3 Lessons From A Collapsed Lung
"At the start of my junior year at USC, my left lung spontaneously collapsed unexpectedly. After being admitted to the ER, I spent four days at the Good Samaritan Hospital with a uncomfortable chest tube jutting out of my body. This was my first, real, and personal encounter of the true fragility of life: the fact that I could possess perfect health one day then instantly have to cling on for de... posted on Nov 09 2011, 8,760 reads

Giving Back Where He Belongs
When most people think of the American dream, they imagine all this country has to offer them. But for 40-year-old Hamid Chaudhry, a Pakistani immigrant and owner of a Dairy Queen in Reading, Pa., that dream isn't just for the taking. "I'm part of the society," Chaudhry tells CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman. "And when you belong somewhere, you have to give back." A few years ago, after becomi... posted on Oct 27 2011, 3,380 reads

A Case Study of Anonymous Giving
"Giver Girl" and her husband "Giver Boy" came up with a simple yet powerful idea: donating $52 to a different charity every week for a year. After each experience, they post their moving reflections, invite others to join in, and maintain total anonymity. The brilliance of their project is captured in a week when they spontaneously decide to make that week's gift a $52 tip to a waitress serving th... posted on Oct 25 2011, 15,710 reads

A College Degree 23 yrs After Memory Loss
A freak accident involving a ceiling fan may have taken Su Meck's memory of everything that happened for the first 22 years of her life, but it did not rob her of her determination. Since the accident that left her with amnesia, the 45-year-old from Maryland, has had to relearn how to walk, talk, read, write and drive. But Meck, whose identity was once as a mother and homemaker, carved out a place... posted on Oct 23 2011, 9,845 reads

A Tokyo Teacher's Lessons in Empathy
"What's the most important thing this year?" asks Toshiro Kanamori to his students? "To be happy!" comes the joyous response. The class goal truly is to understand how to be happy and care for other people. It sounds like the sort of class a stressed or overworked adult would find, long after they graduated school. Instead, it is a different teaching approach taken by a grammar teacher in Tokyo, T... posted on Oct 22 2011, 5,539 reads

Secrets of the 100-yr-old Marathoner
Most people hang up their boots as they get older, but Fauja Singh only began running in his eighties. At the age of 94, he ran a full marathon in less than 5 hours, but on 16 Oct 2011, at the age of 100, he still has it in him. Singh did what no other person has done: he became the oldest person and the first centenarian to finish a marathon. Along the way, he's received sponsorship deals, but he... posted on Oct 21 2011, 42,147 reads

Time is Precious: Dr. BJ Miller's Journey
Dr. BJ Miller is only 40 but he thinks about death a lot. He is the new executive director of the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco and a palliative care specialist at UCSF Medical Center. He is also a triple amputee, co-founder of a tea company, owner of a farm in Utah and a newlywed who still looks like the Ivy Leaguer he once was. "I have no fear of death," Miller said. "I have a fear of not... posted on Oct 17 2011, 44,361 reads

Four Shelters Later, Still a Star Athlete
After holding together his family through a house fire, six address changes since his sophomore year and a violent encounter with his mother's boyfriend, high school basketball star Marquis Barnett told recruiters he is not about to abandon them now, insisting on staying local. "Marquis is fiercely loyal to his family," said Ron Naclerio, Barnett's coach in New York the past two seasons. Barnett i... posted on Oct 08 2011, 3,001 reads

She Planted Ideas -- and 35 Million Trees
"The planting of trees is the planting of ideas. By starting with the simple step of digging a hole and planting a tree, we plant hope for ourselves and for future generations." Visionary, human rights advocate, environmental activist Wangari Maathai passed away on 25 September 2011 from cancer. She leaves behind a legacy of "firsts," including being the first African woman to receive the Nobel Pe... posted on Sep 29 2011, 4,031 reads

Unexpected Gestures of Compassion
"Through some incredible good luck no one was seriously hurt but the experience was very frightening. There was so much smoke that my first thought was to just get out of my car as fast as I could. I could hear the children from the car behind me screaming and crying as I was trying to claw my way out of my car. When I got out, I could see their mum was frantically trying to comfort her shaking c... posted on Sep 22 2011, 4,267 reads