The Flip Side of Your Signature Strength
"As an executive coach interested in exploring what drives people to successes and failures, I have worked with hundreds of ambitious people including business executives, sports legends and Nobel laureates. One key discovery I made repeatedly over the last fifteen years is that there is a common driver to the successes and failures of the people I studied. I call this driver, the 'Signature Stren... posted on Sep 25, 12373 reads

Reflections from a Five Day Walk
"I recently walked about 60 miles over 5 days, from Oakland to Santa Clara. This certainly isn't anything unique. In a way, I was imitating many inspirations that came before, and probably many iterations will come after. Still, 'we love to make music of this puzzle' of our artful work of life. For me, the walk was many things. It was an expression of wandering. It was a pilgrimage [...] It was a ... posted on Oct 28, 8799 reads

The Potential for Design
"Design is an inescapable dimension of human activity. To adapt one of my favorite quotes by Reyner Banham, like the weather it is always there, but we speak about it only when it is exceptionally bad or exceptionally good. Design is also a powerful political tool, as pharaohs, queens, presidents, and dictators throughout history have taught us. It comes not only in very visible and traditional ap... posted on Nov 2, 4138 reads

Multivariate Bridges and Metaphysical Mangoes
"Last weekend, my friend Nimo came to the group with a problem. On the main pathway between a slum and the nonprofit Manav Sadhna (MS), a stream had built up due to the persistent rain we've been getting lately. The issue was that kids from the slum trying to get to MS had to cross the stream daily or more with no proper way to walk, and between the water's filthiness and the pressure it was rushi... posted on Nov 18, 5873 reads

A 14-yr-old's Clothing Closet for All
Like many 14-year-olds, Katelyn Eystad has a lot of clothes in her closet -- but hers are to give away. In 2009, Katelyn founded a Clothing Closet to provide clothing, diapers, deodorant and more to people in need in her community. With the help of her sisters and mother, she has already served 1,500 families. "What a blessing this child has been to many. Katelyn is always volunteering and giving ... posted on Nov 25, 9080 reads

What a 10-Year-Old Did for the Tar Sands
10-yr-old Ta'Kaiya Blaney stood outside Enbridge Northern Gateway's office on July 6, waiting for officials to grant her access to the building. She thought she could hand deliver an envelope containing an important message about the company's pipeline construction. But the doors remained locked. "I don't know what they find so scary about me," she said, as she was ushered off the property by secu... posted on Dec 10, 8094 reads

Stepping Out of the "Should" Trap
"'I should make more money. I should lose weight. I should volunteer more often.' In saying 'should' so often, I found myself feeling trapped by a sense of obligation and expectation. I felt this vague pressure to conform to external standards, to be someone or do something. It felt like just being me wasn't okay. I felt pushed to follow a particular path, behave in specific ways, and believe cert... posted on Dec 14, 39504 reads

4 Misconceptions About the Simple Life
"It is important to recognize inaccurate stereotypes about the simple life because they make it seem impractical and ill suited for responding to increasingly critical breakdowns in world systems. Four misconceptions about the simple life are so common they deserve special attention. These are, equating simplicity with: poverty, rural living, living without beauty and economic stagnation. A centra... posted on Dec 24, 32332 reads

How Vulnerability Can Be a Strength
The word vulnerable itself comes from the Latin 'vulnerare' which means 'to wound', and so at the root of vulnerability is our own sense of wounded-ness. To be authentic in a moment in which we feel wounded, we have to honestly acknowledge the places where we feel hurt and then muster up the strength to just be with the pain. If we can embrace this vulnerability, we can fully accept the discomfort... posted on Jan 13, 30281 reads

Inside Tim Tebow's World of Kindness
"I've come to believe in Tim Tebow for what he does off a football field, which is represent the best parts of us, the parts I want to be and so rarely am. Who among us is this selfless? Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured." He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, and gives them a treat of a lifetime. This ESPN article shar... posted on Jan 25, 18063 reads

Vinny Ferraro: The Heartful Dodger
One bitter night, in the rough end of New Haven, fifteen-year-old Vinny Ferraro and his gang were hanging out as usual by the projects when a chance encounter with a homeless man (who they were assaulting) changed the course of the rest of his life. "I didn't know what compassion meant when I was fifteen. But I knew that that homeless guy had seen my heart. And that was scary. I had done my best t... posted on Feb 2, 16478 reads

A Survivor's Sunrise Ritual
No two sunrises are ever the same. Debbie Wagner knows this better than almost anyone else. With earnest devotion, she has risen in the darkness more than 2,200 times so she could observe and paint the sunrise. She's rarely missed a morning since December 2005; for Wagner, the daily ritual is sustaining. "As a brain-tumor survivor, I lost so many of the loves I had, like reading and writing and ma... posted on Feb 6, 5006 reads

The Sweet Spot between Doing and Being
Activity balanced with rest: it's the way all of nature works, a beautiful reminder that everything is in ebb and flow. Our own bodies follow natural patterns, recuperating every night and preparing for the next day's action. With music as well, the structure imposed by notes inherently depends on the unstructured space supporting it. As a culture, though, we give more importance to creating notes... posted on Feb 28, 30175 reads

Cat Saves Owner's Life Hours After Adoption
Amy Jung and her son Ethan stopped into The Humane Society near their home in Wisconsin to play with the cats, but one feline -- a 21-pound cat named Pudding -- stood out to the pair. They made an impulsive decision to adopt him and his friend Wimsy. That same night, Jung, who has had diabetes since childhood, started having a diabetic seizure in her sleep. That's when Pudding sprang into action. ... posted on Feb 27, 26067 reads

Designing for Generosity
What would the world look like if we designed for generosity? Instead of assuming that people want to simply maximize self-interest, what if our institutions and organizations were built around our deepest motivations? A recent TEDx talk explores this question and introduces the concept of Giftivism: the practice of radically generous acts that change the world. The video is charged with stories o... posted on Mar 2, 5853 reads

Love and Play: a Conversation w/ Chaz
"When he speaks, you can sense a depth of earnest care in his voice. When you hear his stories, you know you're in the presence of a sacred soul. And it sort of sneaks up on you that he's served in hospices and with the homeless, that he spends his days mentoring college students as UPenn's University Chaplain. From gentle stories about his daughters to lessons from his "knucklehead punk" youth da... posted on Apr 29, 5065 reads

15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy
"We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering -- and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy -- we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go." Dana Sauvic, a student of the arts, economics and spiri... posted on May 10, 564433 reads

Intelligence Is Overrated: What It Really Takes to Succeed
Albert Einstein's was estimated at 160, Madonna's is 140, and John F. Kennedy's was only 119, but as it turns out, IQ score aren't everything when it comes to predicting your success and professional achievement. IQ tests are used as an indicator of logical reasoning ability and technical intelligence. But by itself, a high IQ does not guarantee standing out. This article, originally appearing in ... posted on May 5, 79230 reads

Gleaning for the Greater Good
"An old-fashioned concept -- gleaning for the greater good by harvesting unwanted or leftover produce from farms or family gardens -- is making a comeback during these continued lean economic times. In cities, rural communities, and suburbs across the country, volunteer pickers join forces to collect bags and boxes of fruits and vegetables that find their way to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, a... posted on May 12, 12270 reads

Carl Sagan on Balancing Skepticism & Openness
"Seven years ago this week, David Foster Wallace argued that "learning how to think really means learning how to exercise some control over how and what you think." Yet in an age of ceaseless sensationalism, pseudoscience, and a relentless race for shortcuts, quick answers, and silver bullets, knowing what to think seems increasingly challenging. The art of thinking critically is a habit that requ... posted on May 28, 19082 reads

Meet The New Boss: You
"What do coffee growers in Ethiopia, hardware store owners in America, and Basque entrepreneurs have in common? For one thing, many of them belong to cooperatives. By pooling their money and resources, and voting democratically on how those resources will be used, they can compete in business and reinvest the benefits in their communities. The United Nations has named 2012 as the International Yea... posted on May 30, 9657 reads

America's First Public Food Forest
Imagine a 7 acre plot of land in a large American city, with hundreds of different kinds of edibles: walnut and chestnut trees; blueberry and raspberry bushes; fruit trees, including apples and pears; exotics like pineapple, yuzu citrus, guava, persimmons, honeyberries, and lingonberries; herbs; and more. The best part? All will be available for public plucking to anyone who wanders into Seattle's... posted on Jun 8, 35360 reads

5 Principles for Inner Transformation at Work
"People go to work to sustain themselves and produce value in the world. Yet work environments can also be stressful, filled with challenging responsibilities and personalities, and feel misaligned with our most deeply cherished values. Instead of sustaining us, the workplace can sometimes feel simply draining, and at worst, unwholesome for both ourselves and the world...is there a path for heart ... posted on Jul 5, 13681 reads

Barbara Kingsolver On How to Be Hopeful
"The arc of history is longer than human vision. It bends. We abolished slavery, we granted universal suffrage. We have done hard things before. And every time it took a terrible fight between people who could not imagine changing the rules, and those who said, "We already did. We have made the world new." The hardest part will be to convince yourself of the possibilities, and hang on. If you run ... posted on Oct 24, 31573 reads

Business Lessons from a Quiet Gardener
William Rosenzweig is a strong voice in the field of ethical business. Much of his inspiration in the corporate world comes from a seemingly unlikely place -- the garden. "A gardener sees the world as a system of interdependent parts - where healthy, sustaining relationships are essential to the vitality of the whole. In business this has translated for me into the importance of developing agreeme... posted on Sep 7, 4172 reads

Somebody Tagged Me!
"'What is it?' Sabrina asked. One glance inside and my suspicion was confirmed. Lying inside were 2 tupperware containers. I could not see their contents from my bird's eye view but I could see a fresh mango and a bag of chocolates peeking from the corner of the bag. And the incredible aroma had already permeated the front office area. 'Someone has tagged me with an anonymous act of kindness!' I r... posted on Sep 26, 8278 reads

The Science of Compassion
"As human beings, we will inevitably encounter suffering at some point in our lives. However, we also have evolved very specific social mechanisms to relieve that pain: altruism and compassion. It is not just receiving compassion that relieves our pain...The act of experiencing compassion and helping others actually leads to tremendous mental and physical well-being for us as well. It is our abili... posted on Oct 23, 35526 reads

9 Simple Steps to Improve Your Health
"Ask a centenarian the secret ingredients to a long and healthy life and you aren't likely to hear "doctors, drugs, and fad diets." We all know that there's more to our overall well-being than treating symptoms or the occasional replacement of a part. The good news is that scientists in various fields are discovering ever more ways we can keep ourselves healthy without expensive medication and com... posted on Oct 5, 71131 reads

What The Fire Could Not Destory
"Ben and Norma Shapiro spent Thanksgiving week in New York City. They went to two jazz clubs, one comedy club, two movies, six plays and five museums. They had packed clothes to take them to those events, plus casual walking. And those are all the clothes they have left. On their last night in NYC, Nov. 30, they went to a jazz club and returned to their hotel. The manager met them as they entered ... posted on Nov 19, 6493 reads

Peace Artist: 6000 Miles of Art & Humanity
It all began with gratitude...And maybe some sneakers and paint. He goes by the name Peace Artist, and he spent the past year running 6,000 miles from Seattle, Washington to Savannah, Georgia. He ran until given shelter and fasted until given food. He carried no money with him, only art supplies, with which to create original works of art that he gifted along the way. He never asked for anything o... posted on Oct 12, 38426 reads

When I Walk: A Filmmaker's Journey with MS
30-year-old Jason DaSilva has worked as a filmmaker for ten years. His work has been screened at Sundance, on PBS, HBO, and came close to receiving an Academy Award nomination. Currently Jason is the director and star of an unusual documentary titled, "When I Walk". The film documents his journey with Multiple Sclerosis. In Jason's own words it,"provides information and inspiration to those affec... posted on Oct 30, 15640 reads

Untrack: Letting Go of the Stress of Measuring
"There are a few old management adages that seem to run like a current through our society, powering our work and personal lives: "You can't manage what you don't measure" and "You are what you measure" and "You get what you measure". And I've fallen for it myself. At various times, I've tracked workouts, miles run, everything I've eaten, every single work task I complete, progress towards goals, ... posted on Nov 20, 17369 reads

What The Outside Can Do For The Inside
"The balancing, breathing, and centering of yoga bring immediate results to prisoners, according to Natalie Smith, executive director of Yoga Behind Bars, a nonprofit that promotes yoga to help soothe the rage, anxiety, and hopelessness of life in prison. " Incarceration is an ineffective band-aid for many other problems -- homelessness, mental health issues, drug addictions. Antisocial behaviors ... posted on Jul 19, 12086 reads

Creativity Blossoms in Beijing
"Dandelion, what an appropriate word to name a school that serves the children of migrant workers! The dandelion's seeds, feathery and light, drift with the wind to wherever they land. The tenacity of the plant helps it endure, put down roots, and live on. It is a perfect symbol of the situation tolerated by many migrant families, driven to wherever they can find jobs. Unassuming but tenacious, th... posted on Jan 20, 8854 reads

Curry Without Worry: Food from the Heart
"The founder of Curry Without Worry, Shrawan Nepali, has shoulder length salt and pepper hair, brown eyes that sparkle like he's about to break into a smile, and a lightness to him, as if he seems to defy gravity...They feed approximately 250 people in San Francisco, and 300 in Katmandu, Nepal every Tuesday night. Kerry Adams, a man waiting in line, told me, "Not only is the food here healthy and ... posted on Jan 12, 13993 reads

Are You Building Your Legacy?
"What are you going to be remembered for? Will people talk about the relationships you had with friends and family? The once-a-year dish everyone looked forward to? The impact you made on a company and its employees? How is a legacy created and cultivated, and what can you do to build your own legacy? These are all huge questions with small and critical answers. Here's the story of my legacy, and ... posted on Jan 16, 37348 reads

Stop Focusing On Your Performance
"The night before our wedding, Eleanor and I stood awkwardly in the center of a large room, surrounded by our family and our closest friends. There was no particular reason to be uncomfortable; this was just a rehearsal. Still, we were in the spotlight and things weren't going smoothly... It had taken us 11 years -- and a lot of work -- to get to this point. Eleanor is Episcopalian, the daughter o... posted on Feb 10, 29296 reads

Rebranding Valentine's Day
"I never thought I would create a day. And yet, two years ago, with a few friends, I did. It all started back in 2008 on a cold December evening like any other. I was in the New York City subway rushing home. A man I'd seen many times on the train was asking for money to help the homeless. He had a warm smile and an open demeanor, and was wearing a hat that said he was a Vietnam vet. Like everyone... posted on Feb 14, 19531 reads

The Library Cat Who Touched The World
"Vicki Myron, the former director of the Spencer, Iowa, public library, tells the true story of the tiny, frozen kitten she found pushed through the book-return slot one bitter-cold January morning in 1988. She and her staff revived him -- and decided to keep him. They named him Dewey (naturally) and he lived the rest of his 19-plus years in Spencer's library. Dewey greeted patrons when they arriv... posted on Mar 11, 7811 reads

Life On A Farm
"Yes, we are part of the world, and the world is within us as we are within an alive and enormous network of being that looks back at us. To perceive this is at once so profound and also simple. It begins with the most obvious everyday things around you." Luanne Armstrong has been living on the same farm for sixty years. Wandering this land each day, she has come to realize that the more she knows... posted on May 9, 17243 reads

Six Ways to Become A Wise Leader
There are two kinds of leaders, according to Prasad Kaipa and Navi Radjou, the authors of a new book called "From Smart to Wise." Smart leaders "tend to look at the world through colored lenses that skew or limit their perspective, which affects their decisions and actions, while wise leaders "are able to continually reframe and reinterpret events through integration and find new meanings within a... posted on Apr 2, 40520 reads

Snail Mail My Email
"Snail mail fascinates me," says Ivan Cash. "There's something warm and fuzzy about coming home and checking the mail and getting a letter from a friend. It's such an intimate for of communication, especially in today's world." But when he noticed his letter correspondence was dwindling as text and Facebook messages were growing, he decided something needed to change. The 25 year old, quit his ... posted on Apr 13, 5832 reads

Owner of the World's Friendliest Restaurant
"As anyone who's ever made a habit of eating out can tell you, restaurant service can be unpredictable, unnerving and off-putting. The food can be late. Servers can be rude and management can sometimes seem indifferent to your complaints and needs. This isn't the case at Tim's Place in Albuquerque, N.M., where every meal is accompanied by a hug from owner Tim Harris, who has Down syndrome.At Tim's... posted on Apr 27, 6028 reads

A Poet's Take on The Mystery of Existence
"When I start to write, I'm not a guide or teacher; I'm not even a poet. I'm a person far out at sea, and the poem is a raft made of whatever floats past in the water. Those almost accidental rescuing pieces are words, rhythms, musics, ideas, the memory that is mine and the memory that is all of ours and the memory that is held in language itself. The experience of writing, for me at least, isn't ... posted on May 23, 17177 reads

The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination
"A recent early morning hike in Malibu, California, led me to a beach, where I sat on a rock and watched surfers. I marveled at these courageous men and women who woke before dawn, endured freezing water, paddled through barreling waves, and even risked shark attacks, all for the sake of, maybe, catching an epic ride. After about 15 minutes, it was easy to tell the surfers apart by their style o... posted on Jun 13, 37074 reads

Recipes for Recovery
With a tagline that reads, "Where hitting the bottom, begins the climb to new heights," the Delancey Street Foundation is a residential education center for drug addicts and ex-convicts. It currently operates a few facilities across the US, bringing hope and empowerment in communities where people are breaking out of cycles of incarceration and drug abuse . Their mission is rooted in showing resi... posted on May 24, 11540 reads

A Midwife to the Dying
"In having been in the field of dying for many years, I have frequently encountered the tragic limitations of dying in America. Our lives are an ongoing opportunity for us to realize compassion in the world and to really be a benefit to others. How extraordinary at the moment of death we have this opportunity to unify with our basic nature." Joan Halifax, a "midwife to the dying", has spent over 3... posted on Jun 5, 25704 reads

What To Do When You've Angered Someone
"I was running late. My wife Eleanor and I had agreed to meet at the restaurant at seven o'clock and it was already half past. I had a good excuse in the form of a client meeting that ran over and I wasted no time getting to the dinner as fast as possible. When I arrived at the restaurant, I apologized and told her I didn't mean to be late. She answered: "You never mean to be late." Uh oh, she wa... posted on May 22, 341303 reads

A Delicious Revolution
"Until we see how we feed ourselves as just as important--and maybe more important than--all the other activities of mankind, there is going to be a huge hole in our consciousness. If we don't care about food, then the environment will always be something outside of ourselves. And yet the environment can be something that actually affects you in the most intimate -- and literally visceral -- way. ... posted on Sep 23, 25968 reads

Turning the Tables on Success
"Two of the defining qualities of great leaders are the ability to make others better and the willingness to put the group's interests first. The employees with the greatest potential to excel and rise will be those whose success reverberates to benefit those around them." So, what does it take to be a great leader? In this piece, Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant describes givers, matc... posted on Oct 14, 8621 reads