A Letter is Not a Tweet, a Text or a Status Update

Noone writes letters anymore. Communication in this day and age is informal, short and shallow.

Lettrs.com (and what a beautiful site it is) encourages people to - you guessed it - write letters. You can create letters and send them digitally or via snail mail to one person or more.  And if it strikes your fancy, write an open letter. Do it however you want - just "take time to write".

 

Security Cameras Catch People... Being Nice?

Full disclosure, this is a Coke ad, but it's well worth the 90 seconds of your time to watch. It's a nice reminder that people are kind, heroic and chivalrous.


 

It's Good to Feel Small

There is something about nature that makes us feel small.

I highly recommend a little adventure into the great outdoors and witnessing these panoramas first hand. Grand, scenic views do make us feel small and fragile, but in a peaceful, quieting way. It reminds us that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

And if you can't get outdoors, spend a few minutes looking through this breathtaking photo essay - 18 places to feel dwarfed by nature.



Pearl Shoal Waterfall, China

The Adirondacks

What are We Meant to Do?

"Are you a born writer? Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action.

Do it or don't do it.

It may help to think of it this way. If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It's a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us out of your contribution. Give us what you've got." Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

Get Unstuck

I often wish there were an easy answer to all of my problems - big or small. Sometimes we just want someone (or some higher power perhaps?) to tell us what to do.

Which is why I love the idea behind Unstuck, a new iPad app that helps you to "live better every day" with a series of questions, tools and guides to help you navigate through whatever is keeping you stuck.

While it won't solve all of your problems, it's one of the most unique and innovative personal development apps I've seen in awhile and I am a big fan.

One of the Coolest Things You'll See Today...

...comes from a seventeen year old.

It's a mock Apple commercial that imagines what the iPhone of the not so distant future might be like. It's an impressive video by any standards, but coming from a 17 year old high-schooler - well now that's something else.

One of the Best Comebacks of All Time

He was fired from the company he founded. Deemed incompetent and unable to lead. And then he returned, dominated, and never looked back.

To Be Judged or Ignored

I love Seth Godin's blog mainly because of his ability to convey so much with so few words and I especially liked his post on being judged vs. being ignored.

In the startup world, people are constantly looking for flaws in your business. There are days when I get fed up with the criticism, the comments, the scrutiny and I often wonder how much I can take.  And then I am reminded of the alternative and I remember why I chose this path in the first place.

Nothing like a little bit of perspective from Mr. Godin.


You will be judged (or you will be ignored)

"Those are pretty much the only two choices.

Being judged is uncomfortable. Snap judgments, prejudices, misinformation... all of these, combined with not enough time (how could there be) to truly know you, means that you will inevitably be misjudged, underestimated (or overestimated) and unfairly rejected.

The alternative, of course, is much safer. To be ignored.

Up to you."

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

Amazing. 10,000 students in China perform a stunning display of perfectly choreographed and synchronized kung fu.

(Click for full article)

What Would You Do if You Knew You Would Not Fail

An excerpt from "Life Lessons: Two Experts on Death and Dying Teach Us About the Mysteries of Life and Living" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross & David Kessler


When You Don't Choose Love, You Choose Fear
"If we could literally reach into you and remove all your fears - every one of them - how different would your life be? Think about it. If nothing stopped you from following your dreams, your life would probably be very different. This is what the dying learn. Dying makes our worst fears come forward to be faced directly. It helps us see the different life that is possible, and in that vision, takes the rest of our fears away.

Unfortunately, by the time the fear is gone most of us are too sick or too old to do those things we would have done before, had we not been afraid. […] Thus, one lesson becomes clear: we must transcend our fears while we can still do those things we dream of.

To transcend fear though, we must move somewhere else emotionally; we must move into love." 

(read more)

Movie Dreams Can Come True...

...with a little imagination, some creativity and a whole lot of people.

I came across this story (albeit it is from last year) and thought it was so awesome that National Geographic would attempt to recreate that gorgeous scene from Up.  Very, very cool.

As an entrepreneur who is working hard to get my new business off the grown, there are days where the vision of what I want this company to be seems so big and so far away that I can't fathom how I make it through.

But then I see images like these and as silly as it sounds, I get that little boost of energy and confidence that I need to keep on going.

Click here for more photos and the full story. 

When All You Want to Do is Just Quit

Author Unknown

Why Giving Attention Makes a Difference

Have you ever taken a day to notice what you pay the most attention to? We might not be aware of it, but those around us certainly do. And it controls our lives more than we think.

Kare Anderson writes an interesting piece in the Harvard Business Review on how attention controls our lives. Hired by Disney World executive as a cultural anthropologist to understand what captured the attention of kids at their theme park, she observed that it wasn't the "Disney Magic" that most captured their attention - it was their parents' cell phones. She observes "those kids clearly understood what held their parents' attention - and they wanted it too."

So the next time you're with your kids, your team or your significant other - put the phone away. Turn off the laptop and give your undivided attention.

And when you're feeling negative and pessimistic, know that we are capable of physically rewiring our brains to focus on the positive simply by being aware of what we're giving our attention to.

A New Website That Does Nothing

Nothing. That's what Calm.com wants you to do when you go to their site.

See a beautiful image, listen to calming music and a guided meditation and maybe, just maybe, you'll feel a little more relaxed as you go through your hectic day.

It's not for everyone, but I would think that taking two minutes to check it out is a worthwhile use of your time. We all need to take a chill break every now and again anyway.

Jobs and Gates... on losing

They talk about losing in different senses, but are they really so different?

Failure makes you smarter. Finality makes you bolder. You just have to keep going.

An Awe Inspiring Natural Phenomenon

Have you ever witnessed something that truly took your breath away?

Videos like these are a nice reminder to get outside and enjoy the outdoors, away from our computers and cubicles and iphones and televisions.

They say that nature is good for our mental health.  So why not try a little 'green therapy'?

Murmuration from Islands & Rivers on Vimeo.