One Red Paper Clip For A House
It began when Kyle MacDonald, an aspiring writer, doer of odd jobs and apartment dweller, advertised in the barter section of the Craigslist Web site that he wanted something bigger or better for one red paper clip. He traded it for a fish-shaped pen, and posted on Craigslist again and again. Roaming Canada and the United States, he exchanged the pen for a ceramic knob, and in turn: a camping sto... posted on Jul 19, 2084 reads

Dancing to Heal
Anna Halprin, the world-renowned experimental dancer, turned 85 this year. Her focus on dance as a healing art started when she diagnosed her own cancer and survived through a combination of surgery, conventional medical therapies, and unconventional visualization processes. Her institute seeks to draw from the wisdom of the body and the creativity of the imagination as a source for authentic expr... posted on Sep 21, 2157 reads

Staying Positive About Pluto
When the National Astronomical Union (IAU) recently reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet, people worldwide had strong and widely differing reactions. While some mourned the 'demotion' of the planet, others saw the change as demonstrative of the process of scientific progress where old knowledge must make way for new. As American scientist and TV host Bill Nye put it, " Pluto’s change in status a... posted on Sep 22, 1675 reads

The Business of Changing the World
Generating a constant demand for creativity and innovation, businesses have driven transformation. The breadth and diversity of people brought together within them, beyond nation, religion, or race, is utterly new. Big business has changed the world -- but has also brought us to the edge of ecological and social crisis. Which way the scales eventually tip may have to do with a powerful force worki... posted on Oct 16, 1488 reads

Contemporary Tribute To Mandela
February 11th 1990: a dignified elderly man walked out of 27 years in prison and straight into history. Nelson Mandela's immense courage and personal moral authority stood as a beacon of hope first to a bitterly divided nation and then to the whole world. This year, a spectacular new book has been published that includes the peace laureate's prison writings, as well as more than 250 photographs an... posted on Nov 9, 2153 reads

Worldwide Economic Integration
One of the defining characteristics of the world in which we now live is that distances are shrinking rapidly. The shrinking globe has been a major source of the powerful wave of worldwide economic integration and increased economic interdependence that we are currently experiencing. This speech by US Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke outlines causes and implications of declining economic distance... posted on Nov 5, 1577 reads

Nine-Year Old's Courage and Composure
Remaining calm and level-headed in moments of crisis is a challenge -- particularly when you're only nine years old. But when second-grader Jimmy Steven's mother fell unconscious behind the driving wheel, he knew just what to do. Jumping onto his mother's lap he steered the car to the side of the road, put it in park and dialled 911. For the next eleven minutes he calmly directed paramedics to the... posted on Dec 15, 2441 reads

The Power of Intention
The great boxer Muhammad Ali, in the later years of his career, had a secret: he was not training his body to win; he was training his mind not to lose. Ali remained "the greatest" by drawing upon the power of intention for strength in the ring. Such instructive examples of the art of intention come in other sports, and are found beyond sports, too. In this article, Lynne McTaggart shares research... posted on Dec 27, 2275 reads

Many Faiths, One Heart
Louisville, Kentucky is the annual home of the Festival of Faiths, which brings together many religious and spiritual traditions of the world in an effort to both recognize diversity and celebrate unity. With a general theme of faith and cooperation, new conversations explore aspects of traditions that foster cooperation and dissolve barriers of fear. The Festival believes that a key component in ... posted on Jan 1, 2292 reads

The GoodWork Project
How many of us find our work meaningful? How many of us feel able to do our best work? And how often do we stop to consider the consequences of our work on others, or its impact on society as a whole? Such opportunities to consider the meaning of work are rare, and challenges are salient across stages and fields. To create a paradigm shift, researchers at Harvard, Stanford, and Claremont Graduate ... posted on Jan 8, 3510 reads

Mother To 40 Special Children
Rachel Wheeler-Rossow is a remarkable woman and mother to 40 special children in a family that has caught the hearts and imaginations of the world around her. Yes, 40 children. Three are biological and the rest are children by virtue of adoption and foster care, most of whom were born with severe physical and mental disabilities. But then, Wheeler-Rossow's definition of special maintains that labe... posted on Feb 5, 2477 reads

Turning A City Into A Social Experiment
Antanas Mockus had just resigned from the top job of Colombian National University. A mathematician and philosopher, Mockus looked around for another big challenge and found it as the new mayor of Bogota, Colombia. With an educator's inventiveness, Mockus turned Bogota into a social experiment. At the time, the city was choked with violence, lawless traffic, corruption, and gangs of street childre... posted on Mar 7, 2818 reads

From Conflict to Cooperation
This year a team, which included a New York firefighter, an Israeli excombat pilot and a Ukrainian soldier, embarked on a journey across the Sahara Desert. Each had lost friends or family as a result of international conflicts and all had strong opinions on war, peace and political ideologies. Beginning in Jerusalem and ending in Tripoli, the group endured what are considered to be some of the har... posted on Mar 4, 2486 reads

Ethical Wills: Legacies of Wisdom
When he dies, Abraham Leibson wants to leave his heirs three things: a love of learning, the flexibility to change, and the courage to face their fears. And while such abstract concepts cannot be bequeathed as tangibly as a pocket watch or a stock portfolio, ideals and values are part of one's legacy, nonetheless -- and they can be passed from one generation to another. So Leibson, who is 69 and i... posted on Apr 9, 3812 reads

The Healthiness of Giving
When he was sad as a boy his mother would say, 'Well, Stevie, why don't you go out and help somebody,' " Dr Post recalls. "I would go out and rake leaves or help a neighbor put canvas over a boat." He still remembers those small moments vividly because they gave him the impression that helping others was rewarding. Now he knows it for sure. For the past five years, Dr. Post has been funding resear... posted on Aug 6, 4537 reads

The Man Who Dares End Slavery
Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Kailash Satyarthi has saved tens of thousands of lives. At the age of 26, he gave up a promising career as an electrical engineer and dedicated his life to helping the millions of children in India who are forced into slavery by powerful and corrupt business and land-owners. His original idea was daring and dangerous. He decided to mount raids on factories -- factories fr... posted on Aug 14, 1443 reads

Radiohead Joins the Gift Economy
Radiohead's new album, In Rainbows will be out Oct. 10. What makes it easily the most important release in the recent history of the music business are its record label and its retail price: there is none, and there is none. In Rainbows will be released as a digital download available only via the band's web site, Radiohead.com. Drop the albums' 15 songs into the online checkout basket and a ques... posted on Oct 2, 1944 reads

The New Quest On Campus
According to recent studies, college students are seeking more substance -- and sustenance -- in the classroom than their professors are willing to offer. Findings of an ambitious and long-range study of spirituality in higher education offer an interesting window into the unspoken assumptions and expectations about what the quest for knowledge means at American colleges and universities. The init... posted on Oct 5, 3369 reads

Mike's Handcarved Canes
Mike Hunter, 56, was diagnosed seven years ago with multiple sclerosis. It progressed faster than he thought it would and his sales job had to end when his weakening legs collapsed under him at airports. When he no longer could walk without using a cane, Hunter didn't like the options for sale and decided to make one. He gathered branches, took them back to his home and began to carve and sand and... posted on Oct 10, 4282 reads

Why Sharing Makes Sense
MIT Professor Eric von Hippel, with his book "Democratizing Innovation," has dramatically shifted the insularity of "innovation" and brought it to the realms of every user. In this interview, von Hippel shares his concepts around lead user and free revealing. He talks of "users of products and services –- both firms and individual consumers," innovating and developing the exact product that th... posted on Oct 11, 1785 reads

Pop!Tech: Ideas that Transform
Last month's Pop!Tech conference, held in the New England town of Camden, took some of the world's most intractable issues and applied social theory and thinking to them. Interspersed between musical performances, films and demonstrations, all staged in a restored 19th-century opera house on the coast, were a range of contributions from some 500 thinkers from industry, business, technology, academ... posted on Dec 1, 1652 reads

Unleashing Creativity
Paul MacCready, a pioneering inventor of the first practical flying machine powered by a human being, talks in this insightful keynote address at a Smithsonian event, about inventive creativity and the importance of socially responsible inventing for our collective future. "Civilization is in the midst of unprecedented growth. This presents unprecedented opportunity and responsibility. Creativity ... posted on Dec 11, 2873 reads

The Neuroscience of Leadership
Managers who understand the recent breakthroughs in cognitive science can lead and influence mindful change: organizational transformation that takes into account the physiological nature of the brain, and the ways in which it predisposes people to resist some forms of leadership and accept others. Several conclusions about organizational change can be drawn that make the art and craft far more ef... posted on Jan 27, 3558 reads

The Power Paradox
Guided by centuries of advice like Machiavelli's and Robert Greene's, we tend to believe that attaining power requires force, deception, manipulation, and coercion. Indeed, we might even assume that positions of power demand this kind of conduct that to run smoothly, society needs leaders who are willing and able to use power this way. As seductive as these notions are, they are dead wrong. Instea... posted on Jan 29, 4990 reads

An Orphan at a Time -- in 62 Countries
Take a pin, stick it in a map of the world and chances are Simin Marefat has been there. Marefat, a San Francisco nurse, has volunteered to take her health care skills to 62 countries -- mostly in the developing world -- and she's only 33. When asked why she volunteers she says: "When I see someone without basic health and education, without a supportive family, I feel a connection ... You see the... posted on Mar 3, 2044 reads

One Woman Dedicated to Healing Haiti
"I've had more children dying in my arms than most people have ever experienced in their whole lives," Louise Ivers said. "I was thinking of the people I know in Ireland and the U.S., and most people don't know anyone whose child has died. Yet this is just everyday stuff. And we only see the half of it." Ivers has been steadily seeing more and more of the health care picture around Boucan Carre, H... posted on Apr 6, 1704 reads

Why Do Social Networks Exist?
"For me, social networks are like the eye. They are incredibly complex and beautiful, and looking at them begs the question of why they exist, and why they come to pass. Do we need a kind of just-so story to explain them? Do they just happen to be there, for no particular reason? Or do they serve some purpose -- some ontological and also pragmatic purpose?" Harvard professor Nicholas Christakis de... posted on Apr 8, 3388 reads

Be A Better Leader, Lead a Richer Life
Traditional thinking pits work and the rest of our lives against each other. But taking smart steps to integrate work, home, community, and self will make you a more productive leader and a more fulfilled person. "In my research and coaching work over the past two decades, I have met many people who feel unfulfilled, overwhelmed, or stagnant because they are forsaking performance in one or more as... posted on Apr 23, 3934 reads

Resonant Leadership
Leaders have responsibility, influence and, it turns out, their own brand of management maladies: power stress and the sacrifice syndrome. These afflictions and ways to avoid them are the focus of Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee's Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness, Hope and Compassion. According to these writers, the key to navigating all this i... posted on Jun 30, 3704 reads

Building High-Quality Connections at Work
What is the key to transforming the workplace experience? According to this Stanford Social Innovation Review article, it is to build and nurture "high-quality connections." In a high-quality connection, people feel more open, competent, and alive, and one of the best ways to foster these connections is by encouraging respectful engagement between coworkers. When co-workers engage each other respe... posted on Jul 7, 3522 reads

Lessons from the World's Happiest Man
What is happiness, and how can we achieve it? Matthieu Ricard, declared by University of Wisconsin neuroscientists as the happiest man they have ever tested, says that happiness can't be reduced to a few agreeable sensations. Rather, it is a way of being and of experiencing the world -- a profound fulfillment that suffuses every moment and endures despite inevitable setbacks. Authentic happiness i... posted on Dec 29, 12740 reads

Alternative Medicine Is Mainstream
Heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, breast cancer and obesity account for 75% of health-care costs, and yet these are largely preventable and even reversible by changing diet and lifestyle. The latest scientific studies show that our bodies have a remarkable capacity to quickly heal if we address the lifestyle factors that often cause these chronic diseases. Many people tend to think of brea... posted on Jan 22, 5283 reads

The Frankel's Extended Family
Chris and Georgia Frankel's house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, now has 12 people calling it home. In addition to their three daughters, ages 3, 6 and 17, this large-hearted couple shares their space with five adults and two teens. The family started taking in people a long while ago. They are all there for various reasons, from difficult family situations to trouble with former roommates. Some are ... posted on Feb 22, 2930 reads

A Father & Son On the Road Home
"A few months ago, while driving home from work, I was thinking about my long tiring day at work and worrying about my other half, and would he be okay when I got home. My partner of 6 years, was sick and facing a long illness. That day several clients had paid for their jobs and one of them even paid extra, since he was very pleased with our graphics and photography work. On the way, I stopped a... posted on Apr 22, 6350 reads

Darius Goes West: An Incredible Journey
Teenager Darius Weems has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the #1 genetic killer of children with a 100% mortality rate. In the summer of 2005 Darius, 15 left home for the first time with eleven of his friends, and went on a cross-country road trip. Darius's friends captured his adventures on film -- the ocean, a hot air balloon ride, whitewater rafting, wasabi, homesickness, and freedom. Darius is 19... posted on Jun 22, 3518 reads

An 11-Year-Old's Gift of Service
Water now flows to Nyamagongo school in Tanzania. It flows because, in the SF Bay Area, an 11-year-old boy told an 11-year-old girl about a small village full of orphans in Africa. And then the girl gave up birthday gifts and helped change the lives of Ogutu and Wilis and 400 children she has never met. The world would seem smaller and she would carry in her heart the rare gift of knowledge that o... posted on Jun 15, 2607 reads

A Beloved Ritual By Ironworkers in Boston
Every day, children who come to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute write their names on paper and tape them to the windows of the walkway for ironworkers to see. And, every day, the ironworkers paint those names onto I-beams and hoist them into place as they add floors to the new building they're constructing. The building's steel skeleton is now a brightly colored, seven-story monument to scores o... posted on Jul 13, 4106 reads

50 Inspiring Travel Quotes
"I'm typing on the deck of a hostel in a little Uruguayan surf town called Punta del Diablo. Travelers are chatting around me; the usual conversation about where they came from and where they're going next. Down on the beach, surfers are catching the last waves of the day and men driving horse-drawn carts haul firewood into town. In many ways this is an idyllic scene, but to be honest, for a while... posted on Sep 27, 8136 reads

How Advertising and Altruism Can Change the World
Marketing veteran Cindy Gallop and software developer Wendell Davis are on a quest to make the world a better place, with a crowdsourcing project to motivate people to do big things by taking small bites. Their theory: Small, good intentions can bring about great leaps. Gallop and Davis are creating an engaging, easy-to-use portal that makes big ideas easier for individuals. They want to allow peo... posted on Nov 1, 3761 reads

Contagious Love Experiment
Josh Stieber was in middle school on 9/11. He vowed to enlist in the army after graduating high school, and by 2007, he was deployed to Baghdad. By April 2009, he had left the army, and engaged on a bike ride to spread some love: "I want to take a negative and invest it into a positive. So that's what I've set out to do and I hope that that love is contagious." Conor was a Marine patrol leader. ... posted on Nov 5, 5989 reads

The Power of the Mind Body Connection
Matthew Sanford was only thirteen when a car accident that killed his father and sister left him paralyzed for life. "I left my childhood behind and began a new life. The doctors led me to ignore my lower body, to focus only on what was left. I would become a powerful upper torso and willfully drag my paralyzed body through life. For twelve years, I did this (...) but something was missing. It was... posted on Nov 22, 4937 reads

Markets With A Social Mission
Around the world, social stock exchanges are launching to connect donors and investors with non-profits and businesses with a social mission, in the same way traditional markets present businesses and products to investors. "This is a cultural phenomenon," says Daniel Crisafulli, director of ecosystem investments and partnerships at the Skoll Foundation, a California-based philanthropic organizati... posted on Dec 25, 2833 reads

Slow Money: Bringing Money Down To Earth
Woody Tasch has thought a lot about money: what it does, how it moves, and how to connect people who have it with people who need it. He even helped found a field of investing with the rather surprising name "community development venture capital." But he found that even socially responsible investing couldn't do much to fix an economy that focused too much on extraction and consumption and too li... posted on Jan 13, 4304 reads

US Kids Skype With Afghan Kids
In 2005, teenager Kyleigh Kuhn met 50 students studying beneath a tent north of Kabul, Afghanistan. Distraught by the landmines and environmental hazards she saw nearby, Kuhn return home and began collecting pennies to raise funds for a safer environment and better school for the area's children. Since then, this small project has become the Roots of Peace Penny Campaign, and has removed landmines... posted on Mar 14, 1347 reads

The Encore Generation
The idea that many workers reaching their mid and late 60s think they are too young to retire and - particularly in the wake of the recession - may have no choice but to keep working, is not particularly new. But with growing evidence of a demographic wrench being thrown into the classic arc of the life course - essentially a bonus decade or three added to the average life span over the last cent... posted on Jun 5, 3663 reads

Africa's Gift to Silicon Valley
After Kenya's disputed election in 2007, violence erupted. A prominent Kenyan lawyer and blogger, Ory Okolloh, who was based in South Africa but had gone back to Kenya to vote and observe the election, received threats about her work and returned to South Africa. She posted online the idea of an Internet mapping tool to allow people anonymously to report violence and other misdeeds. Technology whi... posted on Mar 27, 1950 reads

Math Teacher 'Stands and Delivers'
Not many balding, middle-aged Bolivian immigrants have feature-length films produced about them. But then again, not many people have a heart attack, get a gallbladder removed, and spring back to school the next day to teach math. Jaime Escalante, subject of the 1988 film 'Stand and Deliver,' was a passionate teacher, father-figure, and "street-gang equal" who passed away at the age of 79 on Tuesd... posted on Mar 31, 3899 reads

Dude, Where's Our Car?
"Things the recession has taught me: keeping your thermostat at 63 degrees in the winter and at 85 in the summer is uncomfortable but not fatal. Lesson two? You are not using your library enough. Do you know you can take out as many books as you want? And that they have free storytimes and craft lessons for kids? And that you can check out DVDs? Thankfully, my community has well-funded, thriving l... posted on Apr 1, 4526 reads

A Nonprofit Gym
In many low-income neighborhoods, obesity and diabetes are huge problems. Fear of crime and traffic keep many residents from exercising outdoors and indoor gyms are often too few and too expensive. Healthworks, a nonprofit fitness center in Boston, Massachusetts is working to change that. With membership fees based on income and no more than $30 a month, low-income communities now have a safe spac... posted on Jun 20, 1862 reads

What Does the Rainforest Sound Like?
So many things. Katydids telling each other where to look for food, frogs bellowing for a mate and piranhas leaping out of the muddy brown Amazon. And this is how it sounds to a deaf person. Hear the World organization has partnered with Global Explorers to bring 50 mixed hearing students to the Amazon Rainforest to experience sound and empower the deaf. For a group of young adults, the expedition... posted on Jul 14, 2566 reads