Inspiration 365 Days!

Image by orvalrochefort via Flickr

I am thankful for everything
That you two have done
I am sure it was quite stressful
And at times, not much fun

From the ninja turtle phase
To all the baseball gear
You always found a way
To make sure I never finished in the rear

I know I don’t show it often
But most of your knowledge was caught
And now that I am raising my own kids
I find myself quoting you a lot

I know sometimes it was tough
And we may of said some things we didn’t mean
But even to this day
I wouldn’t change a thing

In your last Successful Marketing Strategy I wrote about creating a fundamental checklist of success by using Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich as a template.

A second type of checklist to construct and use is what I call a ‘Practical Creativity Checklist.’ There are a number of methods for rearranging the existing and old into the different and new that actually account for most innovations in the world. There may not be anything new under the sun.

In a later I’ll talk about Disney. Disney is often called the ‘Inventor of the Theme Park’ but actually he changed the amusement park. Now here are some of the things that belong on this practical creativity list.

A man is like a tea leaf. A tea leaf, put in boiling water, becomes a cup of good tea. It can change the world.

— Chinese author Yu Dan on how social change starts with the self

This magic can work wonders for you:

- Mindset. Change your thoughts and you would have changed your world.

- Action. Action makes hope rise.

- Goalset. Goal Mind is Gold Mine.

- Initiatives. Take the 1st step to realize your dream.

- Challenge. The sky is the limit.

— From the Selling magazine published by Sales Excellence Academy

Michael Gates Gill, who once made about $160,000 a year as an advertising executive and who now earns around $10.50 an hour making coffee at Starbucks, has written a book called “How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else,” and it is so admiring of the firm, one fears he has drunk of the Grande Iced Kool-Aid.

“What you are doing is trying to help other people enjoy something,” he says. “It’s not doing Iraq policy, it’s not even doing a serious multimillion dollar ad campaign. It’s just trying to serve a good cup of coffee.”

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

In a country where jobs are scarce, it’s nearly impossible to find work if you have a disability. But three friends are fighting to change that. Angeles Anonimos (Anonymous Angels), a Peru based group, trains the disabled and handicapped—regarded by locals as unemployable and often left to beg on the streets—to create fair-trade sterling silver jewelry. When asked about the origin of the group’s name, co-founder Maria Elena says, “Anyone who buys jewelry from us is an anonymous angel.”

View the video over here

Support the Angeles Anonimos project by purchasing from Fair Indigo

Tom wasn’t too happy with the way his life was going. He heard there was this motivational guru who had helped many improved their lives. So he decided to go look up the guru.

The guru had his office at an unusual place: A dark alley. With some fumbling, Tom finally managed to find it. He opened the door to the office and saw…