Inspiration
If You Don't Think One Person Can Make a Difference, Watch This!
Ben
At 14, Ben doesn't let his blindness stop him. His mother never told him he was limited. She told him all the things he could do. "Nobody is going to tell him there is an impossibility for him, because there are none." Watch this video from CBS' The Early Show. (posted 10/12/07)
Randy Pausch
Carnegie-Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, 46, apparently healthy but dying of pancreatic cancer with but months to live, gave his last lecture at CMU on September 18, 2007. Moving, enlightening, funny, and outrageously uplifiting, this is truly a "Lecture of a Lifetime."
Not his. Yours. I doubt you'll be the same after you watch this.
Here's the condensed version of Randy Pausch's last lecture (from ABC News).
Or view the full-length version of Randy Pausch's last lecture (from Carnegie Mellon), complete with introductions and accolades by friends. Once past the introduction, it's far better and more engaging than most of the movies I've seen in my lifetime.
Here are several other gems from Randy's homepage:
- Tips for Working Successfully in a Group
- A Talk on Time Management
- "You can't control the cards you're dealt, just how you play the hand."
- "What's happened to me is not 'unfair.' We all know our time is finite. More important than how much time we have is what we do with it."
- "Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things."
- "You'd better decide early on whether you're a Tigger or an Eeeyore. Tiggers are energetic, optimistic, curious, enthusiastic—and they have fun! Never ever underestimate the importance of having fun."
- "No one is pure evil. If you wait long enough, people will show you their good side; patiently await, and you will see it."
Marianne Williamson (from Return to Love, 1992):
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves,
Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
People in need
When you help someone in need, they'll inspire you with the realization of how blessed you are. People in need will teach you volumes about all you take for granted and could be grateful for. But also about how much you are needed. About how much your time and talents are appreciated and multiplied in value, if you only share them.
For example, visit the elderly. Many elderly are excruciatingly lonely, especially those who have outlived many of their friends and family. Many have limited mobility. Sometimes all you have to do is listen. You can't imagine how much you would ease the pain of their isolation by seeking them out once a week and lending them your ears for an hour. Watch them come alive as they recount stories from long ago. No amount of money can buy the priceless gift you offer when you give them your personal attention.
Do you have a great quotation or story you would like to share with us? Send it to us!
