a smile.
She came back a week later and talked with the manager about what happened. She had just lost her husband and was going through a really tough time. Then this 16 year old boy does something totally unexpected. He didn’t know her story, he just wanted her to feel better.
She wanted to make sure that they knew the caliber of their employee. She wanted to see if they couldn’t give him some sort or award or recognition. So they made up of poster praising him for his outstanding customer service in going the extra mile.
See more: http://www.ijreview.com/…/451121-teen-can-hardly-hear-wor…/
Canceled wedding
This is exactly how you turn lemons into lemonade.
The brides parents discover that the groom has cold feet and has canceled the wedding. You have already paid for the reception, and the catering for 120 people. You aren’t going to get that thirty-five thousand dollars back. What would you do?
The bride’s parents went ahead with the reception and invited the Sacramento homeless population to a party. The had salmon, tri-tip beef, gnocchi and all of the fixings to go with it.
It takes a lot of courage to take the high road and turn something painful into something wonderful. They are definitely LemonadeMakers.
See more: http://www.upworthy.com/these-parents-had-a-selfless-respon…
Sneaky Cards
Have you heard of #Sneaky_Cards yet? The game was originally developed by a 16 yr old Australian for a contest in 2009, and the fans helped to redevelop the game and it is now being relaunched.
Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to become a #Secret_Agent_of_Joy. You are given cards in which they tell you to do various #random_acts_of_kindness. You might be told to give the card to the first person that makes you smile. They then pass the card onward to the next person that makes them smile.
Each person that you pass a card to, becomes a new player in the game. Who knows who you might meet while out having some fun?
If you register the card, their website has the ability to track the card, so you can watch it travel out of your town and across the world.
You can even create your own sneaky card and they may include them in the game.
There is even a download of a free print edition version, if you don’t want to purchase the official game.
be yourself
Mother Nature freely expresses herself every day, and she doesn’t apologize for it. Most of us learn at an early age what we are taught as “good manners”. Good girls are seen, but not heard. Don’t express a different opinion. Never contradict an authority figure, even if they are wrong. And so on, and so on.
I love the writing of Don Miguel Ruiz and his book The Four Agreements. The Four Agreements have more to them than this, but this gives you a taste of them.
Be impeccable with your word – I love how it includes not speaking against yourself. How many times have you called yourself dumb or stupid?
Don’t take anything personally – what people say and do is a projection of their own reality, not yours.
Don’t make assumptions – this is for me the most important thing, as we assume we know what someone else is thinking and they think they know what we are thinking and the truth is that most of the time we are having two totally different conversations.
Always do your best – this is the only way to avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret.
So the best advice is taken from the moon – be yourself and if you make some waves, just provide some beach towels. LOL.
Conscious men
I wanted to share this with all of you because I believe that the world needs more conscious men. Please share with everyone about this seminar. They have some wonderful speakers and it looks to be what a wonderful opportunity for those local or willing to travel to network with other conscious men. We love LemonadeMakers Men!
Learn more: http://bit.ly/1MFxF7r
Hawkwing
In South Dakota the #Cheyenne_River_Sioux reservation has the statistics of a third world nation. 90% unemployment rate; average life expectancy of 48 yrs old. Only 30% of the children graduate high school. Some of the schools two years ago had no textbooks.
The #Lakota people have the wealth of their culture, but their lives are unraveling because of the extreme poverty. Hawkwing, Rochelle’s nonprofit seeks to keep the wealth of the Lakota culture alive and address the severe poverty. And by keeping the culture alive, we will benefit because as a society many of us have the wealth of material things, but we have forgotten how to live in balance with our Mother Earth.
Rochelle was named #CNN_Top_Ten_Hero for her honoring of the Native American community, helping the people.
Since 1998 she has been running #Hawkwing, a nonprofit that collects donations for the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. She has collected and delivered $9 million worth of goods and services to the Lakota people in the past 17 years. They have a food pantry, medical and dental clinics, they support a greenhouse and organic gardens, and help every summer in repairing homes.
The women at St. James church in Glastonbury, CT work all year knitting scarves, gloves, and blankets which are donated to Hawkwing.
See more: http://www.wfsb.com/…/ct-woman-named-among-top-10-cnn-heroes
Hawkwing website: http://www.hawkwing.org/#!what-we-do/cj7s
The world needs all the good that I can do
“I cannot do all the good that the worlds needs, but the world needs all the good that I can do.” Jana Stanfield