When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Marion Kane/Jolly 1927

It takes strength to be firm,
It takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain,
It takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in,
It takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend’s pain,
It takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to endure abuse,
It takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone,
It takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love,
It takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive,
It takes courage to live.

Author Unknown

Psychologist Tim Kasser discusses how America’s culture of consumerism undermines our well-being. When people buy into the ever-present marketing messages that “the good life” is “the goods life,” they not only use up Earth’s limited resources, but they are less happy and less inclined toward helping others. The animation both lays out the problems of excess materialism and points toward solutions that promise a healthier, more just, and more sustainable life.

From the moment we open our eyes it fuels our existence. We are on a mission to remind everyone to never lose your sense of curiosity or wonder. Long live learning!

Amazing speech by a smart and pragmatic young woman.

Anjali Appadurai, a student at the College of the Atlantic in Maine, addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban on behalf of youth delegates. Just after her speech, she led a mic-check from the stage — a move inspired by the Occupy Wall Street protests. “It always seems impossible until it’s done. So, distinguished delegates and governments around the world, governments of the developed world: Deep cuts now. Get it done,” Appadurai says.

This is a story about Dick and Rick Hoyt. The father competes with his son because his handicapped son has told him that he feels free when he is with him, like he is doing the same thing, so the father actually hauls him along competing in Marathons, and the Ironman Triathlon. Very inspirational, enjoy!

Taylor Conroy has researched what motivates people into donating. Once he figured that out, he sweettalked/blackmailed 30 of his closest friends into donating enough money to build a school in Africa. In three hours. Pretty cool, no? And now he’s taking what he learnt global, and is building a platform so people can work their friend networks to achieve social good.

Taylor’s website: www.teninthree.com

Terence Kemp McKenna was a modern philosopher, whose main interest was psychedelics and their role in society and existence beyond the physical body.

Terence teaches us to think for ourselves and to enjoy every moment of our lives.

Terence made people realize how we can enjoy our lives at it’s full capacity by enjoying every little thing that happens through our everyday life.
“What blinds us, or what makes historical progress very difficult, is our lack of awareness of our ignorance.” – Terence McKenna

This short film illustrates the power of words to radically change your message and your effect upon the world.

Words are plentiful; deeds are precious.– Lech Walesa

“The world is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it’s real because that’s how powerful our minds are.

The ride goes up and down, around and around, it has thrills and chills, and it’s very brightly colored, and it’s very loud, and it’s fun for a while.

Many people have been on the ride a long time, and they begin to wonder, “Hey, is this real, or is this just a ride?”

And other people have remembered, and they come back to us and say, “Hey, don’t worry; don’t be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.”

And we … kill those people. “Shut him up! I’ve got a lot invested in this ride, shut him up! Look at my furrows of worry, look at my big bank account, and my family. This has to be real.” It’s just a ride.

But we always kill the good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok … But it doesn’t matter, because it’s just a ride.

And we can change it any time we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love.

The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love instead see all of us as one.

Here’s what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride.

Take all that money we spend on weapons and defenses each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would pay for many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.”

Bill Hicks