10 Keys for Happier Living
We all want to be happy. And, happiness is the one thing we wish most for those we love. So, why is it so difficult? And, why aren't we working harder to make happiness our priority? "If you want to feel good, do good" -- this is just one of the many brilliant points carried forward by the Action for Happiness, a group of like-minded individuals from all walks of life who are intent on creating th... posted on Oct 16 2013, 121,833 reads

How to Design Neighborhoods for Happiness
Over the past 40 years we've seen a shrinking sense of community in America and this writer points at the design of our neighborhoods as a key factor in how to bring us back together. He writes about the New Urbanism, an "architectural movement to build new communities (and revitalize existing ones) by maximizing opportunities for social exchange: public plazas, front porches, corner stores, coffe... posted on Oct 15 2013, 74,331 reads

Turning the Tables on Success
"Two of the defining qualities of great leaders are the ability to make others better and the willingness to put the group's interests first. The employees with the greatest potential to excel and rise will be those whose success reverberates to benefit those around them." So, what does it take to be a great leader? In this piece, Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant describes givers, matc... posted on Oct 14 2013, 8,566 reads

5 Ways to Ease Envy
Ah, the green glow of envy that clings desperately to our heels, and manifests often in the most unexpected of ways. Envy knows no rest, as we find ourselves surrounded each day by those we feel to be better equipped, better looking...or just simply better! So, how do we find relief from its crushing grasp? Author Juliana Breines offers her approach to disarming the little green-eyed monster befor... posted on Oct 13 2013, 28,565 reads

The Overview Effect: Insights From Astronauts
Forty years ago, the astronauts of Apollo 8 orbited the moon for the first time and snapped the iconic "Blue Marble" photographs of the earth from space. It was not only an image of stunning beauty; it represented a powerful new perspective of earthly life and its place within the cosmos. It produced a radical shift in self-awareness. The earth has a unity and cohesion we understand intellectually... posted on Oct 12 2013, 6,993 reads

A Philly School's Big Bet on Non Violence
So often our mindset is that we must 'control' violence, that we must set out to ensure that violence has no way of inserting itself onto the path we walk each day. And, with respect to our children, we instinctively build fortresses to shield them from harm and injury. But, in doing so aren't we instilling an attitude of continuous fear? Read what happens when a school in the most dangerous secti... posted on Oct 11 2013, 21,687 reads

The Heroic Imagination Project
What makes a hero? Are they exceptional people, or ordinary people who do extraordinary deeds? Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus in psychology from Stanford, and pioneer behind the infamous Stanford Prisoner Experiment, is working with high school students in Oakland and Los Altos to find the answer. Read more about his efforts to catalyze our "heroic imaginations" and inspire everyday heroes ac... posted on Oct 10 2013, 15,420 reads

Life, Love & Uncle Don's Last Visit
"That first night, we didn't get to bed until four; it was as if we'd all agreed to wring every last bit of life out of these few days together. Thursday night I baked a six-layer cake I'd found in Bon Appetit... we were singing happy birthday to Uncle Don, as he turned eighty-eight. "You know," he said, "you live alone for so long, and then people do something like this for you, it just makes yo... posted on Oct 09 2013, 19,685 reads

Peter Buffett: We're Not Doing Enough to Change the World
"We're always talking about lifting people out of poverty from living on two dollars a day, but I am thinking, how can we all live on two dollars a day?" If this quote sounds to you like an intriguing and different approach to philanthropy and world change, you may want to read on to learn more about Peter Buffett, son of billionaire Warren Buffett, and his critique of "philanthropic colonialism."... posted on Oct 08 2013, 25,095 reads

Harlem Hate Crime Victim: I'm Feeling Gratitude
"People keep asking me what it feels like to have been assaulted in a hate crime. Honestly, I can't come up with a better response than simply 'gratitude.' I'm thankful for a few reasons. If they had attacked me any more violently, I may not be awake right now to tell my story. If they had attacked me even half an hour earlier, they would have harmed my wife and one-year-old son. [...] My wife and... posted on Oct 07 2013, 28,216 reads