Think gratitude

“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
― Mother Teresa

Herbert lives thousands of miles away from his home town to earn enough money to build a school to educate young children.  He doesn’t have to sacrifice so much to make a difference, but to make a difference he has chosen to sacrifice his time, his work, his money, his family and his career.    He doesn’t make excuses for what he does not have, he looks for ways to bridge the gap between what he does have and what he doesn’t have.

Herbert has a vision to transform the lives of young children in Uganda so that they will have the education and resources to contribute to the success of their community and country when they grow up.

Imagine doing your work and being far, far from your home and family so that you could provide the financial resources to help children who aren’t you own.    How many people do you know that give up their lives to support the lives of others?  Probably not many.   Herbert has a dream to help children have a future and not live in poverty.

He would like to see the school rooms and buildings filled with children learning how to learn.  He would like to see parents see a new hope for the future and not like the future they have now.   He would like to see hundreds of children having access to an early childhood education.   Right now, only the rich can afford to send their children to school.  Herbert wants to see all children have the ability to learn and grow.

Herbert would like to have a well drilled so the children could get access to clean running water.   Right now they have to pay for the water and wait in long lines.   I imagine that when you need water it is easy to get and very inexpensive.    A water project can cost as much as $3000, a project that is rarely affordable in the rural areas of Uganda.

We can be grateful that we don’t have haul our own water in containers to our homes as schools.  We can be grateful that we have running water that is available and cheap.   We can be grateful that we have the ability to get young children educated.  We can be grateful that we have schools that are free.   We can be grateful that we don’t have to live and work far away from our homes to support the causes we believe in.

Herbert would be grateful if he could get some regular contributions to help children in Uganda get an education, provide running water for the school and to be able to supply the children with the books and resources that they need.

You can make a donation here:

You can let others know that a small donation can make a huge difference and know that Herbert and his wife would be truly grateful.

a return to self

“We mustn’t let our dreams die in the daylight because we lose focus while responding to the world’s lame interests or false emergencies.”  — Brendon Burchard

Have you noticed how much time you spend attending to the demands of others while letting go of the string that your dreams are attached to.   You may be doing work that is not your best work, or you may be working for someone who is a tyrant or you may be abused by words or actions of others and you retreat from being truly who you are.

A return to self isn’t about being selfish it is about being authentic and living the life you were designed to live.   Your gifts, talents and strengths were meant to be used and not hidden from the world and too often it is the case that your best talents are not put to their best use.

Too many people have had their dreams crushed by others who were in full pursuit of their own interests.  You might be one of those people who have worked for a bully or someone who didn’t want to help you be your best.  You may be doing work because it was what someone else wanted for you and you wanted to please them.  You may have given up your dreams so that someone else could achieve theirs.   What happened when you did that?   What did you lose?

What are your strengths?

What are your dreams?

What are you giving up to live the life you are now living?

What would it take for you to start using your strengths and to start moving towards your dreams?   A return to self would allow you to be your best self and to allow you to make your best contribution.   What do you think?

The signature of purpose

“You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world.”

― Woodrow Wilson

Purpose drives happiness.   What do you think you purpose is?   Is your purpose defined by what you do?  Is your purpose doing well in school?  Is your purpose to help other people?   What do you think your purpose is?

For many people this idea of purpose isn’t something to be examined because examining it reveals a sense of emptiness, that life is without meaning.   Purpose is the definition of what gives meaning to life for you.

Purpose is something you do.   Purpose is something you are.   When you live your purpose you are producing results that are useful.    When you are able to fulfill your purpose you’ll probably find happiness and joy.  You’ll experience a richer and more vibrant life.   You’ll feel alive and energized.   It doesn’t mean that life will be easy and there won’t be struggles, part of life is the experience of challenge and difficulty and discovering ways to overcome those challenges.

The signature of purpose is an experience of satisfaction, significance and happiness in your life.  If you’re not experiencing deep satisfaction in what you do and who you are take a look at your purpose, it may need to be adjusted.

10 ways to greater happiness

“So we shall let the reader answer this question for himself: who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed?”
― Hunter S. Thompson

Happiness is easy to know that it is missing and hard to find when you don’t know where to find it.   With the rapid pace of change many people are finding that they have less time to just stop, pause and experience something natural, the sunrise, the sunset, the smell of the air, the rush of a brook, the sound of a bird, the freshness of the breeze or the roll of the seas as they embrace the shoreline.   Too many people are hoping that other people will give them happiness or that buying something will generate happiness or that escaping reality will provide a moment of joy and none of those will provide lasting happiness.

Happiness may come briefly and if you’re not paying attention to it, it will run away and hide.   Happiness is something you sense and paying attention to that moment will allow you to experience that joy.

Here are a few things you can do to boost your own happiness.

1.  Connect with other people.
2. Practice empathy – understand others, validate and acknowledge them.
3. Listen to them.   Just listen to what others have to say.
4. Practice kindness – do something special for someone else just because you can.
5.  Forgive others who have hurt you.   Forgive is releasing the pain, not the memory.
6. Be trustworthy –  the ability to trust others reduces stress
7. Practice mindfulness – take a personal timeout
8.  Eliminate toxic thoughts
9. Experience “flow” – when time melts away
10. Practice gratitude

Choose one method to increase your practice and try it.  Record your results over a week and see what changes.