A Thousand Words…

A friend of mine sent me this video and I think it so evidently speaks the truth. A picture really is worth a thousand words. However, a conversation may in fact last a lifetime.

Everything happens for a reason.

Did you know?

Here is an eye-opening video that was originally created by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Bronman. For more information check out

http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/

Enjoy!

Technology at its finest

Find your passion.

Okay, so I’m at the stage in my life where I have to start selling myself. I also need to find my passion. Where the hell do you look for your passion? I’ve looked everywhere!

I spoke with a rather established gentleman who happens to be a colleague of mine and he told me that I just have to jump in to something and see what I think. If it sucks, move on. Life and work is all about experiencing things for yourself. I guess that’s what I have to do.

So, with that in mind, my advice to me is this:

- DO NOT listen to anyone else but yourself

- Do you homework. Everyone that has experienced something for themselves have their own opinions – both good and bad. Generate your own opinions based on your own research.

- Get started. Get on the phone, email people, get involved and ask lots of questions. But do it now, today, right now!

Before I go find my passion and start doing some research I will leave you with this video. A friend of mine sent it to me and I was blown away. This guy is awesome.

The Power of Full Engagement

-Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

We live in digital time. Our rhythms are rushed, rapid fire and relentless, our days carved up into bits and bytes. We celebrate breadth rather than depth, quick reaction more than considered reflection. We skim across the surface, alighting for a brief moments at dozens of destinations but rarely remaining for long at any one. We race through our lives without pausing to consider who we really want to be or where we really want to go. We’re wired up but we’re melting down.

Most of us are just trying to do the best we can. When demand exceeds our capacity, we begin to make expedient choices that get us through our days and nights, but take a toll over time. We survive on too little sleep, wolf down fast foods on the run, fuel up with coffee and cool down with alcohol and sleeping pills. Faced with relentless demands at work, we become short-tempered and easily distracted. We return home for long days at work feeling exhausted and often experience out families not as a source of joy and renewal, but as one more demand in an already overburdened life.

The next time you are at your local bookstore, check out ”The Power of Full Engagement.” I skimmed through it and it’s all about saving and spending energy more effectively in order to be much more engaged at work and in life. Life is not about controlling time but rather how you spend your time.

Dooms Day Seed Vault

Here’s a prime time example of mass collaboration. A friend of mine told me about a vault that was built in Norway. It took scientists 7 years to collect 1.5 billion different species of seeds. The idea behind the vault was to preserve the world’s food source in case of an emergency. I watched an interesting video from 60 minutes at this site http://www.croptrust.org/main/#videos

First off, I think it’s quite scary to say the least. It seems like we have totally destroyed the planet and are preparing for absolute chaos. However, the other side of the coin presents this idea as a great one. In case of any natural disasters, or human mismanagement, we have a resource that can save our crop diversity.

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko

Normally I wouldn’t classify myself as a huge comic book reader. However, a friend of mine told me to read “The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need” from The Adventures of Johnny Bunko. I have to admit, it was pretty good. The book discusses career secrets that no one ever told you and it does make some sense.

 

Secret #1 – There is no plan

 

During interviews and when discussing life plans, it seems as though the most successful people have their four year plan done with such detail. IT’S NOT TRUE! This strategy may only work for a certain person but if you can travel as the wind takes you and not have a plan or have a flexible plan, life may seem more enjoyable and success may arrive faster as well.

 

Secret #2 – Steer around your weaknesses and focus on your strengths

 

I absolutely love this point. It’s about understanding your strengths and recognizing your weaknesses. Take on the jobs that you love and outsource the rest. This is why we have teams. Being self aware and understanding the strengths around is a quality that is prevalent in all great leaders.

 

Secret #3 – It’s not about you

 

Everyone is replaceable. No one cares about what you want or need, they care about productivity. Bill Gates once said that companies don’t want to have to pay for you to find yourself. They don’t care. Be the best you can be by performing.

 

Secret #4 – Persistence trumps talent

 

If I was hiring for a position and I had the opportunity to hire someone that was persistent as apposed to someone with pure talent I would take the persistent person any day of the week. Be persistent and your talents will flourish. Talented people that are not persistent don’t even get things down on paper. They jump from idea to idea and don’t get things done. This should be a confidence booster for those of us that don’t think we are the most talented. Persistence speeds past talent in time.

 

Secret #5 – Make excellent mistakes

 

If you make a mistake and take a few steps backwards, make sure you learn something from it and take a few more steps forward. Believe it or not, some of the most interesting inventions happened by chance. Dare to try and don’t be afraid to be wrong. Never stop learning.

 

Secret #6 – Leave an imprint

 

One of the best lines I have ever heard about this secret is this: be the type of person you would want to be best friends with. Isn’t that great! Be the change you wish to see in the world. If something doesn’t sit right or something could be done much better, do your best to change it.

 

Beyond these 6 secrets I want to leave you with another great piece of advice. The most successful people improve their own lives by improving the lives of others. Enjoy!

 

www.johnnybunko.com

 

Is Aging an Accident of Evolution?

Based on the research from Stanford scientists, the answer is yes. Take a look at this interesting article I found at dailygalaxy.com…

“Everyone has assumed we age by rust. But how do you explain animals that don’t age? Some tortoises lay eggs at the age of 100, there are whales that live to be 200 and clams that make it past 400 years.”

- Stuart Kim, PhD, Stanford University professor of developmental biology and genetics

Prevailing theory of aging challenged by Stanford University Medical School researchers. Their discovery contradicts the prevailing theory that aging is a buildup of tissue damage similar to rust. The Stanford findings suggest specific genetic instructions drive the process. If they are right, science might one day find ways of switching the signals off and halting or even reversing aging.

“We were really surprised,” said Stuart Kim, who is the senior author of the research.

Kim’s lab examined the regulation of aging in C. elegans, a millimeter-long nematode worm whose simple body and small number of genes make it a useful tool for biologists. The worms age rapidly: their maximum life span is about two weeks.

Comparing young worms to old worms, Kim’s team discovered age-related shifts in levels of three transcription factors, the molecular switches that turn genes on and off. These shifts trigger genetic pathways that transform young worms into social security candidates.

The question of what causes aging has spawned competing schools, with one side claiming that inborn genetic programs make organisms grow old. This theory has had trouble gaining traction because it implies that aging evolved, that natural selection pushed older organisms down a path of deterioration. However, natural selection works by favoring genes that help organisms produce lots of offspring. After reproduction ends, genes are beyond natural selection’s reach, so scientists argued that aging couldn’t be genetically programmed.

For the rest of the story go to:

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/07/is-aging-an-acc.html

Randy Frederick Pausch (Oct 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008)

Randy Pausch, renowned computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University, died July 25 of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47.
   
Celebrated in his field for co-founding the pioneering Entertainment Technology Center and for creating the innovative educational software tool known as “Alice,” Pausch earned his greatest worldwide fame for his inspirational “Last Lecture.”

That life-affirming lecture, a call to his students and colleagues to go on without him and do great things, was delivered at Carnegie Mellon on Sept. 18, 2007, a few weeks after Pausch learned he had just months to live. Titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” the humorous and heartfelt talk was videotaped, and unexpectedly spread around the world via the Internet. Tens of millions of people have since viewed video footage of it.
   
Pausch, who had regularly won awards in the field of computer science, spent the final months of his life being lauded in arenas far beyond his specialty. ABC News declared him one of its three “Persons of the Year” for 2007. TIME magazine named him to its list of the 100 most influential people in the world. On thousands of Web sites, people wrote essays about what they had learned from him. His book based on the lecture became a #1 bestseller internationally, translated into 30 languages.

From http://www.cmu.edu/index.shtml

Opportunity

Please do yourself a favor and listen to this song. A friend sent it to me just recently and I am going to use it in an upcoming unlearn presentation. Its called Opportunity and it’s by Pete Murray.