I trust you have either seen or at least heard of the movie “Pay It Forward”, if you haven’t I strongly recommend you see it. For me, it was one of the most powerful movies I’ve seen in a while. It truly touched my heart and reminded me of how closely we are inter-related. Therefore, I decided I wanted to do something different this time. Most of the time I encourage you to make a difference by making a donation to a charity, or volunteering your time serving community. However, this time I wanted to encourage you….and maybe even challenge you to do the following exercise for the next 60 days. Should you choose to take on this challenge, I would like to see what shows up in your life during these next 60 days.

Exercise:

Choose one thing that you wish to do out of love and kindness to make a difference in someone else’s life. It can be a very simple thing, such as paying for the coffee of the person behind you in line without them knowing. It could be secretly giving a flower with a kind note to a stranger. It could be telling someone else something you like about them. ANYTHING! The task is to see how long you can keep this exercise going. If you falter, no worries, just start again. Notice what changes in your life during these next 60 days, and please share your experience with us in the comments section below.

Truly, it can be anything. It can be as simple as a hug. Take a look at what this person was able to do by simply giving hugs.

Here is a very neat way to make a difference in a very unique way.  I love this company’s approach.  Check out what they are about….

Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

The people you see on Kiva’s site are real individuals in need of funding - not marketing material. When you browse entrepreneurs’ profiles on the site, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else in need.

Kiva partners with existing expert microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified entrepreneurs. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva, our partners upload their entrepreneur profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them. When you do, not only do you get a unique experience connecting to a specific entrepreneur on the other side of the planet, but our microfinance partners can do more of what they do, more efficiently.

Kiva provides a data-rich, transparent lending platform. We are constantly working to make the system more transparent to show how money flows throughout the entire cycle, and what effect it has on the people and institutions lending it, borrowing it, and managing it along the way. To do this, we are using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive. Child sponsorship has always been a high overhead business. Kiva creates a similar interpersonal connection at much lower costs due to the instant, inexpensive nature of internet delivery. The individuals featured on our website are real people who need a loan and are waiting for socially-minded individuals like you to lend them money.

Press here or visit www.kiva.org for further information and ways you can impact people around the world.

Change your mind – change the world! The benefit for Burma (Myanmar) has brought together 2 incredible teachers in the realms of spirituality, personal growth and business. Donna De Lory (MADONNA’s back-up singer) is an incredible musician; using her voice and inspiration to open your heart through music and chant.

John Assaraf (Star from the hit movie THE SECRET) is a New York Time’s Best Selling Author and has dedicated the last 20+ years of his life to understanding the human mind and using his understanding to help others achieve their goals.

In this life-altering event Donna De Lory will relax you and invoke your soul; getting you prepared to have a mind blowing experience as John Assaraf shares his secrets about how the mind works and how you can truly have everything that you want. 100% of the proceeds from this event go to help the victims in Burma that were devastated by Cyclone Nargis. Help yourself and help the world!

Purchase your tickets directly at Wahzee by pressing here.

Press here for a printable Flyer you can share with others.

“For many years there has been controversy about the appropriate use of the Casa/Children’s beach with conflict between those who wish to destroy the harbor seal colony and those who wish to preserve it.

Although The La Jolla Friends of the Seals is primarily an educational group, it also has a mission to preserve the La Jolla Harbor Seal Colony for ecological, educational, scientific, historic and scenic opportunities. Therefore, in the controversy it is a strong advocate for the preservation of this colony.”

Continue reading directly from Friends of the Seals Site.

Press here to donate & for other ways make a difference.

Tags: community

Just recently I had a good friend of mine forward the article below. At first I didn’t pay much mind to it, however, in a free moment I chose to take a quick glance at it, and the more I read it, the more it hit home. It is truly astounding the effects that will be felt as the non-renewable oil resources become more scarce.

I had heard about it, I’d read about it in the news, I’d heard conversations, but for some reason it wasn’t until now that it impacted me as much as it did now. Maybe it’s because I’m a father and am thinking of the world that I’ll be leaving behind for my child(ren). Maybe it’s because I’m older “and wiser”. Whatever the reason, the result is that I’m much more open to doing what I can to leave this world a better place than when I first started.

One of the ways in which I can make a difference is to use my strength as a technology-geek to spread the word, share with others, so they may chose to make a difference and join in the journey of creating a better place for ourselves and our children.

Please take a moment and read even part of the following article : Life After The Oil Crash. Then chose to take at least one action step to make a difference, in whatever way feels right to you. Over the next few newsletters, I’ll be sharing with you some ways you can make a difference by taking simple conscious steps. First, read the article.

My brother in law recently introduced me to O2 for life. At first I thought it was another global warming project, which in a way it is. However, one of its unique qualities is that it is also tied into an educational model that allows students from the US to take part in an experience that they would probably not have on their own. Here is a quote from a local teacher that took some of her students down to Costa Rica.

“Each year, I lead a group of students from Southern California down to the rainforests of Costa Rica. We spend close to a week at the O2 For Life rainforest reserve. The students leave (reluctantly) having been transformed into completely new people due to the magical quality of their visit. A stay at the reserve, with its communal living off the grid, being dropped off by boat with all supplies you’ll need for the week, far from any road, alone with nature in its purest and most diverse form is something that everyone needs to experience in their lifetime. No clocks are used. The days are delineated by the morning calls of the howler monkeys and the stunning sunsets each evening. The significant tidal swings, the change from diurnal to nocturnal stirrings and the intimacy with thousands of different species of plants and animals all help connect you with the pulse of nature. I hope that you too can come visit the womb of the earth at the O2 For Life Rainforest Reserve.” David Emmerson
Science teacher
La Costa Canyon High School, Carlsbad, CA

In my usual desire to spread the word and make a difference in the world and our community, I encourage you to take a look at this organization, and if it calls to you, please support them. Just visit www.o2forlife.org.

You may also want to take a look at what the Union Tribune wrote about this organization.

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When this message was first sent to me I didn’t make the time to view it. However, now that I did, I’m amazed. It is truly mind blowing to bring into perspective how quickly life changes and at the same time quite exciting to be a part of this change. I trust you will take a few minutes to watch this video and open up to the changes that we are creating.

Change is constant, and quick change is almost inevitable in today’s world. How will this change affect you? And what are you doing today to keep up with this change? Questions to ponder.

Eight years of my life I had the honor of teaching at a middle and high school level. I say honor because these are the leaders of our future and I’ve been priviliged to impact this future. My wife is still a teacher today and I found it quite disturbing to learn about the cuts that are affecting our schools today. These cuts are creating a ripple effect that we will all feel very soon. I was just speaking with my wife and she shared that one of her classrooms will have 48 students in ONE class. Interestingly enough, the classroom only holds enough seats for 36. Regardless of how they pull off the room for these students, the effect of having these many bodies in one classroom will affect every student’s education. There can not possibly be as much personalized attention, resources will be scarce, and the results of all this… our society will suffer the consequences.

I encourage you to take a look at the video below and learn about what is happening in our California schools right now and help make a difference.

Take action, visit www.heroesweneed.com and click on become a hero to make a difference. Please don’t put this off, do it right now.

Climate change is an urgent issue that requires immediate solutions. That’s why I’ve joined with Al Gore and others across the country and around the world who want to halt global warming.

We’re on the verge of being over one million strong and I’m asking you to join us. Please click here today to become part of the solutions to global warming: http://wecansolveit.org/alliance

If leaders in business and government are going to make stopping climate change a priority, we need to send a loud message that we want action now. That’s why I’m asking you to get involved today:

http://wecansolveit.org/alliance

Together, we can stop global warming.

Have you lived your life to the fullest? Or do you know someone who always appears to? Lois Tiedemann shares with us about the lives of three men who inspired her to take another look at how she is living her own life, how she is choosing to manage her time and what type of legacy she wants to leave. This message will inspire you and move you. It is worth the time you spend. (Press here to keep reading)