Staying Sober Through Service
What does making coffee at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings have to do with staying sober? A whole lot, according to recent studies that show that the physical and psychological benefits of service also benefit those with addictions. Addicts who help others, even in small ways - such as calling other Alcoholics Anonymous members to remind them about meetings or making coffee - can significantly impro... posted on May 16 2012, 2,210 reads

The Art of Motivating Employees
"Could a simple five-minute interaction with another person dramatically increase your weekly productivity? In some employment environments, the answer is yes, according to Wharton management professor Adam Grant. Grant has devoted significant chunks of his professional career to examining what motivates workers in settings that range from call centers and mail-order pharmacies to swimming pool li... posted on May 15 2012, 5,073 reads

Offbeat Graduation Speech Gets Standing Ovation
2012's Baccalaureate speaker at the University of Pennsylvania was an unconventional choice for an Ivy League school. To address their newly-minted graduates, aspiring to dazzling careers, they picked a man who has never in his adult life, applied for a job. A man who hasn't worked for pay in nearly a decade, and whose self-stated mission is simply "to bring smiles to the world and stillness to my... posted on May 14 2012, 33,212 reads

An 18 Year Old's Ode to the Ordinary
"The ordinary...is the part of our world where beauty is interlaced in each detail...It's the part of our world that can knock our socks off...but so many of us walk by everyday, never knowing, never caring...But some see..." This lovely 7-minute video on the blessing of vision -- both metaphorically and explicitly -- was filmed by Dietrich Ludwig, an eighteen year old on a budget of $25, using on... posted on May 13 2012, 3,626 reads

Gleaning for the Greater Good
"An old-fashioned concept -- gleaning for the greater good by harvesting unwanted or leftover produce from farms or family gardens -- is making a comeback during these continued lean economic times. In cities, rural communities, and suburbs across the country, volunteer pickers join forces to collect bags and boxes of fruits and vegetables that find their way to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, a... posted on May 12 2012, 2,240 reads

Small-town Doctor, Big-time Hero
Rushville, Illinois is a small town where sunflowers wave in the wind. One of its claims to fame is Dr. Russell Dohner. A man who has been looking after his neighbors for 55 years, charging them about what we pay for a fancy cup of coffee: five bucks a visit. "In a mercenary world," a waiting patient told me, "this place is an oasis." Dohner will go anywhere, at any time, to help those in need, of... posted on May 11 2012, 3,890 reads

15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy
"We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering -- and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy -- we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go." Dana Sauvic, a student of the arts, economics and spiri... posted on May 10 2012, 79,194 reads

How to Stop Labels from Becoming Judgments
"A yoga teacher of mine was describing a class he held for girls struggling with anorexia. He asked them to stand hip-width and was shocked when all of them were standing with their feet as wide as the yoga mat. Their physical bodies were much thinner than what their mental perceptions told them. It isn't something that just afflicts these girls -- all of us fall prey to believing labels that defi... posted on May 09 2012, 8,351 reads

How 17 Equations Changed the World
When legendary theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking was setting out to release A Brief History of Time, one of the most influential science books in modern history, his publishers admonished him that every equation included would halve the book's sales. Undeterred, he dared include E = mc^2, even though cutting it out would have allegedly sold another 10 million copies. The anecdote captures the ... posted on May 08 2012, 5,313 reads

Why Leaders Must Feel Pain
On a plane flying cross-country, a CEO and management consultant tunes into a fellow passenger's sharp-edged interaction with her five-year old daughter, and finds himself unexpectedly in tears. The incident unleashes a series of insights on the importance of acknowledging the pain we encounter in ourselves and the world. "This act of diving deeply into the feelings we avoid, the feelings we don't... posted on May 07 2012, 8,215 reads