2011 In Review and Lessons for 2012

January 19, 2012
Make Your Own World

2012 is well underway and I wanted to look back with a more thoughtful reflection on 2011, including all the joys and sorrows.

I wrote this (fairly long) post and included some bullet points at the end with key points, but I decided I would share those upfront in case you, dear reader, are in a hurry and just want the cliff notes.  In the event you are intrigued and want to know more, there’s plenty more below.

And by all means, I would like to hear from you on what went well in 2011 and what you are looking to improve in 2012.

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Inspiration

Breathing in 2012

January 3, 2012
Vermont

Now that 2012 is officially underway, I thought it would be good to start the year off with a positive, uplifting message of hope and optimism.

This year is going to be a big year for all of us. And by that, I mean basically everyone alive on the planet. Huge shifts are taking place around the world, and decisions are being made that are going to impact the course of humanity for decades to come.

I was talking to my friend Lisa Arie last week about some of the opportunities for helping others in the coming year. Continue Reading…

Inspiration

How Do You Connect?

December 19, 2011
Brandon_Jessica_WDS

2011 is almost over, and it seems like a good time to reflect back on the year and look at some of the ways we have grown increasingly connected to each other and the world we live in.  Interconnectedness is a big topic for me and I look forward to hearing what others think about this.

In 2011, I connected with more people through Twitter than in any other online medium, but I also noticed more engagement here on my blog as well. Interestingly, I felt an overall reduction in engagement on Facebook, despite the fact that it’s such a behemoth in the social world.

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Inspiration

A Date That Will Live In Infamy

December 7, 2011
Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941.

70 years ago today, the US was attacked at Pearl Harbor in what would be described by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as ‘a date that will live in infamy.‘  This attack is the event that precipitated the US entry into World War II.

A remarkable thing happened that day and in the years following it – people from the United States and around the world achieved what must have seemed impossible at the time; defeating the Axis powers on 3 continents across two massive oceans.  Nothing on this scale had ever been done before, nor has it since. Continue Reading…

Gratitude

Thanksgiving and Black Friday

November 28, 2011
Black Friday Madness

Thanksgiving.

“A national holiday celebrated as a day of feasting and giving thanks for divine favors or goodness, observed on the fourth Thursday of November in the U.S. and in Canada on the second Monday of October.”

That’s the definition according to Dictionary.com.

Nowhere in there does it mention rushing out of the family dinner to stand with a mob of people who are waiting to stampede into Walmart and other retailers for ‘deals’ that are just too good to pass up. Continue Reading…