Changing Direction

Whenever I'm in an unpleasant situation I always try to remember the popular proverb, " This too shall pass " as a reminder that it is a temporary setback and to keep the faith. But the other day a friend of mine sent me this clever video of a song with that as their title.  I'm thinking it could have also been titled 'chain reaction'.  :-) Check it out below.

Talk about making something out of nothing!  At the age of 14 a young man from Malawi, Africa found scraps and built a windmill to generate power for his family home.  The windmill he built was able to power four lights and two radios. Then he wrote an award winning book called "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope " on how he was able to do this.  It's an inspiring story about the will of a young man who used his brains and what little resources around him to improve his family's living conditions. I think about how I hear so many people complain about what they don't have instead of appreciating what they DO have and utilizing the resources around them.  Take a look at William Kamkwamba's speech in the video below. Kamkwamba's success story got a lot of press resulting in many organizations offering to assist him with future projects including malaria prevention, a deep water well for clean water, solar...

Sometimes in the midst of a hectic hustle and bustle of the day it's nice to take a little break and smile.  Taking a few minutes away from work can help protect our body from exhaustion and fatigue. It also helps to boost motivation and productivity.   Here are a couple of feel-good videos of folks getting down to some music that made me smile.  Enjoy! "I Gotta Feelin" - by Black Eyed Peas Also, Kim MacGregor launched a grassroots movement to unite and inspire 1,000,000 women around the world to recognize the amazing women in their lives. Love the lyrics... "I Believe" by Yolanda Adams They said you wouldn't make it so far ah ah And ever since they've said it its been hard But never mind that night'cha had to cry Cause you had never let it go inside You worked real hard and you know exactly what you want and need so believe And you can never give up You can reach your goals Just talk to your soul and say... I believe i can I believe i...

On a recent segment of Good Morning America, Terry McMillan, author of the best seller made-to-blockbuster movie " Waiting to Exhale " was interviewed about her new book "Getting to Happy".  This is a sequel story using the same 4 women but occurs 15 years later so it shall be interesting to see how they have evolved.  McMillan describes it as a story about forgiveness, recovery, reclaiming your power, and reinvention.  This is exactly where I am in my life right now. Check out the interview here: I'll be picking up a copy of this book for sure.  Would be nice also if the characters from the original movie could come back to do a movie sequel.  We shall see.

** Update 9/17/10 ** There has been a recent report that this woman filed a false report. She was not attacked by acid but inflicted the wounds upon herself. She obviously has serious issues and was just looking for attention. There seems to be quite a bit of that going on these days. Some people will do any and everything to get it.  I truly hope that she gets the mental help that she needs.  And as far as everything I said in my previous post, I'll have to take it all back because she's a fake!  **Original post** I normally post "news" on Newz_Junkie's Blog but this story touched me in more than a current events way.  When 28 year old Bethany Storro was met with an acid attack to her face she endured great pain and emotional damage.  But even through this she is showing a lot of strength.  She speaks of how she normally does not wear sunglasses because she does not like them but just minutes before the attack bought a pair and had them on w...

We are living in some trying times right now.  It's understandable that a lot of people are struggling in some way shape or form.  Some are struggling in multiple areas.  But have you thought about where your focus is?  What I mean is, are you giving all your power to the troubles that you are having?  I have found that this causes the majority of stress.  I have learned that if you want to reduce stress in your life you will need to take the emphasis off of all the bad things that may be going on.  It isn't easy at first but with practice you will find that it is possible to have many many more good days despite what is going on.   Here are some ways that I refocus my energy: Release the "I am the victim" mentality Okay, things can and do happen to us BUT you have to know when to let go and move forward.  Being stuck is one of the worse things you can do to yourself.  Remember that being stuck is a choice.  Choose to release you...