who successfully tackle big social, environmental, and economic problems are driven by what I call a moment of obligation — a specific time in their life when they felt compelled to act. These moments become their North Star; they keep them going in a positive direction when everything seems dark. The obligation is not only to the world but also to themselves. Activists or social entrepreneurs aren't the only ones who are moved this way. We all have experiences that deeply inform who we are and what we are supposed to do. But only if we allow them to. Take Socheata Poeuv. She borrowed a bulky video camera from her office job at a television studio and ca... posted on Jul 23 2013 (24,010 reads)

Paths to a Meaningful Life The following is adapted from a commencement address Philip G. Zimbardo delivered at the University of Puget Sound earlier this month. Dr. Zimbardo, a giant in the field of social psychology, is now a professor at Palo Alto University, a professor emeritus at Stanford University, and the president of the Heroic Imagination Project. In the text of his talk below, we have embedded links to research supporting his advice to graduates. As I now complete my 55th year of teaching psychology, I am ever more grateful for the unique opportunity we teachers each have to learn from and share in the youthful exuberance of our students. Teachers who inspire their... posted on Jul 25 2013 (120,839 reads)

Saturday morning, there was a person waiting at the busy exit ramp of the freeway. The shoulders were hunched and a nervous, almost painful, rocking on the feet suggested to any passerby that this person had been occupying the space for quite some time, imploring for donations. This could have been another trivial occurrence of the day, another detail soon forgotten, except the person standing there — that was me . . . As a development executive at a film studio, I am fortunate to work at a great company, surrounded by incredibly talented individuals. We make movies. Movies that everyone in the world wants to see (or at least, that’s the goal). My life has a paycheck, a... posted on Aug 4 2013 (44,729 reads)

idea of fulfilling work—a job that reflects our passions, talents and values—is a modern invention. Open Dr. Johnson's celebrated Dictionary, published in 1755, and the word “fulfilment” doesn't even appear. But today our expectations are higher, which helps explain why job satisfaction has declined to a record low of 47 percent in the U.S., and is even lower in Europe. If you count yourself amongst those who are unhappy in their job, or at least have that occasional niggling feeling that your work and self are out of alignment, how are you supposed to go about finding a meaningful career? What does it take to overcome the fear of cha... posted on Aug 8 2013 (52,471 reads)

is one of humankind’s greatest illusions. Let’s face it—even with all the information available and expansive educational preparation—unexpected events often interfere with our plans and our best efforts to control an outcome or an event (and even ourselves!). And what happens to us, to those around us, and to the teams and organizations we lead when things get disrupted? For many of us, it depends on the day. There are times when we run into an obstacle and see it as an opportunity for creativity, a challenge that excites us. Then there are times when an obstacle throws us off balance, creates confusion and stress, and ‘leaks’ out in action... posted on Aug 9 2013 (35,069 reads)

do you make your choices? Here are a few statements from a decision-making survey created by my colleague, Barry Schwartz. Take a moment to think about whether you agree with them: - I never settle for second best. - When I’m in the car listening to the radio, even if I like the song, I often check other stations to see if something better is playing. - I’m a big fan of lists that rank things: the best movies … the best graduation speeches … the best-looking professors. - I treat relationships like clothing: I expect to try on a lot before I find the perfect fit. These statements reflect being a maximizer—someone who always looks for the bes... posted on Aug 10 2013 (68,311 reads)

Eric Schmidt to Danny Meyer: How super successful, super busy entrepreneurs organize their day "Personal productivity is a key differentiator between those who succeed in their chosen field and those who do not," says bestselling author Brian Tracy. Leaders and entrepreneurs who are at the top of their game know how to achieve what they want in less time than others. We can learn a lot from the tactics of these successful, and incredibly busy, individuals on how to better organize our own days. Here are 12 top tips worth trying out: 1. Have a single purpose focus. One thing many successful entrepreneurs have in common is the ability to focus on what matters most... posted on Aug 12 2013 (154,627 reads)

people believe that it is not necessary to learn to control one’s own mind because they think they already have such control.  Others, based on casual introspection and analysis of forces constantly impinging upon our minds, believe that we will never have control of our own minds and that such control is simply an illusion, though it may well be an illusion with important adaptive consequences.  The view the question invites is somewhat more nuanced.  It asks whether we can learn to control our mind, and thus assumes that there is a gradient of control ranging from little to more, and that individuals may vary in where they fall along this continuum.  Furt... posted on Aug 15 2013 (61,900 reads)

years ago, at 37, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist and spokeswoman for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center, had a stroke that traumatized her left hemisphere. Through the eyes of an ever-curious brain scientist, she felt her mind completely deteriorate to the point that she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall the incidents of her life. Several weeks later, she underwent major brain surgery to remove a golf-ball-sized blood clot that was applying pressure on the language center in her brain’s left hemisphere. During her eight-year recovery, her mother was her chief caregiver. Initially, Taylor did not know who she was and had no recollectio... posted on Aug 21 2013 (44,585 reads)

shut ourselves away from wounded places, psychologically, emotionally, and communally, but there is a better way to heal ourselves and our world. Whenever Lisa Olson returned to her hometown in Wisconsin, she would bundle everyone into the car and drive out to the old farm that had been in the family since the 1800s. Although Lisa’s parents had sold the place years earlier, the family still felt deeply connected to it. The house that had belonged to Lisa’s grandmother stood on one side of the road. Pastures ranged over the rolling hills. Tall oak and beech woods lined both sides of the valley, and when sunlight suffused through them, they seemed as enchanted to L... posted on Aug 26 2013 (16,958 reads)

group of teens known as the "Burrito Boyz" has made and delivered more than 33,000 breakfast burritos to San Diego's homeless. But it took a mentor to inspire them. Let's call him Burrito Dad. Michael Johnson grew somewhat alarmed at son Alec's gizmo-packed Christmas list two years ago, so he decided to impart some perspective. According to Yahoo, he and wife Mehrnaz thought feeding the homeless might do the trick. Thus, the family and Alec's friend Luke Trolinger set about wrapping 54 egg-and-cheese burritos one Sunday in November and handed them out. More than 130 Sundays later, their nonprofit Hunger 2 Help is rolling in good will. It has grown to ... posted on Aug 22 2013 (40,360 reads)

met Geoff Nedry in person a couple of years ago at a ServiceSpace retreat in Phoenix, AZ. I knew he was one of the ServiceSpace volunteers who did a lot of work for the KindSpring web portal. [formerly HelpOthers.org] It's a site where "Smile Cards" can be ordered. What is a smile card? In the following interview, this is explained. The cards are shipped at no fee to anyone who requests them. The cards are an encouragement to people to carry out random acts of kindness. Nothing is specified about what that means other than not passing up the small opportunities that are always presenting themselves, as in holding a door open for a stranger. People are encou... posted on Sep 10 2013 (24,510 reads)

often mistakenly think that putting pressure on employees will increase performance. What it does increase is stress—and research has shown that high levels of stress carry a number of costs to employers and employees alike. Stress brings high health care and turnover costs. In a study of employees from various organizations, health care expenditures for employees with high levels of stress were 46 percent greater than at similar organizations without high levels of stress. In particular, workplace stress has beenlinked to coronary heart disease in retrospective (observing past patterns) and prospective (predicting future patterns) studies. Then there’s... posted on Nov 25 2013 (29,837 reads)

many of you know how to watch television?" I asked my class one day. After a few bewildered and silent moments, slowly, one by one, everyone haltingly raised their hands. We soon acknowledged that we were all "experts," as Harold Garfinkle would say, in the practice of "watching television." The purpose of our un-TV experiment was to provoke us into seeing television as opposed to merely looking, and to stop the world as the first step to seeing. Here we engage in stopping the world by stopping the television. For an experiment, students were asked to watch TV consciously. Insofar as this is sort of "Zen and the Art of TV-watching,... posted on Aug 30 2013 (30,106 reads)

more progressive challenge was to work through the guilt and knowingly let the butterfly go? In the end, part of me wants to argue for that. But, then again, maybe letting go once only leads to more letting go. Maybe you have to believe in the value of everything to believe in the value of anything. Maybe giving in a little only hastens the terminal disenchantment. . ." At times poignant, at times playful, at times provocative, Wild Ones is altogether fantastic. Public domain images via Flickr Commons ... posted on Sep 5 2013 (14,591 reads)

received a letter in the mail the other day. It was the kind of letter that is painful to read because it stirred up old feelings and made me believe, for a mere moment or two, that I was right back in the muds of my yesterday. That, at any moment, I could be vulnerable to pulling the thread that would lead to my unraveling once again. I stood still; I put the phone in my pocket; I breathed in to read: “I’m tired of feeling like this but cannot seem to break the cycle of blah. Part of me does not want to get better because I don’t want to get better just to fall apart again. How can I even begin to find something else to define me, when I feel so empty ri... posted on Sep 15 2013 (30,870 reads)

go to the library in Santa Monica to write quite often. The other day, I went there to get some work done, and I see this man standing and looking at some books. New nonfiction. He has a sign on his chest that says “Be Love.” I ask him if I can take a picture, and he happily obliges. I turn around to get some money in my wallet. (He’s homeless—that much is evident. There are a lot of homeless that hang out at the Santa Monica library.) I turn back around, and he’s taken the sign off. “Picture’s free,” he says, “but you have to wear this for two hours. I’m David, what’s your name?” I ask him to ... posted on Sep 7 2013 (51,135 reads)

no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” “Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.” “When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it’s a sure sign you’re getting old.” You may know Mark Twain for some of his very popular books like Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He was a writer and also a humorist, satirist and lecturer. Twain is known for his many – and often funny – quotes. Here are a few of my favourite tips from him. 1. Approve of yourself. “A man cannot be... posted on Sep 29 2013 (593,684 reads)

is destiny, declared Sigmund Freud. But if Freud were around today, he might say “design is destiny”—especially after taking a stroll through most modern cities. The way we design our communities plays a huge role in how we experience our lives. Neighborhoods built without sidewalks, for instance, mean that people walk less and therefore enjoy fewer spontaneous encounters, which is what instills a spirit of community to a place. A neighborly sense of the commons is missing. You don’t have to be a therapist to realize that this creates lasting psychological effects. It thwarts the connections between people that encourage us to congregate, cooper... posted on Oct 15 2013 (74,811 reads)

order to understand the world, one has to turn away from it on occasion." Albert Camus When I was a child, I wanted to be a hermit. I can remember in particular a strange background desire I had for some years to live alone in a pine forest. Why a pine forest? I have no real idea. I have never spent much time at all in a real pine forest (as opposed to the serried ranks of plantation pines which layer the hills of the north of England.) But that was where I wanted to be. I could imagine myself dwelling in the dark, dank heart of a pinewood. Life there, I knew, would be more intense, more magical, than life at home. For a time, as a romantic and imaginative child, I en... posted on Nov 7 2013 (25,906 reads)