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Rules, Negative Data, and Incurable Idealists

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What If Everything We Believed In Isn’t True?

Change the World!

I’m no computer. My operating system was developed at home, versioned at school, and beat up some through the decades and detours I’ve experienced.

Don’t run in the house. Use your indoor voice. Do your work before you play. Color inside the lines. Sit up straight. Be polite. Each basic command was entered in my head. If I do these things, I will operate properly — so they told me.

I also captured information about family and fairy tales, heroes and angels, creativity and planets, inventors and imagination, and artists, and poetry, fairness and ideals. In my life I’ve talked about and witnessed awe-inspiring and wonder-full things. These concepts are in my hidden system files — read-only, undeletable files.

I’m bombarded daily with data. But she is supposed to be your friend. Data. He lost his job. Data. There have been more bombings. Data. Want to make $4000/day online? Data miner. Still data. That’s all it is — data. I don’t have unlimited memory, so unnecessary negative data doesn’t get saved —period.

Some days the data causes my mind to fragment in unfamiliar and unproductive ways.

Bits and bytes of negative data chip away at my world view and therefore at me. The Tigger in me finds myself quoting Eeyore. “Pathetic, that’s what it is. Pathetic.”

What if the world is the awful place that keeps presenting itself to me?

But try as I might, I can’t—still won’t—give up on the world. I still believe in family, and fairy tales, and heroes, and angels, and creativity, and planets, and fairness, and inventors, and imagination, and artists, and poetry, and ideals, and so many awe-inspiring and wonder-full things. They were written on my soul as a child. I can’t delete them, lucky for me. I might have wanted to once, but not now, not again, not ever.

The world needs incurable idealists. We balance out the hardcore cynics. It has to do with joy, and hope, and possibility.

The world needs people who believe in it as much as we need people who believe in us.

As we believe so we become.

Are you willing to believe in a world that works?

We can change the world just like that.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your web presence.

Change the Conversation to Change the World?

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When Talk IS Action

changetheworld8

Three years ago, I was not about joining. My experience had been that groups pushed aside individuals who had different-sized ideas. Then I became part of this culture — individuals who could work together and respect each other’s individuality.

The group projects that work that way are riicher, deeper, and filled with more ideas. Blog Action Day is one of those.

This year on October 15th, Blog Action is inviting us to change our conversation to one issue . . .


Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

Thousands of voices, talking with their own words about the same thing. That’s conversation as action.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Kindness in Action – You have the power to change the world

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You have the power to change the world
by Mark Hayward

changetheworld8

Do certain local or global issues affect you deeply? Would you like to take action and help?

You have the POWER to change the world! Sounds cliché, but please read those words again and think about what is important to you, to society. In this blogging and social media age you don’t have to be associated with a huge humanitarian organization or educational foundation in order to take action.

In fact, if you would like to create your own non-profit group to assist a particular cause, opportunities abound for you to make a positive and lasting change. The best part, most of the technology needed to help spread the word is available for free or at a minimal charge.

Some Background Information

The other day when I read Liz’s post, Open Up a World of Solutions with One Idea. She seemed a bit frustrated because whatever she was trying to put together was not working out that well for her. In fact, she stated:

This time it’s not joy I’m sharing. It’s a state of confusion, a search for solutions, a total frustration with my inability to make things connect in the direction that was my intention.

I am not quite sure what was troubling Liz that day, however, being the eternal optimist, she goes on to end the post by stating, “We can change the world — just like that.”

Truly, I believe that we, as individuals, and collectively as a group, can change the world. For many years I would watch stories on the evening news of horrific events that were taking place around the globe in places like Boznia and Rwanda and even in the USA (hurricane Katrina for one).

While I always had pity and empathized with those who were being affected by various events, I NEVER actually took action.

Time to Act

While serving as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in Papua New Guinea I tragically witnessed many people die from various illnesses that afflict developing countries, however, it was an incident that occurred during the final night in my village, which finally spawned a call to action.

As my wife and I were packing our things and saying goodbye to friends we could hear screams coming from the little bush hut that acted as an aid station and we went to investigate further.

Upon our arrival we witnessed a young woman of about ten or eleven fighting through the final stages of cerebral malaria and there was nothing we could do to help. The incident, and the image of her struggling and fighting dementia, has been indelibly burned into my mind.

That evening after the young woman passed I made a vow to myself that if I were ever in a position where I owned my own business and could dedicate some of my time to helping assist in certain global crises then I would.

At the time I didn’t know what I would do exactly, or how I would do it, but I was determined and serious.

Train for Humanity Launches

Recently, in collaboration with some other bloggers in various corners of the world (most notably Leo Babauta of Zen Habits), I turned my pity and apathy into action and launched Train for Humanity to help raise funds and awareness for orphans and refugees who have been affected by genocide. (You can read the full story here: How Did Train for Humanity Get Its Start? )

Our mission is simple: getting fit + social media + blogging = social good

We, the founding members, have combined our collective passion for exercise and getting in shape with the power of blogging and social media in an effort to assist in a dire humanitarian crisis in Darfur. During the pilot project, three bloggers, Leo Babauta, Dan Clements, and I are training for various endurance events and trying to raise funds for Darfur Peace and Development’s Shegegkaro School, which was recently bombed and subsequently destroyed.

The Power to Change the World and You

This post isn’t really about me, on the contrary, it’s meant to be about YOU and your particular cause.

If you find yourself in a similar situation as me and if certain issues affect you (and you would like to help) I would strongly urge you to go ahead and take the next steps toward action. The tools are all there for you. You just have to be willing to use them and the rest comes down to innovation, creativity, energy, and time.

Certainly, it doesn’t even have to be a global crisis, but could just as easily be an issue closer to home. Perhaps your child’s school could use more funding, or maybe you are moved by the plight of stray animals?

To help you get started here are Six Tips to Help You Take Action:

    1. Make it REAL – let someone know about your interest to start an organization or desire to take action.
    1. Register your domain name – domains cost about $10.00 a year to register.
    1. Get web hosting – you can get reliable hosting for $4.95 a month (or less).
    1. Download and install WordPress – if you are reading Liz’s site I am sure you already know this but WordPress is a very powerful, freely available, blogging and CMS software.
    1. Google alert – setup a Google alert for your particular cause or keyword (for me it was Darfur).
    1. Begin networking – from the “listening” and information gathering that you undertake with your Google alert, begin networking via social media (Twitter, FaceBook, etc) and leaving comments on blogs of similar, like-minded individuals.

Additionally, because you are reading Liz’s blog I am going to assume that you are already familiar with blogging and social media, but if you know of others who might need some resource material to help them get started, below are five topical blog posts which should help folks take the first steps.

Liz Strauss – The Ultimate Guide 3: Every Blog Needs a Platform
Chris Brogan – 50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next Level
Jeff Pulver – How to Start Growing your Business Network
Beth Kanter – How Much Time Does It Take To Do Social Media?
ProBlogger – Launching Your Next Venture Using Social Media – 5 Lessons Learned

Now it’s your turn. What causes are you passionate about? What would you like to change about the world, or even your hometown, today? Do you have other tips that might help us take action and really change the world?

Mark Hayward lives in the Caribbean and he is the creator and co-founder of the recently launched humanitarian initiative Train for Humanity. He is currently training for the Miami Man triathlon to raise funds for the recently bombed the ShegegKaro School in Darfur. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his blog MyTropicalEscape.

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Thanks, Mark!

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Open Up a World of Solutions with One Idea

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Mondays Are for Trying New Things

Change the World!

When I write something that moves me, when I smile at a worried over presentation, when I flesh out a particularly elegant idea, a high joy overflows my boundaries. I share that feeling with a friend who does the same when the joy of accomplishment is shining through her.

And when I’m overwhelmed with a problem or misstep, a bad hair day or a dark dead end. I dial through to that same friend again.

This time it’s not joy I’m sharing. It’s a state of confusion, a search for solutions, a total frustration with my inability to make things connect in the direction that was my intention.

The answer is get in return is always the same, “What would you say to someone else? You’d be brilliant, wouldn’t you? So go be brilliant for yourself.”

One idea: Be as brilliant for you as you would be for everyone else.

Every time I hear that, I shake my head in recognition. My outlook changes and a world of solutions opens up.

One idea. I’m learning to say it to myself.
I still call though because I like to hear her say it.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

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If you’re ready to change the world, send me your thoughts in a guest post. Feel free to take the gorgeous Change the World image up there that Sandy designed back to your blog. Or help yourself to this one.

Change the World!.

Email me about what you’re doing or what we might do. Let’s change the world one bit at a time together. Together it can’t take forever.

Change the World: Social Media and Time

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Renewable Resources

changetheworld8

This morning I was writing the sentence, “Time is our truly unrenewable resource,” when a Twhirl update popped up in the corner of my screen. I was hard not think about the time so many people spend on Twitter, doing business, being social, letting off steam.

I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if we took a mere 1% of that total time to simply add a comment to this question about using social media?

What Advice Would You Give to Women in Africa About using Web2.0 Tools to Advance their Work?

Speaking as an educational publisher, I know that those of us who have time to live social media could contribute intuitive detail that those who teach don’t always have time to collect.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Are You a Leader or a Pleaser? Take the Test

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Find Out Now

Personal Identity logo

When I work with folks who are finding their path, we often talk about famous leaders and what made them what they are.

Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Jesus, Mother Teresa . . . where they leaders or fools? Each did things that were praised as the ultimate sacrifice for the good of others, but were they leaders really or did they just give themselves away?

Ah, there’s the trick, figuring that part out.

I’ve known a few “victim types” in my time. They thought they were the next Mother Teresa or such, but it wasn’t who they were, I don’t think. Truth is I won’t ever know. The decision isn’t mine.

The reason I can’t determine the answer is because the actions look the same whether the person is a leader or a fool. The answer to question is fully inside the person’s own mind.

You can take the test for yourself. It’s easy. Pick the one that’s you.

  • Do you give others what they need, but give that same thing to yourself first? Then you’re dealing from strength. You’re a leader. You’ll have your proof in that it’s easy to say “no,” when you find that you can’t or shouldn’t give more than you have. You’ve got what you need.
  • Do you give others what they need in hopes they will give back to you? Then you’re dealing from weakness. You’re a pleaser. You’ll have your proof in that it’s almost impossible to say “no,” even when your whole being says that you should. You’re trying to get what you don’t give yourself.

Are you a leader or a pleaser? Only you know for sure. But I suggest you to for the first.

Give yourself what you need. It’s easier to say “no” to the folks who don’t deserve what you’ve got.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Decide to be a leader. Work with Liz!!
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