Perils of Praise
"Praise junkie" may just be an expression, unless you pay attention to the recent research of Dr. Robert Cloninger. His studies show that young kids who have been praised too often, develop a chemical need for constant reward. "A person who grows up getting too frequent rewards will not have persistence, because they'll quit when the rewards disappear," Dr. Cloninger concludes. For a few decade... posted on Nov 23, 3536 reads

How A Bookstore Can Change Your Life
"One of the more romantic literary notions is that a book can change a person's life. Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Ford, for instance, claims Walker Percy's novel The Moviegoer made Ford the author he is today. If a book can change your life, a bookstore can utterly transform it. In my case, I found one, or perhaps it found me, at a critical juncture when I was turning my back on everything I had... posted on Nov 21, 3106 reads

StoryCorps: Tell Your Story
StoryCorps began with the idea that everyone has an important story to tell. And since 2003, this remarkable project has been collecting the stories of everyday Americans and preserving them for future generations. From more than ten thousand interviews, StoryCorps -- the largest oral history project in the nation's history -- presents a tapestry of American stories, told by the people who lived t... posted on Dec 10, 2803 reads

Sunlight Without Windows
A handful of buildings in California are beginning to try a new kind of indoor lighting: sunlight without windows! It's called Hybrid Solar Lighting -- half solar and half electric. During the day, sunlight pours out of the light fixture; at night, a conventional light bulb takes over. On the roof is a large dish that points at the sun and concentrates the sun into the end of the fiber bundle. T... posted on Dec 7, 2581 reads

Seven Questions on Giving Time
"In the moment when we spend money for others, there is the deep joy of expressing gratitude, of imagining the recipient's delight and of silently recognizing our interconnection. It's beautiful. Yet, it only lasts for that moment. Instead, when you give time and allow yourself space to experience the process, you witness a long series of those joyous moments. If spending money is generosity, ... posted on Dec 9, 4233 reads

The Mystery Muffin Giver
"What would it be this morning -- a warm Blueberry Lemon? Banana Nut? Cranberry Orange? Oatmeal Raisin? There is always a warm muffin or two tucked into a white napkin and placed next to the morning newspaper, waiting for me once I open my front door. Who is the Mystery Muffin Giver? I try to wake up early to see if I can catch him/her in the act, but so far I've been unsuccessful..." So begins t... posted on Dec 13, 2711 reads

Organic Inventiveness
A group of volunteers is cleaning oil from San Francisco's beaches using an unorthodox, albeit totally organic, method: human hair and mushrooms. Using mats made of hair, they are absorbing the droplets of oil that have washed ashore since a cargo ship rammed the base of a San Francisco Bay Bridge tower last week, spilling 58,000 gallons of fuel. Hair, which naturally absorbs oil from air and wate... posted on Dec 14, 2376 reads

The Salesman Who Sang Opera
He was an unlikely opera singer: by day Paul Potts sold cell phones in South Wales and confessed that summoning self-confidence was "always difficult." But Paul persevered. "My dream is to spend my life doing what I was born to do," he said simply. Watch him defy expectations on a June 2007 episode of "Britain's Got Talent" -- and in the course earn a standing ovation from an audience of over two ... posted on Dec 16, 2748 reads

2nd-Graders' Top 10 Lists for Letterman
Concerned about the Writer's Guild of America strike that is affecting several popular television shows, some talented and caring second-grade students in Dayton decided to offer writing assistance to David Letterman, who hosts a late night talk show on CBS. In the spirit of giving, the young people of St. Anthony Elementary school composed a list of the top 10 good things you can do to be kind to... posted on Dec 27, 4266 reads

Ordered to Eradicate Smallpox
A young man in his twenties, wishing to serve, gets a mandate from his teacher in a remote area of the Himalayas: "Remove smallpox from the planet." Dr. Larry Brilliant then embarks on repeated 17-hour bus rides to the United Nations. After a dozen fruitless trips, he finally gets his chance. And sure enough, he manages to lead a team of 150,000 health care workers to actually eradicate smallpox. ... posted on Jan 1, 1775 reads

The Power of Mindful Exercise
Simply by telling 44 hotel maids that what they did each day involved some serious exercise, the Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer and Alia J. Crum, a student, were apparently able to lower the women's blood pressure, take pounds off their bodies and improve their body-fat ratios. Self-awareness, it seems, was the women's elliptical trainer.... posted on Jan 4, 2786 reads

Drive-Through Customers Pay it Forward
A customer in a Florida drive-through pays the bill for the customer behind him, and the chain continues throughout the day. Interestingly enough, the first act of kindness started with a response to anger: someone behind Arthur Rosenfeld was yelling and honking at him, so Rosenfeld decided to pay for the man's coffee! This news video shares more of the story.... posted on Jan 6, 3941 reads

Zen & The Art of Television Watching
"I want you to watch TV with acute awareness, mindfulness, and precision. 1) Watch any TV show for 15 minutes without turning on the sound. 2) Watch any news program for 15 minutes without turning on the sound. 3) Watch television set for one half-hour with out turning it on." So begins this thought-provoking essay that sharply urges a change in the way we as individuals and as a society, watch TV... posted on Jan 9, 3936 reads

A New Kind of Office Heating
A Swedish company plans to harness the body heat generated by thousands of commuters scrambling to catch their trains at Stockholm's main railway station and use it for heating a nearby office building. It's believed the system can provide about 15 percent of the heating needed for a 13-storey building being built next to the Central Station in the Swedish capital. "It just came up at a coffee mee... posted on Jan 10, 2712 reads

100 Ideas For Peace
Creating world peace is no easy task and it continues to be one of the most significant challenges of our times. But there are several things each of us as individuals can do to help create a more peaceful world. "Be generous with your smiles." "Let someone else go first." These are just two examples from a list of 100 simple and inspiring ideas written by David Krieger, Founder President of the N... posted on Jan 12, 5193 reads

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
Described as the commencement speech she would give if ever asked to deliver one, this charming, whimsical music video found its origins in a 1997 Chicago Tribune column by Mary Schmich. Two years later, Australian film director Baz Luhrmann (who would go on to direct the Academy Award-winning Moulin Rouge) set Schmich's musings, virtually word for word, to music. Rumored -- falsely -- to have bee... posted on Jan 18, 3781 reads

Earthships: Future-Proof Buildings
Imagine a home that heats itself, that provides its own water, and grows its own food. Imagine that it needs no expensive technology, that it recycles its own waste, that it has its own power source. And now imagine that it can be built anywhere, by anyone, out of the things society throws away. Thirty years ago, architect Michael Reynolds imagined just such a home - then set out to build it. Fro... posted on Jan 26, 3286 reads

The 7 Keys To Joy at Work
Ask bosses what makes employees happy at work, and many are likely to think in terms of tangible rewards: a good salary, a pleasant office, generous benefits. Those play a role in job satisfaction, of course. But increasingly, workplace specialists are discovering that for many workers, the "happiness factor" depends heavily on intangibles, such as respect, trust, and fairness. "Study after study ... posted on Jan 30, 9468 reads

Cell Phone That Reads to The Blind
If you have normal vision and can read, there are thousands of things you do every day without even thinking even about it, little problems you solve with just a glance -- like knowing which coffee bag in a hotel is caffeinated or decaf. James Gashel is blind, but he can distinguish the difference with help from his cell phone. "All you have to do is snap a picture of the bag, and it tells you," h... posted on Feb 7, 2987 reads

Empathy Lessons From Babies
It's just Nolan Winecka's second time teaching a class of fifth graders at Emerald Park Elementary School in this Seattle suburb, and it shows as he stares nervously at the two dozen kids surrounding him. Nolan is 6 months old and hasn't had any formal pedagogical training. But to the group that put him in the classroom, he has everything he needs to help teach children an unconventional subject. ... posted on Feb 14, 3676 reads

The Not So Big Life
Bigger isn't better. That's the point architect and author Sarah Susanka drove home in "The Not So Big House" and five subsequent books. Now she drops the other shoe: Busier isn't better. Just as home quality can't be measured in square footage, Susanka says, fulfilled lives aren't defined by packed calendars. Susanka applies her "better, not bigger" approach to simplifying lives in "The Not So Bi... posted on Feb 15, 4315 reads

Anonymous Angels of Peru
In a country where jobs are scarce, it's nearly impossible to find work if you have a disability. But three friends are fighting to change that. Angeles Anonimos (Anonymous Angels), a Peru based group, trains the disabled and handicapped -- regarded by locals as unemployable and often left to beg on the streets -- to create fair-trade sterling silver jewelry. When asked in this video about the ori... posted on Feb 17, 2230 reads

Building A Life On $25
Alone on a dark gritty street, Adam Shepard searched for a homeless shelter. He had a gym bag, $25, and little else. A former college athlete with a bachelor's degree, Mr. Shepard had left a comfortable life with supportive parents in Raleigh, N.C. Now he was an outsider on the wrong side of the tracks in Charleston, S.C. But Shepard's descent into poverty in the summer of 2006 was no accident. Sh... posted on Feb 22, 5433 reads

Relying on Kindness & A Donkey
Jonathan Dunham is walking the earth. Assisting him in this endeavor is his donkey, named Judas. On a recent Sunday morning, reggaetón blared from a house near the abandoned shack where Mr. Dunham has been sleeping on the floor. Barefoot children wandered up to his hovel, petting Judas. They giggled and stared at Mr. Dunham, 33. "Are you an athlete?” one of the children asked him. "Or a mission... posted on Feb 25, 2983 reads

Intentional Chocolate
How do you explain the common experience of homemade soup tasting better than the same soup purchased at a restaurant or scooped out of a can? Proposed explanations range from the serious to the humorous. Among the serious reasons, one contributor is undoubtedly the nurturing association between home and food. Another might be an ingredient missing from both the restaurant and the soup can -- the... posted on Feb 26, 4101 reads

A Blueprint for Alleviating Poverty
Acumen Fund is a non-profit with an ambitious plan: to create a blueprint for alleviating poverty using market-oriented approaches. Indeed, Acumen has more in common with a venture capital fund than a typical nonprofit. Rather than handing out grants, Acumen invests in fledgling companies and organizations that bring critical products and services to tens of millions of the world's poor. Acumen's ... posted on Feb 27, 1986 reads

Social Change through the Workplace
Perhaps it's no surprise that empowered, satisfied employees tend to live in open, peaceful societies. What's interesting is that research shows that improvements in workplace empowerment often usher in social changes. Author Gretchen Spreitzer, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, examined survey data from 65 countries around the world, comparing detailed measures ... posted on Mar 4, 3359 reads

The Art of Holding Babies
'"Carol Lee?" On our flight to New Orleans, the "Fasten Your Seat Belts" sign had just come on. Carol Lee was reading her book. She lifted her head, "What do you want to do in life?" I asked. I expected her to say she wanted to travel to Europe. Carol Lee turned to me and said, "I would like to hold babies." "Hold babies?" I was stunned. "You've got grandchildren." "I would like to work in a hospi... posted on Mar 9, 5989 reads

The Professor of Happiness
"For the second time in two weeks, I took the train from the Netherlands to Paris, and for the second time in two weeks I missed my connection in Rotterdam. The first time I got pretty irritated. The second time I didn't. The key was simple and as old as the hills, but it works like a charm: Try to enjoy the moment. During my second trip, I was reading Vivre Heureux ("How to lead a happy life"), a... posted on Mar 12, 4241 reads

Shy Librarian Turned Prize-winning Author
The school bus honked and pulled over, startling Laura Schlitz as she was taking a walk in her residential neighborhood here. The bus driver leaned out and called to Ms. Schlitz: "Aren't you the lady who won that big book award? I recognize you!" It is at such moments that Laura Amy Schlitz, whose book recently won the 2008 Newbery Medal, the most prestigious prize in children's literature, realiz... posted on Mar 18, 3362 reads

People's Grocery
In West Oakland, California, where liquor stores have replaced markets, People’s Grocery is creating a healthy alternative, offering access to organic produce. Through urban gardens and local farms, People's Grocery supports a culture based on connection to the land, sustainable agricultural practices, and regenerating community. The Global Oneness Project features a video of this remarkable gra... posted on Mar 23, 1787 reads

12 Principles of Spiritually Intelligent Leadership
"What makes a great leader? Some say it is the ability to give a clear sense of direction. Some, that it is the ability to make tough decisions. Others, that great leadership is the ability to command and control, or, conversely, to inspire loyalty in those led through strong emotional empathy. I think that great leadership depends primarily on vision--not just any type of vision, but one that we ... posted on Mar 24, 9821 reads

The Woman Who Gives Away Computers
Forty-seven-year-old Lorraine Kerwood confounds expectations. One of eleven children, she grew up under challenging circumstances. Teachers labeled her mentally challenged and assigned her to special education classes. A wide variety of low-paying, blue-collar jobs followed. Yet, when Lorraine returned to school at the prodding of a friend, she became an academic star, eventually graduating magna ... posted on Mar 27, 2804 reads

52 Weeks, 52 Jobs
Fifty-two jobs in 52 weeks may sound horrific to some, but that's Sean Aiken's goal. Aiken's job-shopping odyssey began in February 2007, after he graduated as a class valedictorian with an undergrad degree, but no idea what to do for a living. Aiken's solution? To direct his passion into his job search by creating a personal employment agency on the Web. On his site, www.oneweekjob.com, he solici... posted on Apr 2, 4357 reads

Back on My Feet
At 5 a.m. on any given day, Anne Mahlum could be found running the dark streets of Philadelphia -- with homeless men cheering her on as she passed their shelter. But one morning last spring, she stopped in her tracks."Why am I running past these guys?" recalls Mahlum, 27. "I'm moving my life forward every day -- and these guys are standing in the same spot." In July 2007 the "Back On My Feet" runn... posted on Apr 11, 2263 reads

Our Brains When Problem-Solving
Aha! Eureka! Bingo! "By George, I think she's got it!" Everyone knows what it's like to finally figure out a seemingly impossible problem. But what on Earth is happening in the brain while we're driving toward mental pay dirt? Researchers eager to find out have long been on the hunt, knowing that such information could one day provide priceless clues in uncovering and fixing faulty neural systems ... posted on Apr 12, 2891 reads

Muhammud Yunus on Poverty
Thirty years ago, in a remote village of Bangladesh, a modest economics professor took thirty dollars out of his own wallet and loaned it to a group of women looking to start a small business. Told by nay-sayers that he'd never get the money back, the amount was indeed repaid in full. Muhammad Yunus went on to found the Grameen Bank in 1976, out of a conviction that it is small acts like this one ... posted on Apr 19, 1867 reads

A Tattoo Named Lost
"Got on the plane in Minneapolis for the two hour and nine minute flight to NY. Spent the first nine minutes of it talking to the young curly-brown-haired passenger with long sideburns. In the first three minutes of talking to him I noticed on the back of his hand a ball-point-pen tattoo. One word. "Lost". And for some reason that touched me. In the same inexplicable way that "Help Wanted" signs i... posted on Apr 26, 4975 reads

Why Bother About Climate Change?
"There are so many stories we can tell ourselves to justify doing nothing, but perhaps the most insidious is that, whatever we do manage to do, it will be too little too late. Climate change is upon us, and it has arrived well ahead of schedule. Scientists' projections that seemed dire a decade ago turn out to have been unduly optimistic: the warming and the melting is occurring much faster than t... posted on May 2, 3722 reads

Change Blindness: A Grand Illusion
At a symposium devoted to the crossover theme of Art and Neuroscience earlier this year, Jeremy Wolfe of Harvard Medical School demonstrated a phenomenon known as change blindness: the frequent inability of our visual system to detect alterations to something staring us straight in the face. Studies strongly suggest that the brain is a master at filling gaps and making do, of compiling a cohesive ... posted on May 4, 2704 reads

The Power of Play
Over the last two decades, more than 30,000 schools in the United States have eliminated recess to make more time for academics. From 1997 to 2003, children's time spent outdoors fell 50 percent, according to a study by Sandra Hofferth. Hofferth also found that the amount of time children spend in organized sports has doubled, and the number of minutes children devote each week to passive leisure,... posted on May 6, 3478 reads

Restoring The World's Coral Reefs
After witnessing the rapid devastation of a Cayman Island coral reef, Todd Barber was moved from horror to action. He gave up a six-figure salary as a marketing consultant and dedicated his life to restoring the world's ocean reef ecosystems. According to the Nature Conservancy, if the present rate of destruction continues, 70 percent of the world's coral reefs will be destroyed by the year 2050. ... posted on May 12, 2681 reads

The Security Guard's Idea
"Ten years ago, I was dissatisfied with my job working as a Vice President at a bank. Often, due to my standing as Vice President, I'd watch someone greet me respectfully but then turn around and respond dismissively to a fellow employee. In reaction to this obvious inequity, I made it a point to be even more respectful of individuals who were below me on the corporate ladder. One of these indiv... posted on May 16, 5348 reads

Memo to a Young Leader
"I spend a lot of time thinking and writing about the challenges of talented young people frustrated with life inside big organizations -- game-changers who spend much of their time questioning authority. In this post, I'd like to turn the tables and address talented young people who find themselves exercising authority: leading a project team, running a product-development group, starting a new b... posted on May 19, 4975 reads

Laughter as Medicine
Laughter is the best medicine, a cliche to be sure, but a new study has shown that laughter yoga, a blend of playful laughter exercises coupled with gentle breathing and stretching, can significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood-pressure levels, as well as bring about significant reductions in the stress hormone cortisol.... posted on Dec 10, 5047 reads

Dow Jones Average of Well Being
Staying healthy and happy is a struggle for about half of Americans, according to a massive survey that attempts to measure the nation's general welfare, much like the Dow Jones Industrial Average portrays the health of the stock market. "There's never been anything quite like it," said Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winner in economic sciences. "You're getting details about what it's like to li... posted on Jun 4, 4539 reads

Random Acts of Rebate
In June 2008 British Columbia's provincial government will mail all their Residents a $100 Climate Action Dividend, with the hope that citizens will invest the money in reducing their personal carbon usage. Polls say that most British Columbians will spend their $100 on beer or gas, but a small group of friends started pooling their Climate Action Dividends to collectively perform "Random Acts of... posted on May 30, 1789 reads

Nine Never Again's
It was his childhood dream, to travel the world. So in 2003, at the age of 25, Ludovic Hubler started. To meet local people, he chose to hitch hike and never spent a cent on traveling. Exactly five years later, he ended his journey after having visited 59 countries, sat in 1300 cars and trucks, given 300 presentations. To end his journey, he writes: "The two words that I most want to say today... posted on Jun 3, 7872 reads

Man-Made Noise
Bernie Krause listens to nature for a living. After having recorded nature for 40 years, he's noticing some alarming -- the natural sound of the world, biophony, is vanishing. Man-made noise is creeping into the most remote regions of Earth and Bernie argues that it's ruining our ecology. Animals divide up the acoustic spectrum so they don't interfere with one another's voices; no two species u... posted on Jun 9, 3269 reads

Green Wedding Vows
Prospective newlyweds in an Indonesian province are giving one more promise: planting trees to help slow the rapid deterioration of the country's forests. Khairul Baso and his fiancee, Andini, who received two 6-month-old teak trees along with palm, fruit and flower seedlings ahead of their wedding this weekend are one of nearly 900 couples in Gorontalo's district. Planting a tree before marriag... posted on Jun 27, 2319 reads