Google's Jolly Good Fellow on Inner Peace
Chade-Meng Tan (widely known as Meng) was among the earliest engineers to be hired at Google. When Google allowed engineers to spend 20% of their time pursuing their passion, Meng decided to spend his time on a cause dear to his heart: Launching a conspiracy to bring about world peace. Meng believes that world peace can be achieved -- but only if people cultivate the conditions for inner peace wit... posted on Jul 11 2012, 21,463 reads

Starting A Slow Story Movement
"It is said that we become the stories that we tell among ourselves. This might have been true before we became salespersons. For a few decades now, I think we have become numb to the stories that we tell among ourselves. So stories have become shorter and crisper to the length of a tweet. We are so committed to telling a story to the point that finally what remains is a dimensionless point. There... posted on Jul 10 2012, 15,303 reads

The Importance of Learned Optimism
"[The illiterate of the 21st century,' Alvin Toffler famously said, 'will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.' Martin Seligman's celebrated book, Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life, was originally published 20 years ago and remains an indispensable tool for learning the cognitive skills that decades of research have shown t... posted on Jul 09 2012, 18,090 reads

A Savior At the Grocery Store
"Numbly, I left my husband, Marty, at the hospital where I had been visiting two of my children and headed for the grocery store. Since it was eleven p.m., I drove to the only store I knew was open twenty-four hours a day. I turned my car motor off and rested my head against the seat. What a day, I thought to myself. With two of my young children in the hospital, and a third waiting at Grandma's, ... posted on Jul 08 2012, 6,219 reads

Texting That Saves Lives
Teenagers in the U.S. send an average of 3,339 text messages per month. What happened when Nancy Lublin, the CEO and Chief Old Person at DoSomething.org, started texting 200,000 teens across America? They texted back -- about their own problems, from bullying to depression to abuse. In this passionate TED talk, Nancy describes how this birthed a crisis text hotline which has helped thousands of te... posted on Jul 07 2012, 3,616 reads

20 Amazing Photos From Outer Space
As humans have begun to explore the mysteries of outer space, both by sending unmanned probes and physically traveling beyond the Earth's atmosphere, a vast number of amazing pictures have been collected. Often photographs of outer space are recorded for the purposes of science, but are also often breathtakingly beautiful images revealing the wonders of the universe. This post brings together 20 o... posted on Jul 06 2012, 0 reads

5 Principles for Inner Transformation at Work
"People go to work to sustain themselves and produce value in the world. Yet work environments can also be stressful, filled with challenging responsibilities and personalities, and feel misaligned with our most deeply cherished values. Instead of sustaining us, the workplace can sometimes feel simply draining, and at worst, unwholesome for both ourselves and the world...is there a path for heart ... posted on Jul 05 2012, 13,660 reads

Are You Training Yourself To Fail?
"'Did you get done what you wanted to get done today?' Eleanor, my wife, asked me. 'Not really,' I said. She laughed. 'Didn't you write the book on getting done what you want to get done?' Some people are naturally pre-disposed to being highly productive. They start their days with a clear and reasonable intention of what they plan to do, and then they work diligently throughout the day, sticking ... posted on Jul 04 2012, 25,024 reads

A Refugee Turned Social Entrepreneur
Amber Chand is an entrepreneur in the United States with a unique business model: "She scans the headlines for conflicts around the world and responds. "I swoop in and then identify a group of talented, skilled artisan women who live there [in conflict zones] and who are clearly going to have to rebuild their lives in the shadow of either war or genocide or civil strife," she explains. The Amber C... posted on Jul 03 2012, 4,435 reads

One Student's Unforgettable Graduation Gift
Brenna Martin's dad evidently doesn't like last-minute shopping. Bryan Martin purchased a gift for his daughter's high school graduation -- which happened earlier this month -- thirteen years ago. He managed to keep it hidden this whole time, and his "moving, touching, nostalgic, and thoughtful" present (her words) brought Brenna to tears when dad finally gave it to her last week.... posted on Jul 02 2012, 28,761 reads