Where Craig Dodson found his inspiration

by on ·Interviews

Have you ever felt like you needed to do something more in life?

Craig Dodson, a semi-professional cyclist decided that biking for himself just wasn’t cutting it. In 2005 Dodson was asked to give a speech to a group of teenagers in Richmond, Virginia. He realized that his motivational words about trying your best and staying away from drugs were completely useless to the kids in this neighborhood. He realized that if his speech affected these students at all, it was probably not in a positive way. In comparison, he was a privileged white man, and these children were trapped in Richmond public housing, known to be one of the most challenged and limiting community projects in Virginia. It was from that moment that an epiphany was sparked. He knew he needed to do something to help these kids succeed, something beyond talking about it.

Continue Reading →

4 Comments

Could it be that what ails us also inspires us?

by on ·Psychology

There is truly no way for anyone who doesn’t have a mood disorder to understand what goes on when living with one.

A mood disorder can be defined as a psychological disorder characterized by the elevation or lowering of a person’s mood. Some mood disorders include Major depressive disorder (MDD), Bipolar disorder, Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), Cyclothymic disorder, and even Premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a more extreme form of PMS (which many people forget is an actual disorder.) Luckily, most people can be treated successfully with medications and psychotherapy, however it doesn’t negate the challenges that come with these conditions.

Continue Reading →

0 Comments

The Qatari billionaire who embraced kindness

by on ·Inspiration
I first heard of Abdel Wassim El Whani when I stumbled across a video of him on YouTube giving away Lamborghini’s to strangers in the streets of Paris.

Abdel Wassim El Whani is a Qatari billionaire who enjoys sharing his wealth with others; after all, his fortune is something that only increases by the day. The videos I found left me simultaneously humored and in awe. “Is this guy for real?,”I thought to myself. I watched video after video, happy to know people like this still exist.

Continue Reading →

1 Comment

Physician-assisted suicide now legal in the state of California, as SB-128 goes into effect

by on ·Health, Psychology

Dr. Jack Kevorkian is the largest advocate of euthanasia in American history, and he began the widespread conversation about end of life options.

He’s known to have said “Dying is not a Crime,” and his advocacy led in part to Oregon’s passing of the Death with Dignity act, which made Oregon’s jurisdiction one of the first in the world that allows terminally ill patients to determine the time of their own death. In euthanasia, the attending doctor administers the final lethal dose. In PAS (physician-assisted suicide), the attending doctor merely provides the final lethal dose and the patient administers it (PAS is the one to have been recently legalized in California). It bears noting here that there are a number of terms associated with end of life rights, but we’ll deal with PAS primarily.

Continue Reading →

1 Comment

What you can learn from your toxic relationships & friendships (if you’re ever able to escape them)

by on ·Inspiration

People, they’re everywhere.

And dear God, we must (somehow) find a way to live with them.  Being a social species means finding variation through the people we share our human reality with, but it is not void of it’s challenges. Relationships can be enriching and enlightening and they can also make you wish you had never lived.

Continue Reading →

1 Comment

Bhutan Creates Gross National Happiness Metrics to Gauge a Nation’s Well Being

by on ·History

Have you heard of Bhutan’s unique way of measuring national progress?

The United States use GDP as a measure to gauge national progress, but nations all over the world are realizing how narrow-minded it is to measure a nation’s progress by how much it can produce. There has been growing interest in this concept all around the world, and the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted what is known as the ‘happiness resolution’ in 2011, which makes note of the GDP indicator’s inability to adequately reflect a country’s happiness and well-being.

Continue Reading →

3 Comments

The science of why we LOL!

by on ·Psychology
People generally feel pretty good when they laugh, and we expect people are happy when they hear it. Even when you laugh as a distraction, or in reaction to something unpleasant, it helps put you in better spirits. Why is that?

It turns out it’s not just a human thing. Laughter is observed in many mammals, of all ages. It can be observed during play, tickling, and often around friends. Laughter is also a social thing. We are thirty times more likely to laugh when we’re with other people than when we are alone.

Continue Reading →

0 Comments

Tony Robbins becomes Chief of Investor Psychology at Creative Planning

by on ·Psychology

Tony Robbins is a harbinger of disruption.

He has written 3 best-selling books, Unlimited Power, Awaken the Giant Within, and Money: Master the Game, and they each focus on changing your way of thinking about personal achievement, giving you roadmaps for reprogramming your mind and body to reach your ultimate level of success and, thus, master your life. He’s a master of empowering people to take charge of their destinies despite their circumstances–and he’d know something about that due to his experience as a child of divorce and domestic violence.

Continue Reading →

0 Comments