The only thing standing between you and your goal

I'm going to post this picture in my bathroom, 
right over the toilet next to the mirror as a "note to self". 

A bit of history on the picture, friends were visiting me while I was living in Ireland in '07 and during our tour of the Ring of Kerry I took this shot right after my car overheated and the engine blew stranding us for several hours. Talk about getting stuck at a crossroads... my car had lost power steering going downhill towards a cliff and this is the spot we safely managed to land. But what started as a mishap ended up being one of the greatest adventures of our trip. The rest of the story can be read on my travel blog.

This image reminds me of a time frame where I continuously pushed and challenged myself and those around me to grow in ways that many questioned as impossible "because it had never been done before". But what kind of excuse is that anyways? So while the naysayers were busy neighing, we gathered the right people (ones that were willing to say yes and just do it), set goals and deadlines, and pushed ahead in leaps and bounds accomplishing things daily that had never been done before. 


What is most great is it's not just true of those experiences but a lesson to be reminded of repeatedly anytime I stop myself from staying on track as it speaks loudly to me, "Nothing is impossible. If I can accomplish "that"-- ie. taking the first step and moving to Ireland alone for 2 years, learning to cross the street by looking right first instead of left and then learning to drive  in the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road, eventually stopping that car from driving us off a cliff all while meeting new people, learning a new culture, successfully relocating a company abroad, and most important maintaining a sense of humor and a sense of adventure through all it was & wasn't according to my expectations at step 1 (moving to Ireland) -- I can accomplish anything."

Love is Everywhere...

~ Photographer Unknown 

For the love of fruit and veggies... I had to share.

How to Put People Back in Charge by Sarah van Gelder — YES! Magazine

How to Put People Back in Charge by Sarah van Gelder — YES! Magazine

and 9 Strategies to End Corporate Rule

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Changemakers

Here's a great article by Huffington Post!

One... ~Author Unknown

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One tree can start a forest,

One bird can herald spring,

One smile can begin a friendship,

One hand can lift a soul,

One star can guide a ship at sea,

One word can frame the goal,

One vote can change a nation,

One sunbeam can light a room,

One candle can wipe out darkness,

One laugh can conquer gloom,

One hope can raise our spirits,

One touch can show you care,

One voice can wake up everybody,

One life can make the difference,

be that one today.

into a new way of thinking.

●●●

43 Rules To Live By ~Author Unknown

1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
4. When you say, "I love you", mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
22. Spend some time alone.
23. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.
24. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
25. Read more books and watch less TV.
26. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
27. Trust in God but lock your car.
28. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
29. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.
30. Read between the lines.
31. Share your knowledge... It's a way to achieve immortality.
32. Be gentle with the earth.
33. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
34. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
35. Mind your own business.
36. Don't trust a man/woman who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss.
37. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
38. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
39. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck,
40. Learn the rules then break some.
41. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
42. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
43. Remember that your character is your destiny.

JUST SMILE :)

Good News from Good.Is

This is so cool!!!  I hope they get it figured out soon since gas prices are ridiculous these days. I could fuel my vehicle the same way I fuel my body... with fruit!

Fuel Gets Fruity: Converting Produce Scraps into Gas

Always be yourself...

●●●

To be nobody-but-yourself -- 

in a world which is doing its best, night and day, 

to make you everybody else -- 

means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; 

and never stop fighting.

~ E.E. Cummings

●●●

A Present on Presence

2012: The People's Influence on Corporations

Lately, I have been completely fascinated by people's recent use of social media and grand-scale protest to influence corporations to change including the recent examples I've been following: the Occupy Wall Street's 99% Movement, the Blackout in protest of PIPA & SOPA, a petition to Obama regarding Monsanto, consumers are considering boycotting Apple after a recent NY Times article highlighted not only their outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to China but also exposed the appalling work conditions in their outsourced Chinese manufacturing plants, McDonald's pulled an offensive local radio ad & issued an apology yesterday when dog lovers united in protest, and now today in the fashion world H & M and a street artist collide over the question of international copyright infringement violations.

As people dig deeper into their own value systems, wants & needs, they are no longer waiting for change to happen via government approved authority and as-per-usual methodology, but making their thoughts and viewpoints known by new methods of change including using the power of a common voice via social media and the internet to promote their causes. There has been much loss, tension, fear and sense of instability in the air over the last several years. As we experience this great cosmic shift in values and priorities, people are quickly realizing that as the forces NOW unite, their voices will be heard and the positive changes currently in progress will be swift and immediate. 

On a very personal note, before his untimely death on Independence Day of 2010, my dear friend Kindred Khan Nguyen became a mentor to me. We began discussing the last few years events leading to 2012 right upon my return from Ireland in early 2008 and continued to debate and discuss the matters incessantly until his passing. He was unquestionably enlightened beyond his years. As we discussed my plans to immediately invest in starting the business I'd been planning for the previous 2 years, he warned me in early 2008 to be extremely financially cautious due to the pending disaster that would happen in the years prior to 2012. Within six months, we all began experiencing what ultimately became the worst economic collapse of our lifetime and despite the warnings and over-cautious spending, we were all affected tremendously. He also predicted in his blog post 2012 and the Mayan Calendar and in our many conversations that we would see a major positive paradigm shift happen in 2012. I'm looking forward to it as we enter February 2012, an auspicious year, the year of the Black Water Dragon. I am confident that this already is and will continue to be a year of great positive change for me, both personally and professionally.  I wish the same for you. Each day this year, I've witnessed and observed major signs and evidence of change arising. The people of the world (myself included) have been speaking up and publicly protesting to promote much needed positive change at the local, national, and worldwide levels. Through widespread action, my hope for our future is that we are shifting from an era where corporate power and greed controls the world to an era where peace, unity and love will prevail. 

And by the way, as Tori LaConsay so eloquently put it, "YOU LOOK NICE TODAY. <3" Support her by buying one of her handmade doormats. 

Think About It...

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You can’t think your way

into a new way of living…

you have to live your way

into a new way of thinking.

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