Imagination and Power

This video made my day y'all. Watch it and I promise you'll shed a few tears but also a lot of smiles.

This little boy's imagination and perseverance are amazing. Kudos to all those folks involved that used their power (we all have personal power) to help him!

Read the full story here.

- A

Happiness? I Deserve It!

To piggyback on Krasi's previous post: Everything is amazing and no  one is happy, I wanted to speak to what I think is one of the reasons why we're not happy: entitlement.

The hilarious video that Krasi posted of Louis C.K. has him saying at the end, "...how quickly the world owes him something he knew existed only 10 seconds ago..."

I see this sentiment everyday in marketing, with my friends, even in myself! How many of you have seen those silly AT&T commercials where everyone who doesn't have AT&T is made to look stupid because they don't have super fast service and so they're not updated to the nanosecond on happenings. I mean lets get real: if you really are like any of those people in the commercials, glued to your electronics to the point that knowing something seconds before others do is super important, I would say ya gots issues folks.

We have so many great things now but we take them for granted. I think America needs a reality check. If you agree with me, please go check this out: Global Rich List.

The minute we become entitled,  we stop working for it: whether it be cool duds, building relationships or happiness. We expect that those things will happen because, duh, why wouldn't they?

Life is work. Relationships are work. Happiness is work. This sense of entitlement we've come to have is, in my opinion, the reason we're unhappy.

So what's the solution? I'm certainly not endorsing going technology free. All I'm saying is lets be conscious: why do I need to buy this gadget? Why do I have to stand in line for this other one? Do I really need five different electronics to live my life?

I also think a hefty dose of humility is important and that comes from advocating to make people's lives better: whether overseas or in the United States.

What do you all think? Are we crazy entitled in the U.S. (or the West)? What do you do to stay grounded?

A "Bad" Day

Ever since the quarter ended, I have tried really hard to be productive by reading some of the materials for next quarter, tutoring, and cleaning (it was about time on that last one!). However, following the three months of watching depressing films on genocide and human trafficking, I am now spending a lot of time watching all kinds of TV shows. One of the Grey’s Anatomy episodes I recently watched mentioned the theme of having a bad day, or what a bad day truly is, and of course, that got me thinking.

Most people, including me, tend to claim, with somewhat of an ease I might add, that they have had a bad day when their bus is late, when someone spills coffee on the new shirt, when the boss yells at them, or when any other such mundane and quite common occurrence takes place. If we really think about it, however, all of the above together should hardly constitute a bad day. Unfortunately, we realize that the above are not even close to having a bad day only when something really terrible happens. We receive a call that a close friend or relative is seriously injured or was killed in a car accident. We find out that we have been laid off with no prospects for a new job. In those moments, we know what a bad day really is. And we wish the bus was late and that were the only “bad” event for the day. 

My point is, people should seriously reconsider their over-use of the “I am having a really bad day” phrase. Because most of the time, we are just having a regular day with common episodes happening to many of us. Spilling coffee is not a bad day; it is simply just another day. Smile, buy a new coffee or a new shirt, and move on!

 - Krasi