Category Archives: Life

Beyond Earth Day

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There is a great need, and growing support, for the introduction of new values in our society — where bigger is not necessarily better — where slower can be faster — and where less can be more.

— Gaylord Nelson, principal founder of Earth Day and author of Beyond Earth Day: Fulfilling the Promise

For over 40 years, Earth Day has inspired us to show our commitment to environmental protection and sustainability.  There are simple things we can do, today and everyday, to help protect our planet and be part of the solution. Ready to take part in Earth Day 2011? What do you plan to do today and everyday to help protect our planet? If you need some green inspiration, check out Earth Day Network’s Billion Acts of Green website.

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It’s All About Your Attitude

Posted in Life

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.

— Kahlil Gibran, poet and artist, author of The Prophet

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Words to live by from Walter Breuning

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This morning I read a headline that Walter Breuning, the worlds oldest man, had passed away yesterday at age 114. It reminded me of this video that I saw last year where he talks about his life, spanning 3 centuries, and some of the lessons he had learned. Here are two of my favorite, so simple and straightforward:

Be good to everybody…the more you do for other people the better you are going to help yourself.

and

Every day is a good day, that’s what you should think about, everyday is a good day and make it that way.

Rest in peace, Walter Breuning.

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Between A Rock and A Hard Place

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There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn; whatever steps we take, they’re necessary to reach the places we’ve chosen to go.

— Richard David Bach, American writer

I stumbled upon this quote the other day and it reminded me of the movie 127 Hours, which we watched recently. For those who haven’t seen it, 127 Hours tells the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston (played by James Franco) who became trapped under a boulder while canyoneering alone in Utah and *spoiler alert* courageously amputated his own arm in order to survive. Although the realistic amputation scene is a bit difficult to watch, the story itself is an inspiring look at the strength of the human spirit. The incident is also documented in Ralston’s autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place.

Although I had trouble at times connecting with the character and the choices he made that led him to that rock, there is a scene towards the end of the movie where Ralston, dehydrated and delirious after a few days of trying to lift and break the boulder, says something that got me thinking:

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If Today Were the Last Day of My Life

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Today I read a news headline that the first authorized Steve Jobs biography will be published in early 2012.  It reminded me of the famous Stanford commencement address he gave in 2005.  There are many inspirational quotes in this speech but the one that has stuck with me, since I first heard it several years ago, is this one:

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The World You Desired Can Be Won

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Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it’s yours.

— Ayn Rand, Author

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Advice From a Rapper, Yo!

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Inspiration can be found almost anywhere, believe it or not, including rap songs.    Advice From A Rapper shares a new inspirational quote from a different rap star each week, beautifully illustrated by Jessica Wright.  This illustration features a lyric from “Me Against The World” which can be found on 2Pac’s Greatest Hits album. “Get ready cuz yo days bout to get a whole  lot betta. You feel me?” Word!

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The Power to Choose Your Own Path

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You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

— Dr. Seuss, bestselling author and cartoonist
From the book Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

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We Are All Connected

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Tom Shadyac had it all. A successful Hollywood career, mansions, luxury cars, you name it. But after a cycling accident left him incapacitated, possibly for good, he realized that he might have it all wrong. With a new sense of clarity and purpose, he sets out to find out what’s wrong with the world. Ironically, in the process Shadyac discovered there’s more right than he ever imagined.

We are all connected – connected to each other and to everything around us.

I AM hits theaters this Friday. Will you go see it?

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What a Beautiful Place to Reside In

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As children we have the sense that anything is possible, we are not jaded. The older we get the more closed in we get, the more frightened we get, the more set in our ways we get, because we are afraid of the unknown.  Where as a child, everything is unknown.  What a beautiful place to reside in, in your own being where you still have the wonder of a child.

— Herbie Hancock, Musician
From the documentary Possibilities

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