List your top 5 passions. Now that you've given various factors some thought, and tried some online tools, make a short list of your top 5 passions. If you don't have 5, list as many as you have. Then compare your top 5 passions, and rank them from top to bottom. This will be the starting point your guide to making your dream a reality.
Are you passionate about justice? Check out a human rights or civil libery group. Are you passionate about children? Help teach, feed or care for kids.
Are you passionate about literacy? Find opportunities with a mentor group or library.
Are you passionate about the environment? politics? people? freedom? democracy?
As i have said many times before - Follow Your Passion
Showing posts with label passion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label passion. Show all posts
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
22 Secrets to Discovering Your Dream and Living It (1)
Last week Jay White at DLM posted this on their blog
I am going to attempt to write 22 posts that show how these secrets can also improve the lives of others.
1. What are your hobbies? This doesn't just mean stamp collecting -- it means anything you do with your spare time. That could be collecting comic books, reading about history, programming Linux utilities, writing on your blog, writing poetry, cooking, whatever. As it's clear that this is how you like to spend your time, and that you're willing to do these things without pay, it's very possible that these are your passions. Give each of your hobbies some thought, and think about whether they're things you love to do, and that you'd love to do for a living.
Longtime readers will remember that we encourage you to follow your passions. Give those areas of your life deep consideration. What makes you passionate? Are there others who have the same passion? Can you take these interests and form a community? Since you are 'volunteering' do do these things - can you translated the actions into assistance?
The reading, writing or creative passions are always needed by local groups and individuals. If you are passionate about cycling, running or other physical activity can you join a fundraising event or offer to share your passion with a group of people?
If you follow your passions, your life will be improved in ways that you didn't imagine.
I am going to attempt to write 22 posts that show how these secrets can also improve the lives of others.
1. What are your hobbies? This doesn't just mean stamp collecting -- it means anything you do with your spare time. That could be collecting comic books, reading about history, programming Linux utilities, writing on your blog, writing poetry, cooking, whatever. As it's clear that this is how you like to spend your time, and that you're willing to do these things without pay, it's very possible that these are your passions. Give each of your hobbies some thought, and think about whether they're things you love to do, and that you'd love to do for a living.
Longtime readers will remember that we encourage you to follow your passions. Give those areas of your life deep consideration. What makes you passionate? Are there others who have the same passion? Can you take these interests and form a community? Since you are 'volunteering' do do these things - can you translated the actions into assistance?
The reading, writing or creative passions are always needed by local groups and individuals. If you are passionate about cycling, running or other physical activity can you join a fundraising event or offer to share your passion with a group of people?
If you follow your passions, your life will be improved in ways that you didn't imagine.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Where Do I Go From Here?
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006
In previous blogs I described a sophisticated process of finding action that is immeadiate, relevant and concrete and how to use your passion and skills to help you find an appropriate action. But where do I begin looking? Back in the first blog and podcast, I said I would be featuring some opportunities, organizations and grassroots groups that are making a difference. In each blog and cast, I will provide you with some good actions/organizations and some not so good actions/organizations. I am also going to talk about something in the news, review a book or interview one of our Everyday Action Hero nominees.
You are able to examine and intepret this blog with relative ease because somewhere in the past you learned to read. Not everyone had that opportunity or the opportunity came at the wrong time. Research shows that learning to read at an early age is fundamental to success in school and life. If you can read, then you can help teach someone. You could offer your services at a school or youth group but they likely are more interested in a consistent approach offered by an organization. ” Calgary Reads” is an example of a small organization ( budget <$150,000) that reaches young readers in Grades one and two. Last year a total of 296 tutors worked with 504 students in 49 schools in every quadrant of Calgary. Calgary Reads has developed two half day training sessions and ask that you tutor at least twice a week for sixteen weeks. If the issue is that some children are having difficulty reading, then an immeadiate, releveant and concrete action is to help them learn to read better. Calgary Reads says that you are ” giving the child the gift of reading”. If lteracy is an area where you feel passionate then look for an existing progarm or group in your community. Some links from Canadian cities are at the end of this blog.
I would recommend that you pick up a copy of “Making a Difference: Changing the World One Penny and One Minute at a Time” by Dr. Rhonda Hackett. Check your public library for a copy of this 150 page how-to guide. Rhonda has found a way to inspire us to turn our intentions of helping into a realized goal while benefiting others. There is a focus throughout on donating financial resources but they steps she outlines work equally well for donating your time and skills. You can find more information about Dr. Hackett’s organization Nivek on their website.
If you have any comments, concerns, flames or flowers you can leave comments here or email optimistic.bob@gmail.com Let me know what you are thinking and what you might like to see covered.
In previous blogs I described a sophisticated process of finding action that is immeadiate, relevant and concrete and how to use your passion and skills to help you find an appropriate action. But where do I begin looking? Back in the first blog and podcast, I said I would be featuring some opportunities, organizations and grassroots groups that are making a difference. In each blog and cast, I will provide you with some good actions/organizations and some not so good actions/organizations. I am also going to talk about something in the news, review a book or interview one of our Everyday Action Hero nominees.
You are able to examine and intepret this blog with relative ease because somewhere in the past you learned to read. Not everyone had that opportunity or the opportunity came at the wrong time. Research shows that learning to read at an early age is fundamental to success in school and life. If you can read, then you can help teach someone. You could offer your services at a school or youth group but they likely are more interested in a consistent approach offered by an organization. ” Calgary Reads” is an example of a small organization ( budget <$150,000) that reaches young readers in Grades one and two. Last year a total of 296 tutors worked with 504 students in 49 schools in every quadrant of Calgary. Calgary Reads has developed two half day training sessions and ask that you tutor at least twice a week for sixteen weeks. If the issue is that some children are having difficulty reading, then an immeadiate, releveant and concrete action is to help them learn to read better. Calgary Reads says that you are ” giving the child the gift of reading”. If lteracy is an area where you feel passionate then look for an existing progarm or group in your community. Some links from Canadian cities are at the end of this blog.
I would recommend that you pick up a copy of “Making a Difference: Changing the World One Penny and One Minute at a Time” by Dr. Rhonda Hackett. Check your public library for a copy of this 150 page how-to guide. Rhonda has found a way to inspire us to turn our intentions of helping into a realized goal while benefiting others. There is a focus throughout on donating financial resources but they steps she outlines work equally well for donating your time and skills. You can find more information about Dr. Hackett’s organization Nivek on their website.
If you have any comments, concerns, flames or flowers you can leave comments here or email optimistic.bob@gmail.com Let me know what you are thinking and what you might like to see covered.
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Follow Your Passion
Friday, August 18th, 2006
Are you enraged by some injustice? Have you or friends/family been touched by an issue or illness? Have you recently become aware of an issue in your community, country or internationally? Has someone approached you to help with a project or issue? Did a news story shake you into action. Are you passionate about an issue?
There is a three link chain that should help you to find action that is immediate, relevant, and concrete. The links are connected like a chain where each one is important and dependent on two more links. The process isn’t linear but rather circular. When you complete the three links you are only temporarily finished because link three connects back to link one.
Link one : Raise your awareness of the issue. A little bit of time invested in researching what the issue really is ( 5,000 people are homeless), what the background situation is (2000 are suffering from mental health issues, 2000 are experiencing substance abuse, 1000 are catastrophically homeless because of job loss or illness), what is being done by individuals and organizations ( is the existing action helping), and can you join, cooperate or collaborate with existing action.
Link two: Gain respect and understanding for the impacted individuals, families or groups. Without link two, your well meaning actions will come from your perspective on the issue and be harmful, detrimental or not well received. Using the fictional example( the issue is real the numbers are fictional) from Link one, 5000 homeless - you may have personal values that suggest that the homeless just need to get a job and work harder. If you haven’t done background research you wouldn’t realize that 75% of the catastrophically homeless are already working fulltime and more than 25% of ill and addicted are holding down jobs. This is really the most difficult link because we all bring our past experiences and biases with us. Letting go of strongly held beliefs and being open to new possibilities can be challenging and requires us to be focused on what is best for others. Don’t panic, it may be difficult but this is a skill that we use everyday in relationships with families, co-workers, and friends (sometimes more successfully than others).
Link three: Take action. After raising awareness of the issue and gaining understanding and respect for the impacted individuals you are ready to find an action that is immediate, relevant and concrete. Remember to take a manageble bite of the issue. You likely can’t personally help all 5000 homeless people or even join the efforts of others to find a solution to the big problem. But, maybe you can look for action that would benefit the 1000 that are homeless because of family crisis or job loss. Maybe you can join a campaign to bring about a living wage and/or affordable housing.
After taking action and allowing the ripples to bounce around for a while, you can see what changes have occured. Did the action make a difference? Does it need to be modified a bit? Is there a better solution? Our best efforts and experiences to reduce or eliminate homelessness have left us with a growing problem. This is an unimaginable problem to have in wealthy countries like Canada, United States or Great Britain and will require as yet unimagined solutions. Keep imagining!
Are you enraged by some injustice? Have you or friends/family been touched by an issue or illness? Have you recently become aware of an issue in your community, country or internationally? Has someone approached you to help with a project or issue? Did a news story shake you into action. Are you passionate about an issue?
There is a three link chain that should help you to find action that is immediate, relevant, and concrete. The links are connected like a chain where each one is important and dependent on two more links. The process isn’t linear but rather circular. When you complete the three links you are only temporarily finished because link three connects back to link one.
Link one : Raise your awareness of the issue. A little bit of time invested in researching what the issue really is ( 5,000 people are homeless), what the background situation is (2000 are suffering from mental health issues, 2000 are experiencing substance abuse, 1000 are catastrophically homeless because of job loss or illness), what is being done by individuals and organizations ( is the existing action helping), and can you join, cooperate or collaborate with existing action.
Link two: Gain respect and understanding for the impacted individuals, families or groups. Without link two, your well meaning actions will come from your perspective on the issue and be harmful, detrimental or not well received. Using the fictional example( the issue is real the numbers are fictional) from Link one, 5000 homeless - you may have personal values that suggest that the homeless just need to get a job and work harder. If you haven’t done background research you wouldn’t realize that 75% of the catastrophically homeless are already working fulltime and more than 25% of ill and addicted are holding down jobs. This is really the most difficult link because we all bring our past experiences and biases with us. Letting go of strongly held beliefs and being open to new possibilities can be challenging and requires us to be focused on what is best for others. Don’t panic, it may be difficult but this is a skill that we use everyday in relationships with families, co-workers, and friends (sometimes more successfully than others).
Link three: Take action. After raising awareness of the issue and gaining understanding and respect for the impacted individuals you are ready to find an action that is immediate, relevant and concrete. Remember to take a manageble bite of the issue. You likely can’t personally help all 5000 homeless people or even join the efforts of others to find a solution to the big problem. But, maybe you can look for action that would benefit the 1000 that are homeless because of family crisis or job loss. Maybe you can join a campaign to bring about a living wage and/or affordable housing.
After taking action and allowing the ripples to bounce around for a while, you can see what changes have occured. Did the action make a difference? Does it need to be modified a bit? Is there a better solution? Our best efforts and experiences to reduce or eliminate homelessness have left us with a growing problem. This is an unimaginable problem to have in wealthy countries like Canada, United States or Great Britain and will require as yet unimagined solutions. Keep imagining!
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