By Tom Peterson We all know someone who tries—and sometimes succeeds—to make us feel bad about our efforts and ideals. At some point we’ve probably even let their one small comment crush our spirit. Ray Bradbury tells us to ditch those bad “friends.” Speaking to an audience of aspiring writers he offered […]
Archive | Inspirations
Yes I Can! We’re the Super Humans
The 3-minute trailer for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Mail Boxes and Memes
It’s all about Accelerating Audacious World Change. And a great way to speed up world change is through replication. Most of what’s being done in one community can be copied in another. The rapid spread of good world change ideas is how we’ll get there. If someone’s figured out a way to make […]
Happy Birthday, Gary!
Today’s the birthday of my friend, Gary Gunderson. Staying at his house recently, I saw a quote on his desk. It was on a half sheet of paper, typed on a typewriter, so it’s been around for a while. I’m guessing he’s read it many times. Having just posted about […]
Family Started Car Wash to Help Autistic Son
The family of an autistic young man in Parkland, Florida, wanted to help him have a meaningful job that fit his needs. So they created Rising Tide Car Wash. Of its 43 employees, 35 are young adults on the autism spectrum. “We view autism as one of our key competitive advantages,” says Tom D’Erie, whose […]
Veronika Scott stitches of empowerment
Veronika Scott has done some remarkable things. At 24, she’s the founder and CEO of The Empowerment Plan. As a child of addicts, she says, she was “set up for failure,” in a hole she had to climb out of. But when a college class required her to design something that filled an actual need, […]
Ads that Matter
Bored Panda has collected “40 of the Most Powerful Social Issue Ads That’ll Make You Stop and Think.” See all 40 images here. A well-made advertisement is designed to grab your attention and to remain in your memory long after you’ve left it behind, and that is exactly what many of these social causes need. […]
Cats and Mubarak: Technology Inspires Youth Apathy, Also Connects
By Walt Peterson It’s that time of year when we’ll get to hear a variety of folk share wisdom with new graduates. Over the next few weeks, I’m sure I’ll post a speech or two. This month my older son, Walt, graduates from Little Rock Central High School. Yes, the school where in […]
Cesar Chavez, the Movie
March 31 is Cesar Chavez’s birthday. Celebrate this week by seeing the new movie—in a theatre near you! Meanwhile, Danielle Nierenberg, at foodtank suggests five things we can do to honor Chavez’s legacy: 1. Raise the U.S. Minimum Wage for Restaurant Workers (and all Tipped Employees) 2. Support Farmers Across the United States 3. Support Meat […]
Einstein Quotes—Happy Birthday, Albert Einstein!
Einstein was born 135 years ago on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany. His work led to so many applications that impact us beyond measure, for example television, DVDs, lasers. And, of course nuclear weapons and energy. Though a pacifist, Einstein signed a letter to FDR that ultimately led to U.S. nuclear weapons research. […]