30 Things To Start Doing Today

Found a great inspirational list at LifeBuzz.com.  Check out the description and the list below.

Marc and Angel are the authors of 1000 Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently. Here’s their amazing list of 30 things to start doing for yourself. If you enjoy this, be sure to visit their website for more inspirational advice and tips for life.




  1. Start spending time with the right people.
  2. Start facing your problems head on.
  3. Start being honest with yourself about everything.
  4. Start making your own happiness a priority.
  5. Start being yourself, genuinely and proudly.
  6. Start noticing and living in the present.
  7. Start valuing the lessons your mistakes teach you.
  8. Start being more polite to yourself.
  9. Start enjoying the things you already have.
  10. Start creating your own happiness.
  11. Start giving your ideas and dreams a chance.
  12. Start believing that you’re ready for the next step.
  13. Start entering new relationships for the right reasons.
  14. Start giving new people you meet a chance.
  15. Start competing against an earlier version of yourself.
  16. Start cheering for other people’s victories.
  17. Start looking for the silver lining in tough situations.
  18. Start forgiving yourself and others.
  19. Start helping those around you.
  20. Start listening to your own inner voice.
  21. Start being attentive to your stress level and take short breaks.
  22. Start noticing the beauty of small moments.
  23. Start accepting things when they are less than perfect.
  24. Start working toward your goals every single day.
  25. Stare being more open about how you feel.
  26. Start taking full accountability of your own life.
  27. Start actively nurturing your most important relationships.
  28. Start concentrating on the things you can control.
  29. Start focusing on the possibility of positive outcomes.
  30. Start noticing how wealthy you are right now.
BONUS VIDEO (Warning: ridiculously over optimistic and happy people below ... not for the overly sardonic)

Censorship Will Kill Our Colleges

College was a great time.

Like most college graduates, I didn't just walk away from university with an education, I left with an unbelievably deep and meaningful view of the world, influenced greatly by my schoolmates and educators, that I would never have received otherwise.

Which is why I found disturbing the recent news that state legislators withdrew much-needed funding from two South Carolina public universities for assigning "gay-themed" texts to freshman.  Read about it here.

While I understand the point of view that "public" institutions, such as state-funded universities, should consider the opinions of the tax-payers who fund it, I am miffed by the lack of courage demonstrated by our legislators.  Clearly, this move is a power grab by zealots numbering in the minority, and allowing the few to have such influence over the many begs the more frightening question ... what's next?

Let me start by saying that I feel strongly in the market economy.  If potential students (or parents) are dissatisfied with the educational content provided by a university, simply attend another school.  Use the freedom and power of choice to make your voice heard by simply moving your tuition dollars to different institution.  If a university sees a significant drop in attendance, you can be sure that the university will act.

On a much smaller scale, just don't take the classes that are in question.

Also, I am fervent in the belief that we need to prepare our youth for dealing with life tomorrow, not today.  I understand that groups of individuals wish to levy their religious beliefs on the many for the greater good of a few, but the fact is that we live in a hyper-connected and social world, with every culture, language, belief system and bias from every corner of the globe brought to our finger tips through the wonders of smart phones.

We can no more run and hide from this fact than we can avoid the setting of the sun.

If we don't expose our young adults to the good and the bad, the beautiful and the horrific, the wrong and the different, in a setting that is conducive to learning and creative thinking, then they will in time learn it from other more unsavory resources.  Personally, I don't want my children learning about the world and its profound array of cultures and lifestyles from a morally-depleted reality show or a hyper-biased news network.  I want them to be exposed to it in an environment that allows for constructive discourse with an educated and experienced mediator at the front of the classroom.

We are naive to think that our children can't think and manage their own preferences.

What I cherish about universities is that each is its own ecosystem, saturated with school pride and its own sense of localized nationalism.  This leads to the general acceptance of all individuals, by default of being a schoolmate, and allows students from different races, cultures, languages and religious denominations to share in an educational experience from which they will grow both professionally and personally.  It's remarkably profound.  We should no more try to legislate the organic growth of our youth in this environment than we should hold them back from what they are capable of achieving.

Most frightening of all:  If we allow our legislators to dictate what is morally "proper" to study in school now, how much more power and influence will they attempt to seize in the future?   Where does this censorship end?

Let us not deprive our children of the freedoms of choice in their education.

Let students choose.

Steve Jobs 7 Rules of Success

On this Friday, I am revisiting an old blog post that has been in the queue since the passing of Steve Jobs in 2011.  When Jobs passed, the internet was abuzz with the deep and significant impact he made on our lives, from computing to movies to how we communicate today.  He was inspirational to me, and his "7 Rules of Success" have long been a list I look to regularly.  The rules are listed below, and while I had originally lifted the list from an article in Entrepreneur by Carmine Gallo with the expectation to craft my own article around it, that clearly never happened.  So, in the interest of time (although no longer urgency), I hope you find inspiration in this great article below.  Happy Friday, and cheers!
Steve Jobs' impact on your life cannot be overestimated. His innovations have likely touched nearly every aspect -- computers, movies, music and mobile. As a communications coach, I learned from Jobs that a presentation can, indeed, inspire. For entrepreneurs, Jobs' greatest legacy is the set of principles that drove his success.

Over the years, I've become a student of sorts of Jobs' career and life. Here's my take on the rules and values underpinning his success. Any of us can adopt them to unleash our "inner Steve Jobs."

1. Do what you love.  
Jobs once said, "People with passion can change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.

2. Put a dent in the universe.  
Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.

3. Make connections. 
Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn't have any practical use in his life -- until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don't live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields.

4. Say no to 1,000 things. 
Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the "A-Team" on each product. What are you saying "no" to? 

5. Create insanely different experiences. 
Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?

6. Master the message. 
You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter. Jobs was the world's greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation.

7. Sell dreams, not products. 
Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result? One button on the front of an iPad. It's so simple, a 2-year-old can use it. Your customers don't care about your product. They care about themselves, their hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if you help your customers reach their dreams, you'll win them over.

There's one story that I think sums up Jobs' career at Apple.  An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store once called up Jobs and asked for advice.  His counsel?  Dream bigger.  I think that's the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas."

 PG: And, of course, the commercial that started it all.  If this doesn't get you choked up, I'm not sure you are human.

The Threat of Dihydrogen Monoxide

Recently, at Wild Creations, we found a disturbing article that concerns everyone about Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO).  I had no idea it was such a serious threat.  Regardless, DHMO is proving to be a feisty little chemical that is found in almost everyone's household.  In order to be up on the dangers to you and your family, check out the post below:



Post by Wild Creations.

There are few causes we rally around more serious, than to raise awareness of one of the most dangerous chemicals around, DHMO (Di-Hydrogen Monoxide), a corrosive chemical easily found in most households.

Each year DHMO poisoning causes thousands of deaths worldwide, Insurance Underwriters report millions of dollars spent each year repairing damage caused by the onslaught of excessive DMHO exposure. We feel the Public MUST BE MADE MORE AWARE!

That's why we wish to promote today as DMHO AWARENESS DAY!

As the summer months arrive, more people are exposed to the effects of DHMO as they go outside and play along Beaches, Lakes, Rivers & Streams, often in an attempt to beat the heat by swimming, or in other summer past times like boating or fishing. THIS IS WHEN YOU ARE MOST VULNERABLE!

Learn more about one of the most dangerous chemicals found in nature. One that can aid life, but if left untreated, can be one of the most harmful chemicals around.

DON'T DROWN IN IGNORANCE OF DHMO!
http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html