Pay It Forward

"It's hard. You can't plan it. You have to watch people more. Sort of keep an eye on them, to protect them, cause they can't always see what they need. It's your big chance to "fix something" that's not like your bike. You can fix a person."

"I think some people are too scared, that things could be different. I guess it's hard for some people who are so used to things the way they are, even if they're bad, to change, cause, I guess, they kind of give up. When they do, everybody kind of loses."

Trevor from the movie Pay it Forward

Living With A Purpose

No matter our age, our family background, or our financial means, we are leaders. We have a voice and we can use it on behalf of those voices that can't be heard in society, like homeless people and children. To be able to use our voices we need to be clear of what we stand for and why.

We need to be courageous and drop that which doesn't serve the world and we need to know the words of the song before we start singing. We have to make a decision not to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting or faithless worrying.

We need to step up and be role-models to ourselves and listen to and follow that inspiring voice within. Like Mahatma Gandhi said; we must be the change that we want to see in the world. Everything starts with us.

• What will be central in our lives?
• Who will we live for?
• What will we build our lives around?
• What is our immovable core?
• What values will move us forward?
• How will we spend our time?
• How will we spend our money?
• What are we not going to spend time and money on?
• What will signalize our lives?
• What kinds of people do we want to be?
• What character features do we want to develop and work on?
• What will our life communicate to others?
• How are we going to raise our level of consciousness?
• How will our lives help and serve others?
• Who do we want to help and how?
• Where do we find a sense of belonging?
• What is not important in our lives anymore?

Words on Peace

"What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women - not merely peace in our time but peace for all time." John F. Kennedy

"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy...Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." Martin Luther King Jr

"The only safe way to overcome an enemy is to make of the enemy a friend." Mahatma Gandhi

"If you desire with all your heart, friendship with every race on earth, your thought, will spread; it will become the desire of others, growing stronger and stronger, until it reaches the minds of all men." Abdu'l Baha

"In this world, hate never dispelled hate. Only love dispels hate. This is the law, ancient and inexhaustible." The Buddha

Nothing Tastes as Good as Healthy Feels

• Go green. Go vegetarian, vegan or raw. Gobble up all those veggies and join the tribe of vegetarians, improve your health while enhancing the lives of everyone in the world.
  


• Cut the alcohol. Sober is cool and you don't really want to poison your body, do you? The journey toward health begins with a commitment to be the best we can be.
  


• Buy ecological food. If there is a will there is a way, and it is worth it.
  


• Drink fresh water. Water flushes unwanted toxins from your body and keeps your brain sharp.
  


• Breathe fresh air. Breathe deeply, appreciate the moment and your lungs will thank you.
  
  
• Quit smoking. Smoking is a slow and ugly way to die.
  


• Dance. Move your body and your heart will follow. Sweat once a day to regenerate your skin. Stretch.
  
  
• Take various vitamins. You never know what small mineral can eliminate the bottleneck to everlasting health.
  


• Choose a positive thought. Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how much you like yourself and the more you like yourself the healthier you feel.
  
  
• Love.

Simplicity

Simplicity is about freedom. Living simply does not mean sacrifice or hardship. It’s about owning our own lives and about getting rid of everything that doesn't align with our purpose, values and messages. It means focusing only on the things that are important in our lives.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said that perfection is reached when there is nothing more to take away, not when there is nothing more to add. More stuff does not equal more happiness, and less stuff actually makes it easier to feel fulfilled. The most important things in life are not things and that which matters the least should never give way to that which matters the most.

• Unsubscribe to everything that you can think of unsubscribing


• Buy less stuff and give everything you don't need to someone who actually needs it


• Do less, focus on a few activities or projects that really matter to you


• Say No to television. Turn it off. Throw it out. Break the addiction. Television is stealing your life


• Get rid of all excess in life and live in true abundance instead

Focus 2008

• What is your vision?
  
  
• What is your mission?
  
  
• What is your passion?
  
  
• What is your intention?
  
  
• What are your values?
  
  
• What are your needs?
  
  
• What are your strengths?
  
  
• What is your message?
  
  
• What is your next step?

Ways To Feel Good

• Engage in others and in the game of life
  
  
• Find, honur and express your values
  
  
• Allow others to be right
  
  
• Resolve all your issues
  
  
• Let go of addictions or attachments to substances, people, or behaviors
  
  
• Live your message and be true to yourself
  
  
• Make sure you have empowering key relationships in your life
  
  
• Have your needs met once and for all
  
  
• Remember that life is not only about you
  
  
• Experience as much as you can

Forever Young by Dylan

"May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young."

Bob Dylan

Questions on Honesty

• What does honesty mean to you?
  
  
• How do you know when you are honest?
  
  
• Do you live the life you want to live?
  
  
• Do you have any dreams you have not told anybody about?
  
  
• When did you lie to yourself last time? Why?
  
  
• Do you have problems in your life right now that you pretend don't exist?
  
  
• What is the truth?
  
  
• What would it look like living a complete honest life?
  
  
• What would the truth do now?

Be Creative

Richard Branson has decided to invest $3 billion dollars over the next decade to fight global warming. He will invest all profits from his travel-related companies (Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains) in initiatives to develop new renewable energy technologies, both run by Virgin companies and external businesses. The more creative we are the more we can help others.

"Ridiculous yachts and private planes and big limousines won’t make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa – and it’s about getting a balance."

"A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts."

"I never get the accountants in before I start up a business. It's done on gut feeling, especially if I can see that they are taking the mickey out of the consumer."

"I think the most important thing is that in the last seven days we've just had the greatest adventure of our lifetimes."

"Well, I'm somebody who is just living...living life, and if I get frustrated by something, then I like to try to put it right"

Richard Branson

In His Own Words

"That was one of the things that worried me - to be raised to the position of a semi-god after being in prison - because then you are no longer a human being. I wanted to be known as Mandela, a man with weaknesses, some of which are fundamental, and a man who is committed, but never the less, sometimes he fails to live up to expectations."

"When I think about the past, the types of things people did, I feel angry, but again that is my feeling. The brain always dominates, says, as I have pointed out, you have a limited time to stay on Earth. You must try and use that period for the purpose of transforming your country into what you desire it to be."

"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership."

"As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself...Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility."

Nelson Mandela

Books on Life Journeys

• Nelson Mandela, Long walk to freedom (Back Bay Books 1995)
  
  
• Desmund Tutu, No future without forgiveness (Image 2000)
  
  
• Antjie Krog, Country of my skull: Guilt, sorrow, and the limits of forgiveness in the New South Africa (Three Rivers Press 2000)
  
  
• Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, A human being died that night (Mariner Books 2004)
  
  
• Muhammad Ali, The soul of a butterfly (Simon & Schuster 2004)
  
  
• Richard Branson, The Rebel Rules: Daring to be yourself in business (Fireside 2001)
  
  
• Mother Teresa, In my own words (Gramercy 1997)

Do All the Good You Can

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

John Wesley

Wisdom from the Homeless

How To Create Positive Outcomes

• Don’t worry about what people think, they don’t do it very often.
  
  
• If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you have never tried before.
  
  
• A person, who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person.
  
  
• Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world.
  
  
• You should not confuse your career with your life.
  
  
• Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.
  
  
• Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance.
  
  
• The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.
  
  
• Your friends love you anyway.
  
  
• Never be afraid to try something new.

Books on Courage

• Gordon Brown, Courage: Eight portraits (Bloomsbury UK 2007)
  
  
• Khaled Hosseini, A thousand splendid suns (Riverhead Hardcover 2007)
  
  
• Osho, Courage, the joy of living dangerously (St. Martin's Griffin 1999)
  
  
• John F. Kennedy, Profiles in courage (Perennial Classics 2004)
  
  
• Caroline Kennedy, Profiles in Courage for Our Time (Amazon Remainders Account 2003)

Live in Peace

• Live with respect for others and for nature. Choose a simpler and more responsible lifestyle and let the word simplicity guide you whatever you do. Live in a way that respects all living beings whatever their ethnic origin, sex, citizenship, and belief system. Try to live in harmony with nature.
  
  
• Work with others to create a better world. Help people who are less privileged than you, talk to your neighbours about how you can make your neighbourhood more conscious and connect with those sharing your visions.
  
  
• Evolve your inner self to evolve those around you. Use the example and the guidance of your own consciousness to motivate your family and friends, and to help children to discover and to adopt ways of living that will result in a more peaceful world.

Save our Planet

• Plant a tree. One tree can absorb one ton of carbon dioxide a year.
  
  
• Use refillable tea mugs and bring your own bottle of water.
  
  
• Read the news on the Internet and save the trees.
  
  
• Buy less things. You don't really need them, do you? Always think twice.
  
  
• Unplug unused electronics.
  
  
• Buy fresh foods instead of frozen. Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.
  
  
• Walk, take the bus or carpool with a few friends.
  
  
• Move your thermostat down two degrees.
  
  
• Go paperless.
  
  
• Take actions to stop getting junk mail.
  
  
• Use less water.
  
  
• Cut down your consumption of animal products.
  
  
• Line dry clothes instead of using a dryer.
  
  
• Buy local and ecological food whenever possible.

A Yearly Inventory

To summarize 2007 and to get a beautiful start of the New Year focusing on meaningful things, ask yourself the following questions:

2007...

• In what ways did you grow as a person in 2007?
  
  
• Which were the 3 most important things that happened?
  
  
• How did you contribute to the healing of the world?
  
  
• What did you learn about yourself?
  
  
• Who affected you the most?
  
  
• What did you focus on?
  
  
• Is there anything you wish you had done differently?
  
  
• What do you think will you remember of 2007 in 20 years?
  
  
• How would you summarize the year in 5 words?
  
  
• Complete the sentence: 2007 was the year when...

And 2008...

• What new ideas do you have that you want to actualise?
  
  
• What do you want to leave behind you?
  
  
• What questions are longing for an answer?
  
  
• What values are you going to honour?
  
  
• What are you going to say yes or no to?
  
  
• How are you going to contribute to the world?
  
  
• What is your message?
  
  
• How do you want to grow?
  
  
• What do you want to learn, explore, discover and experience?
  
  
• What are you going to focus on?
  
  
• If we met in January 2009, what would you like to tell me about 2008?
  
  
• Complete the sentence: 2008 is the year when...

Act As If

Act as if you already had everything that you ever dreamed of.

• Be healthy and eat, honour your body and behave like a healthy person would do.
  
  
• Be rich and give of your time, wisdom, love and money.
  
  
• Be courageous and make that shift taking you from poverty to abundance in all areas of your life.
  
  
• Be wise and use your time and energy only for things that matters deeply.
  
  
• Be loving and show the care that you always longed for yourself.
  
  
• Be joyful and look for the good in everything and everyone crossing your path.
  
  
• Be grateful and thank every person that has made a difference in your life.
  
  
• Be free and know that freedom is all about choosing the right thoughts, replace old behaviours with new confirming ones and making a choice to be fully alive for the rest of your life.

Books on Creativity

• Richard Branson, Screw it let’s do it (Virgin 2006)
  
  
• Paul Arden, It's not how good you are, its how good you want to be and Whatever you think, think the opposite (Phaidon Press 2003)
  
  
• Sam Harrison, Zing and Ideaspotting (Machillock Publishing 2004 and How Books 2006)
  
  
• Kathryn D Cramer, Change the way you see everything (Running Press Book Publishers 2006)
  
  
• Stefan Mumaw, Caffeine for the creative mind (How Books 2006)

Have the Best Day

• Smile at a stranger
  
  
• Let the other guy have your parking spot
  
  
• Sing a song
  
  
• Pick up litter
  
  
• Send a thank you note
  
  
• Give a tip
  
  
• Help someone in need
  
  
• Volunteer
  
  
• Pay the next guy's car wash
  
  
• Forgive
  
  
• Compliment a stranger
  
  
• Make a present, ring the doorbell and run
  
  
• Give correct change for the person ahead of you
  
  
• Give blood
  
  
• Listen
  
  
• Have the neighbors over for a cup of tea
  
  
• Make a wish come true

The Healing Room

"I have a universe inside me
Where I can go, an spirit guides me
There I can ask oh any question
I get the answers if I listen
I have a healing room inside me
The loving healers there they feed me
They make me happy with their laughter
They kiss and tell me I'm their daughter
I'm their daughter

You have a little voice inside you
It doesn't matter who you think you may be
You're not free if you don't know me
See I'm not the lie that lives outside you
And it doesn't matter what you think
you believe

You're not free if you don't know me
If you don't know me
See I am the universe inside you
You come to me and I will guide you
And make you happy with my laughter
I joy in seeing you're my daughter
You're my daughter
So believe you're not free if you don't know me"

Sinead Ó Connor

Books on Yoga

• Geshe Michael Roach, How yoga works (Diamond 2004)
  
  
• TKV Desikachar, The heart of yoga (Inner Traditions International 1999)
  
  
• Osho, Yoga - the science of the soul (St. Martin's Griffin 2002)
  
  
• Geshe Michael Roach, How yoga works (Diamond 2004)
  
  
• Sri K Pattabhi Jois, Yoga Mala (North Point Press 2002)
  
  
• Sri S Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (Integral Yoga Publications 1990)
  
  
• B K S Iyengar, Light on yoga (Schocken 1995)

Help the Homeless

It is easier than you think to make a difference. When we all work together, even the little things we do can have a significant impact in helping homeless people. Here are three immediate steps you can take to start making a difference today:

• Donate food, blankets, clothing and other basic necessities to your nearest coalition for homeless.
  
  
• Volunteer and assist homeless men, women and children in the ways you can. Provide a meal, listen to someones story, mentor a teenager or organize a fundraising event. Contact your nearest coalition and ask how you can help.
  
  
• Speak out and show that you care. Write a letter to the newspaper, talk to people you know to find solutions and talk to the homeless to get their view of helping. It doesn't matter what we do as long as we do something.
  
  

Books on Writing

• Sol Stein, Stein on writing (St Martin’s Griffin, 1995)
  
  
• Pamela Cleaver, Writing a children’s book (How to books, 2004)
  
  
• Walter Mosley, This year you write your novel (Little, Brown and Company 2007)
  
  
• Brenda Ueland, If you want to write (Graywolf press 1987)
  
  
• Karen E Peterson, Write – 10 days to overcome writer’s block (1997)
  
  
• Ralph L Wahlstrom, The Tao of writing (Adams Media Corporation 2006)
  
  
• Jack Hart, A writer’s coach – the complete guide to writing strategies that work (Random House 2007)
  
  
• Anne Lamott, Bird by bird – some instructions on writing and life (1995)
  
  
• Noah Lukeman, The first pages. A writer’s guide to staying out of the rejection pile (Fireside Books 2005)
  
  
• Ray White & Duane Lindsay, How I got published. Famous authors tell you in their own words (WD Editors 2005)
  
  
• William Zinsser, On writing well – the classic guide to writing non-fiction (Harper Perennial 1998)
  
  
• Joyce Carol Oates, The faith of a writer. Life, craft, art (Harper Collins Publishers 2004)
  
  
• Barbara De Marco Barrett, Pen on fire (DeMarco-Barrett 2004)

I Have A Dream

"Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."

Martin Luther King Jr

Imagine

"Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one."

John Lennon

Prayer for Peace

One of the most beautiful prayers ever written:

"Make me an instrument of peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life."

Francis of Assisi