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Pay It Forward

A few years ago I watched Pay It Forward, a movie from the year 2000 based on the novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

While the movie probably could have been improved upon in it’s delivery of the theme, the concept of paying it forward is really intriguing.

The basic premise of the movie is as follows:

An 11-year-old schoolboy in Las Vegas, Nevada named Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) is given a class project to complete by his social studies teacher, a man with terrible burn scars on his face and neck. His task is to come up with a plan that will change the world through direct action.
 
On his way home from school later that day, Trevor notices a homeless man, and decides to make a difference in his life. Trevor then comes up with the plan to “pay it forward” by doing a good deed for three people who must in turn each do good deeds for three other people, creating a charitable pyramid scheme. (Wikipedia)

I don’t wish want to be unrealistic about this concept, or find recruits for the “together we can change the world!” foundation, but here’s what I love about paying it forward: it’s all about (more…)


Does integrity count for anything?


credit: Vincepal

I’ve often thought of integrity in fairly broad terms.
“Doing what is right” for instance, or “having high moral standards”. On reflection, I guess it is and it isn’t.

Let me ask you this – is integrity important in your life?

How high does it rank?

When you think of the concept of integrity, do you think it has more to do with being true to your word? Or is it more about having high personal standards regardless of what other people see or hear you do?
(more…)


What do you believe?

 
I’ve always been interested in the meanings behind song lyrics. Songs that make you think, or songs that tell a story as they unfold seem to be a lot more interesting than those that are highly repetitive or have fairly shallow lyrics.

One song in particular that has always made me stop and reflect on things is Belief by John Mayer. The version I’ve embedded below (in case you haven’t heard it) is kind of an extended instrumentally version.
(more…)


Finding the will to change your life


credit: johnnyalive

 
From time to time I have a look at my blog stats. How people found me, how many people visited on a particular day, how many went “ooh yuk!” in under 10 seconds – stuff like that! (Side note – I used to be a compulsive stats viewer, checking every couple hours but I strongly advise getting beyond this and checking every few days or once a week instead! It does great things for your sanity and helps get the focus back onto writing whatever you want rather than being driven by stats.)

But I digress. Today I had a look at some of my blog stats, and as part of this I had a look at some of the search terms people had used to come across my site. Why do I do this? Well, frankly I like the fact that at least someone is reading what I have to say! And I’m curious as to what people are looking for.. Here’s some of the google keywords from this week: (more…)


So you’ve heard it all before? Part 4: What Next?


credit: Chris Gin

 
This is part 4 of a four part series titled So You’ve Heard It All Before?

1: Gratitude
2: Confidence
3: Destiny
4. What Next?

 
This short series touched on three key areas that are important to revisit from time to time:

Gratitude: “A powerful aspect of gratitude is service to others – they really go hand in hand. Once you start improving on being grateful, there is a natural tendency to want to help other people more.”

Confidence: “Confidence encompasses so much of our lives. From trivial, daily tasks to massive undertakings – they all require some degree of confidence in yourself and confidence in other people. ”

Destiny: “Destiny is about finding your niche and your passion, and never giving up.”
(more…)


So you’ve heard it all before? Part 3: Destiny

 
This is part 3 of a four part series titled So You’ve Heard It All Before?

1: Gratitude
2: Confidence
3: Destiny
4. What Next?

 
This short series began after I attended a school awards night. One of the speeches was on confidence, and the material presented was not exactly new. But it was compelling. And inspiring! So I really just want to pay tribute to something I was reminded of – sometimes it’s good to hear material we may have heard before! It helps reiterate what we already know, and gives us a fresh perspective from another person’s view point. From time to time we also learn something! (more…)


So you’ve heard it all before? Part 2: Confidence

 

This is part 2 of a four part series titled So You’ve Heard It All Before?

1: Gratitude
2: Confidence
3: Destiny
4. What Next?

 
This short series began after I attended a school awards night. One of the speeches was on confidence, and the material presented was not exactly new. But it was compelling. And inspiring! So I really just want to pay tribute to something I was reminded of – sometimes it’s good to hear material we may have heard before! It helps reiterate what we already know, and gives us a fresh perspective from another person’s view point. From time to time we also learn something! (more…)


So you’ve heard it all before? Part 1: Gratitude


credit: bigibigi

 

This is part 1 of a four part series titled So You’ve Heard It All Before?

1: Gratitude
2: Confidence
3: Destiny
4. What Next?

 
This short series began after I attended a school awards night. One of the speeches was on confidence, and the material presented was not exactly new. But it was compelling. And inspiring! So I really just want to pay tribute to something I was reminded of – sometimes it’s good to hear material we may have heard before! It helps reiterate what we already know, and gives us a fresh perspective from another person’s view point. From time to time we also learn something! (more…)


Q&A with Leo Babauta of Zen Habits: Success


credit: ePi.Longo

 

Today I was fortunate enough to be part of a four hour question and answer session with Leo Babauta from one of my favourite blogs, Zen Habits.

Zen Habits (as if you haven’t heard of it!) is a very successful site that covers topics like achieving goals, productivity, being organized, motivation, eliminating debt and successfully implementing good habits. I really appreciate Leo’s down to earth nature and insight into the many different topics he writes about.

I was pleased to have the opportunity to ask Leo two questions that he answered very well, I thought I’d take a moment to share one of them with you (the other was on market saturation and blogging, you can read his response on the site; link is at the end of this post): (more…)


How to be a skeptic

I know a guy who’s a bit of a jokester. He often comes out with wild, unbelievable statements but does it in such a deadpan serious kind of way that most people’s response is, “really? Wow, I never knew that!” Then when his face breaks into a grin, you realise that you’ve just been had!


credit: mangpages

By now I’m pretty used to his crazy sense of humour, so I’m always on guard when he’s coming out with the next “unbelievable” statement. Time after time after time though, I see him fooling people into believing what he’s saying.

Why does this happen? Maybe it’s partly because his delivery seems so genuine. Maybe it has more to do with the nature of people, that we often tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Which leads me to an amazing revelation I made some years ago. You don’t have to agree with me, but here it is: (more…)


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