This week, I am obsessed with “focus.” Mainly, I’m obsessed with strengthening mine and learning to be more effective with my time and to-dos. And, for me, the key to this is focus. I’ve spent way too much of my life being a mutli-tasker, and frankly, it has totally burned me out. I feel like a spaz more often than not, and the problematic avoidance of that overwhelmed feeling has led me to the point [...]

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” -Arthur Ashe I always love hearing about random acts of kindness, especially during the holidays. The season is about cheer and goodwill and the stories just reinforce that! This week, I’ve been particularly touched by the following three things: 1. A Twitter outpouring of love, support and money to helped a Chicago young lady who was struggling to pay for her mother’s funeral service. [...]

During the holidays, it seems like there is an abundance of good cheer almost everywhere you look. With the exception of a few crazies who get into fights at shopping malls and refinance their homes for Christmas presents, I believe that most of us really look to this season as a demonstration of goodwill. This holiday season, I’m committing myself to do 30 acts of kindness so I sat down and brainstormed a list of [...]

Last week, Mashable published a story that took a look at “slacktivists.” You know…folks who do “easy” things online like sign a petition, like a Facebook page for a causes or add retweet a charitable tweet. The article titled, “Why Slacktivism Is Underrated,” showcases research from a 2010 national survey demonstrating the value of this core group. The survey shows that those who take small social actions for a cause are more likely to take [...]

According to the Social Change Impact Report from Walden University, 85% of Americans believe they can make the world a better place with their own actions  and 92% have taken action to engage in positive social change in the past year. I loved reading this report because it shows that most of us really do care about something other than ourselves. While it seems so basic, it’s easy for us to get so caught up in [...]

If your life is like mine, it can seem like you’re in the office (or en route to the office) more than you are at home! Many times we look at this as a hinderance to giving back, but all everyone needs to do is get creative!  Some companies have very explicit things that they do to support causes, like sponsor a charitable walk, have a matching donations program in place, and/or offer paid sabbaticals to do [...]

A few weeks ago, I read an article by Diane Spechler in O, The Oprah Magazine about compulsive helpers and how to get past that. I thought, “What in the world is a compulsive helper and how is it a bad thing?” However, as I read the article, it became very clear what was wrong with that approach in life. Here’s an excerpt of the article: I rushed home with a familiar flutter of excitement, and wrote [...]

We, humans, love to be appreciated. I’m no psych-/socio-/anthropol-/neurologist, but I am pretty sure that appreciation is a basic human desire. How good does it feel when someone gives you an earnest “Thank you” or tells you that they appreciate what you do? It feels amazing. What would happen if that joy was multiplied by one million people.  According to the Note Project, the answer is simple. The world would be a much better place. [...]

This is the first in a series addressing the seven tips towards living a more altruistic life that I shared in this post. 1. Teach yourself to have a hero mentality. “Hmm…” That was my first thought when I read this tip. In my mind, heroes are usually these extraordinary people (with or without super powers) who are absolutely AMAZING. I mean, everyone wants to be like them. However, it is this mentality that Dr. [...]

You can always count on American Express’ OPEN Forum site for great articles about business and leadership which is why I check the site daily. Today, I came across a post with seven great tips for living a more altruistic life. It’s a really great list and the best part is that each action is about you changing something within your life…for free! Here are four of my favorite tips… Boost your capacity for selflessness. [...]