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22 inspiring acts of kindness

February 20, 2014 Written by Curt Rosengren

Part of living a Ripple Revolutionary life is consciously choosing what you put into your mind. The “mind food” you consume (what you read, what you watch, the conversations you have, etc.) all work to create the lens through which you see the world.

If you want a positive view of the world, it stands to reason that most of the mind food you consume should be positive. To give your mind a positive snack, check out this article on 22 Inspiring Acts of Kindness That No One Ever Talks About.

Next time you start to feel down on the human race (easy to do if you spend too much time consuming the news media), remind yourself that things like this, acts of kindness big and small, are going on all the time.

Better yet, make it a policy to look for opportunities every day to do your own acts of kindness. You might be surprised where it takes you, and how it makes you feel.

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Heart-based living, Making a difference

Inspiration Sunday: Street compliments

February 16, 2014 Written by Curt Rosengren

The aim of my Inspiration Sunday posts is to shine a light on the positive and inspiring people who are all around us if we take the time to look.

Typically, the videos are about people making the world a better place, overcoming great obstacles, or finding ways to live a more heart-based life. Today’s video is more about the change-the-world superpower we each have readily available to us – giving honest, genuine, heart-felt compliments.

Try this: Try a compliment experiment. Make a list of people in your life – friends, family, co-workers, etc. – you think would appreciate hearing what you really think of them.

Over the next 30 days, reach out to as many of them as possible, explain to them what you’re doing, and ask them to simply receive what you have to say.

How does it make you feel? If you like this one, you might also like the gratitude experiment idea I posted a couple weeks ago.

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Energize your life, Heart-based living, Inspiration Sunday, Making a difference

Inspiration Sunday: Sir Nicholas Winton’s children

February 9, 2014 Written by Curt Rosengren

Today’s Inspiration Sunday video isn’t new news, but it’s no less inspiring. Every time I see the first video below, my eyes start leaking.

In 1938 Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, Nicholas Winton set an effort in motion that resulted in the lives of 669 Jewish children saved.

The first video is from a 1988 TV show where he meets some of those children for the first time, fifty years on. The second video is a trailer from the 2011 documentary film Nicky’s Family.

I love his quote from the trailer: “I have a motto that if something isn’t blatantly impossible, there must be a way of doing it.”

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Inspiration Sunday, Making a difference
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What would your Last-Days Legacy be?

February 3, 2014 Written by Curt Rosengren

On Friday my colleague, fellow blogger, and journalist Judy Martin died unexpectedly at age 49. I didn’t know her well, but had the pleasure of a few phone conversations with her over the years. I loved both her heart and her focus on helping people.

When I heard the news, I started thinking about the contribution she had made with her life. I looked through her recent blog posts at WorkLife Nation and her tweets. Her death gave them a whole new context. They created, in part, the positive legacy of her last days.

That got me thinking about the idea of a “last-days legacy.”

Put simply, if I died today, what would the legacy of the last week of my life be?

While it was Judy’s social media presence that prompted the idea, it really applies 360 degrees in life. The legacy could come from the love you expressed, or the random compliments you gave, or the patience and understanding you showed. It could come from a random act of kindness, or an insight shared.

Life unfolds in the here and now. Thinking about a last-days legacy is a way to keep an ongoing awareness of whether or not how we’re showing up is aligned with what’s truly important to us.

If you look back at the last week, what would your last-days legacy be? Is it a legacy you would feel satisfied leaving?

Thinking about a last-days legacy isn’t about the big impact you make. It’s about how you choose to show up, day in and day out.

Try this: For the next couple weeks, try checking in with this idea every day. At the end of the day, scan back through the day to see how the day unfolded. Think of it in terms of your last-days legacy. Was it aligned with the legacy you would want to leave?

Now, realistically I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect that you’ll really live full tilt as though this week is the last you have on the planet. But checking in like this and using the last-days legacy idea can help steer you in that direction.

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Heart-based living, Making a difference
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Inspiration Sunday: Serving Life

February 2, 2014 Written by Curt Rosengren

It’s Sunday, and that means it’s time for another link to a video that shines a light on what’s good and inspiring in the world. Today’s link is a powerful documentary called Serving Life about a hospice program in Louisiana’s Angola prison. Here’s a snippet from a description of the film:

With prison sentences so long, 85 percent will never again live in the outside world.  Instead, they will grow old and die in Angola.  “Serving Life” documents an extraordinary hospice program where hardened criminals care for their dying fellow inmates.  In doing so, they embark on a journey that may end in personal rehabilitation. ” ‘Serving Life’ reveals the humanity that exists inside each and every one of us,” said Whitaker. “In the Angola prison’s hospice, we meet inmates who decide to take an opportunity for redemption, reminding us of the connection that exists between each and every human being.”

Three prominent themes that run through the Ripple Revolution idea are Love, Compassion & Service. This film shines a light on the power of bringing those more fully into our lives, whoever we are, whatever our situation.

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Inspiration Sunday, Making a difference
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8 ways to make your life make a difference

January 27, 2014 Written by Curt Rosengren

Want to integrate living a life you love and making the world a better place? Want to live an energized, impactful life?

You’re in luck! This blog is here to help you do just that!

At the core of everything I talk about here is the Ripple Revolution model, which has three main components:

  • Living a heart-based life
  • Living an energized life
  • Making a difference

I have already written posts on living a heart-based and an energized life. Today I want to take a look at the question of how we make a difference.

Over the years as I pondered the bazillion ways we can make the world a better place, I started to notice that they all fall into one or more of eight main categories, listed below. Those categories offer a framework for maximizing the positive impact you make with your life.

1. Work

You can make a difference with what you do for a living. This covers a wide range of possibilities, such as:

  • Working in what we typically think of as do-gooder roles, like social workers and therapists.
  • Playing a supporting role in the efforts of an organization doing good in the world (e.g., an accountant in a non-profit).
  • Being an entrepreneur and creating jobs.

2. Service

This includes both formal service (volunteering) and informal service (e.g., running errands when your neighbor is laid up in bed sick).

3. Money

This is how you put your money to use to do good in the world. Traditionally this category was primarily about donating to charity. But these days the options have expanded to include things like microcredit lending and socially responsible investing.

4. Tangible giving

There is a tangible component to giving as well. Maybe that’s a meal for a homeless person, or a book that has been sitting on your shelf that you know a colleague would benefit greatly from.

5. Consumption and conservation

If you’re alive on this planet, you’re leaving a footprint. The choices you make about what and how you consume and conserve can have a significant impact.

6. Interaction

This is possibly the most powerful way to make a difference, because most of us spend the majority of our waking hours doing this. This could be brief and fleeting, like a smile or a compliment. Or it could be deep and long-lasting, like the way you raise your kids and the values you instill.

7. Energy

This category encompasses a range of less tangible, metaphysical ways to make a difference, such as energy (think Reiki), prayer, etc.

8. Serendipity

Finally, there is one that you have no control over. It just happens. Imagine having a conflict with a co-worker and resolving it in a healthy, productive way. Another co-worker sees it and decides to use your approach when she has similar conflicts in the future. She benefits. Anyone she has conflicts with benefits.

But that wasn’t your intention – you were just resolving your own conflict. Pure serendipity! And that happens all the time.

A map of making a difference 

Think of those eight categories as a map of making a difference in your life, one you can explore by asking questions like:

  • How am I making a difference here?
  • How could I make a difference here?
  • How do I want to make a difference here?

The goal is not to make this a weighty addition to your “Must.Do.This!” list. It is simply a map to help you explore and discover the difference you’re already making and the difference you have the potential to make.

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Making a difference
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Inspiration Sunday: The Great Krispy Kreme Donut Heist

January 5, 2014 Written by Curt Rosengren

Sometimes I lose focus and have a hard time diving into my work and being productive. Truth be told, I get a little lazy.

Then I see something like this and it gives me a reality check. I’m doing what I do because I enjoy it, sure, but where the real juice is – the juice that doesn’t ebb and flow with my level of motivation – is the positive impact it has the potential to make. I watched this and thought, “OK, time to buckle down and get to work! I’ve got some good to do!”

His comment at 2:47 was the clincher.

(Back in November I said I was going to start posting a video every Sunday spotlighting what’s good and inspiring about people. That promptly dropped off my radar. I’m picking it up again here.)

[Hat tip to The Good News Network for spotlighting this video.]

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Inspiration Sunday, Making a difference

Making a difference: How personal development can maximize your impact

January 4, 2014 Written by Curt Rosengren

Is self-help and personal development the realm of self-indulgent narcissists who have the luxury of wallowing in me, me, me?

I sometimes run across people who think so. Typically, they’re well-meaning souls who see the world’s pain and are frustrated with seeing people lost in self-absorption rather than out there making a difference.

The underlying message is that focusing on oneself is, at best, selfish and self-indulgent when there are so many pressing problems in the world and so many people just trying to survive.

And to some degree, they have a point. I won’t deny there is a certain measure of self-obsession in the self-help world that can border on the narcissistic. But painting all personal development with that light is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The difference you make starts with you

Here’s what I absolutely believe. Every little bit of difference you make in the world – every bit! – starts with you. There’s no escaping that. Given that, the work you do in your own life can help you, for example:

  • Make a more positive impact because you’re coming from a more positive place
  • Have more to give (more energy, more ideas, more effort)
  • Stop getting in the way of the difference you have the potential to make
  • Have the courage to take action
  • Act from a more solid foundation
  • See the world clearly as it is (and less through the lens of your stories)

Personal development allows the energy to flow more freely and more abundantly from your life out into the world in the form of the difference you make.

Personal development helps you “be the change”

An oft-quoted admonition from Gandhi is to “be the change you want to see in the world.” I love the quote, but often it’s little more than a platitude. Ever see people deeply committed to peace practically frothing at the mouth in anger at “those people” and their injustices? Yeah, me too. They’re just creating more of what they’re fighting against.

Want to see more peace in the world? You’re not going to create it by being angry. Want to see more love in the world? It’s not going to come from being impatient and irritated.

What you bring to the world goes out into the world via the choices you make, the actions you take, the interactions you have, even the energy you send out.

Each of us was born with the potential to be a powerful instrument of positive change. Personal development helps us tune that instrument and fulfill that potential.

Avoiding the spin cycle of me, me, me

To be sure, there is a danger of getting caught up in the spin cycle of me, me, me, but it’s not inevitable. One way to avoid the self-indulgence loop is to keep coming back to the impact you have on the world around you.

One approach to this is consistently putting your personal development efforts in the context of making the world a better place. Two simple questions can help with this:

  • How does this growth enable me to make more of a positive impact?
  • How does this internal obstacle inhibit my ability to make a positive impact?

Keeping those things in mind will help build a bridge between your internal growth work and your external work in the world.

It also helps to keep making a difference top of mind so it doesn’t get left out of the picture. One way of doing this is to do a regular check-in with the categories in the outer ring of the Ripple Revolution model (the ways we can make a difference). You can look at each of them and ask, “How am I making a difference here? How could I? How do I want to?” It helps you both recognize what you’re currently doing and explore the possibilities.

Personal development is a vital piece of the puzzle when it comes to maximizing your positive impact in the world. The key is to see the full picture, building a bridge between the internal and external, and keeping the difference you make in your sights.

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Making a difference, Personal development
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Inspiration Sunday: Julia Butterfly Hill – What’s your tree?

November 24, 2013 Written by Curt Rosengren

I’m a huge believer in the impact of what we feed our minds. Unfortunately, most people feed their minds a steady diet of violence, tragedy, and despair (watched the news lately?).

A few months ago I wrote a post with links to a bucketload of positive news sources to nourish your mind. Today, I’m going to start a regular post spotlighting inspiring stories of hope and possibility.

Every Sunday, I will post a video featuring people, groups, or communities who exemplify what’s inspiring about humanity – because contrary to most of what you see on the news, there’s a LOT.

I’m kicking it off with this short clip about Julia Butterfly Hill and her “What’s Your Tree?” project.

I first heard about Julia when her book The Legacy of Luna came out. I was completely inspired. And I love here “What’s Your Tree?” project.

As she describes in the clip, “Maybe it’s not a Redwood or a Douglas Fir, but it’s symbolic. What is it in your life that could have yourself be more powerful than you know yourself to be? That could have you be in service in a way that has you so inspired in what you’re doing that you can’t help but make a difference?”

How about you? What’s your tree? If you like the idea, head over to the What’s Your Tree website and check out what they’re up to.

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Energize your life, Inspiration Sunday, Making a difference
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Is this trap blocking your ability to make a difference?

June 24, 2013 Written by Curt Rosengren

You have a mind-bogglingly huge potential to make an impact on the world. I know this, beyond a shadow of a doubt, even if we have never met and I have no clue who you are.

How do I know? Because everybody does. And the vast majority of us are leaving much (most, even!) of that potential untouched. One way we block it is letting our ego get in the way (but not in the way you probably think).

The “I’m Only One” Trap

When we look at all the things that need fixing in this world, it’s easy to throw our hands up and say, “What’s the point? One person can’t change the world.” I call that the “I’m Only One” Trap.

If you ever find yourself saying that, ask yourself, “Why am I letting my ego call the shots here?” Because when we fall into the trap of feeling like our own efforts are too insignificant to make a difference, that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

It might sound reasonable on the surface. “Seriously, the problems facing the world are so immense – what can one person possibly do?” But if you look at the underlying meaning there, it’s really, “If I can’t be omnipotent, why bother?” The ego is somehow saying, “I can’t just be part of the solution. I have to be the force behind the solution. And if I can’t, I’m going to take my bat and ball and go home.”

Put that way, the ridiculousness shines brightly, but it’s really not so different than a forlorn, “What can one person do?”

Ask, “What can I do?”

Try this: When you look at the big problems the world is facing and feel tempted to throw your hands up in despair, try turning that into a starting point. “OK, I can’t solve world hunger myself. What can I do?” Use hunger as a frame for brainstorming. Ask, “What are all the possible ways I could make a difference that have some impact on hunger?” Then go back and look for what’s within reach.

Give the notion that you have to solve the world’s problems the heave-ho. You’re never going to. No one individual will. Instead, look for human-sized opportunities to make a difference. Then start making it!

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst TM

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Making a difference, Taking action
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