Free Hugs Campaign

This is the story of Juan Mann, a man with a simple, yet revolutionary idea: to offer free hugs to strangers and brighten their lives.  This sparked the Free Hugs Campaign, and this viral video which has been viewed over 72 million times.  Check it out and give someone a hug today!

In what way can YOU change the world with a simple, revolutionary idea?

Don't let someone who gave up on their dreams talk you out of yours.

Sounds illogical, but how often do we allow those people to do to exactly that?

Muhammed Ali "Impossible is Nothing"

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

-- Muhammad Ali

Photo Friday: Ring of Fire Eclipse

This past Sunday, May 20, 2012, the earth was treated to a rare sight - an annular solar eclipse, meaning the sun is visible as a ring when the moon passes in front of it.  Eclipses like this are rare and only happen when the moon's orbit is at its furthest point from the earth and closer to the sun.

Here are some photos from that cosmically cool event.

Source: Space Magazine

Source: National Geographic

Source: National Geographic

Source: National Geographic

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Happy Friday!

Christian the Lion: Love Knows No Limits

This is an oldie, but goodie, but I just couldn't resist.  This story just gets me every time!

This is the true story of Christian the Lion. Christian was bought at Harrod's department store by two Australians living in London.  Only 35 lbs. when they first got him, he quickly grew to 185 lbs. within a year.  Christian's owners realized that he clearly couldn't stay with them forever.  They found a conservationist in Africa and eventually had to release their beloved pet into the wild.

A year later, they returned to visit Christian.
Their reunion really is one of the most moving moments in video to me.

Love knows no limits and true friendships last a lifetime.

Get back in touch with someone today.

You'll be glad you did.

The Reason the World is in Chaos

People were created to be loved.

Things were created to be used.

The reason the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.

TED Talk Tuesday: Seth Godin on Standing Out

Seth Godin is a marketing genius.  He's founded dozens of companies, written 13 best-selling books and writes the most popular marketing blog in the world.

In a nutshell, he knows his stuff about marketing.

I love this talk because it applies to so much more than just marketing a product.  In order to stand out, we must be remarkable.  Like a purple cow.  Remarkable means "neat" but it also means "worth making a remark about."  His talk postulates that the one single thing that determines if something is going to be talked about, if something is going to be bought, if something is going to be BIG is if it's remarkable or not.

Three Rules

1.  Design is free when it comes to scale.  

2.  The riskiest thing you can do now is to be safe.

3.  Being very good is one of the worst things you can do.  Very good is boring, very good is average.

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Dare to be remarkable! 

Motivation Monday: Where the Magic Happens

Hint: it's outside of your comfort zone.

What are you doing TODAY to step out of your comfort zone (and into where the magic happens)?

Photo Friday: Paradise

Question of the Day

What stands in between you and what you want?

Photo Source: Marc and Angel Hack Life

If you really think about it, the answer is often just yourself.
Isn't it time to get out of your own way?

Miracles

Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears.

TED Talk Tuesday: Feats of Memory Anyone Can Do

Have you ever wished you could remember things better?  I definitely have. 

Joshua Foer shares a technique that can help us all do that.  It's an ancient technique used by Cicero to memorize his speeches called the memory palace. 

The best thing is that anyone can use this technique.

Foer chronicles his journey from someone with average memory who admittedly regularly forgot where he placed his keys to winning the U.S. Memory Championship in his book, Moonwalking with Einstein.  Beyond learning to place among the ranks of the memory athlete elites, he discovered that in every way that matters, we are the sum of our memories.

In what ways would remembering better improve your life?

Motivation Monday: Gilbert Arenas- From Zero to Hero

Gilbert Arenas sat on the bench for the first 40 games of his career.
Instead of becoming bitter, he practiced and worked and was determined to prove everyone wrong.
He ended up starting the first game of the next season.

He wears the number zero on his jersey to remind him of what people once thought of him, to remind him to fight every day.

How often do we allow what other people think of us to color how we feel about ourselves?

"The only way your talent is going to ever prevail is if you believe in it.  So that's my message.  When no one believes, believe in yourself."

-Gilbert Arenas

Photo Friday: Super Moon

In honor of last week's super moon.

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Happy Friday!

Regular or Extraordinary?

Overcome the notion that you must be regular.  It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary.  -Uta Hagen

Don't limit your challenges, challenge your limits.

TED Talk Tuesday: Try Something New for 30 Days

Stuck in a rut?  Matt Cutts proposes you should try something new for 30 days.

Taking a cue from Morgan Spurlock, creator of Supersize Me, Matt decided to do new things for 30 days, including taking a picture, biking to work, taking 10,000 steps and writing a novel.

Lessons learned from his 30-day experiments:

1. Time becomes much more memorable
2. Self-confidence grows
3. If you really want something bad enough, you can do anything for 30 days
4. Small sustainable changes are more likely to stick

The next 30 days are going to pass whether you like it or not, so why not think about something you have always wanted to try and give it a shot for the next 30 days?

 -Matt Cutts

Your turn.  What is something that you've always wanted to add to your life?
Why don't you try it for 30 days?

Motivation Monday: How bad do you want it?

Today's Motivation Monday is an awesome video featuring Giavanni Ruffin, running back for East Carolina with a voice over by Eric Thomas, the Hip Hop Preacher.  It is guaranteed to get your motivational juices flowing this Monday morning.

How bad do you want it?

Photo Friday: Lanikai Beach

I've been in the cold and rainy Midwest for the past couple weeks.  As much as I love being here, I am definitely missing Hawaii something fierce.  Just a few more days and I get to come home to this...

The Important Things in Life

I found this story circulating on Facebook and online.  I thought it was a wonderful reminder that we need to prioritize what's important in life.  

Enjoy!

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A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

Jealousy

Jealousy is when you count someone else's blessings instead of your own.

TED Talk Tuesday: Tony Robbins asks why we do what we do

Tony Robbins talks about the invisible forces that motivate our lives.

Tony Robbins believes we have six human needs:

     1.  Certainty

     2.  Variety

     3.  Significance

     4.  Connection and Love

     5.  You Must Grow

     6.  Contribute Beyond Ourselves

Once you uncover the target that's driving you, then you find out what's your map, what the belief systems are telling you how to get those needs.