This week: Don’t Believe Everything You Think!

Celebrating MLK:

Was Martin Luther King, Jr., a Republican or a Democrat?

Political parties are always looking for endorsements from community leaders and other influencers. Having support from prominent figures can make or break a candidate or party. It’s no surprise that sometimes political groups will also try to claim affiliation with historical figures of note.

https://www.britannica.com/story/was-martin-luther-king-jr-a-republican-or-a-democrat

 

‘A Nation Unsettled and on the Brink’ by Dr. Ken D:
Relationships are built on trust.
Families and nations falter or thrive depending on the willingness and ability of members and citizens to learn how to live with their differences, find common ground and trust one another.
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/478930-a-nation-unsettled-and-on-the-brink

 

Forget What You Believe!
Inspiration for Conscious Leadership with Eric K:

When I started reading Krishnamurti’s teachings, it wasn’t just my mind that caught fire, my heart lit up, too. Krishnamurti in the early 1900’s, you see, was groomed from childhood by the Theosophical Society to be the world’s next great Spiritual Prophet.

But by his mid-20’s he awoke to Truth and rejected this role. Instead, he called for a revolution in the psyche of every human. He taught that the revolution of consciousness wasn’t affiliated with any outside entity – with any religious, political, or social sect. He taught that meditation, inquiry, and relationships lead to an experience of Truth. For me, he’s the granddaddy of Conscious Leadership – he was a passionate advocate for the need for a radical change in society.

This radical change, I believe, isn’t possible from governments – they’re concerned with holding power, protecting their people, and tending to a massive bureaucracy. This radical change isn’t possible from religious bodies – they’re focused on being right, maintaining control, and advancing a singular ideology.

The radical change that humanity is aching for is available – surprisingly and even shockingly – from leaders of companies. You, business leader, have become the shaper of society. You, business leader, have become the de facto influencer of ideas, ideals, norms, and culture.

So you, my dear leader, are now carrying a mantle of responsibility for your team and organization, and also for the future of mankind. Are you ready for this? Are you ready to see your role in the unfolding human story? Are you ready to upgrade your consciousness to be a better steward of this responsibility?

Krishnamurti has powerful advice for upgrading our consciousness. “Any conclusion or hypothesis – Individualism or Collectivism, Capitalism or Socialism or Communism, Reincarnation, etc. – is a belief. By accepting a belief, you exclude all other forms of thinking. Belief in God does not mean understanding God. A mind tethered to a belief, hypothesis or conclusion – whether based on its own experience or the experience of others – cannot go far; it is not free but conditioned. Therefore, belief is a hindrance to understanding.”

Krishnamurti’s suggestion – question your beliefs – is a terrifying idea. What am I if not my beliefs?
Or as Stan, an experienced COO, put it, “My beliefs are right, they’re not random. If I doubt myself then the world is just mad and chaotic!”

But the conscious leader journey passes through the gates of doubt, travels the path of uncertainty, and enters the arena of Truth. You might begin your conscious leadership practices with recycling, fair trade, and diversity and inclusion, but you have to continue into the practice of Truth.

And I ain’t talking about some highly personal version of truth. In fact, I’m really concerned about a prevalent sickness that’s on display when a leader insists that their truth is “the Only Way.”  It’s a sickness called PSYCHOSCLEROSIS. It’s a hardening of the mind. It’s a stiff, brittle, and rigid mind hardened by too much certainty and too little curiosity.

This condition excludes new and conflicting ideas. And when we exclude ideas, we also exclude people. Leaders and executives with this sickness inevitably generate groupthink, restriction, discomfort, and, ultimately, decline.

Don’t get me wrong, you’ve got to have core values. And guiding principles, of course, are critical. And, you and I blossom with clear purpose and ideals.

No, you don’t need to walk around all day denying every belief every moment.
This could make the simple task of buying a cup of coffee quite maddening.
But refusing to budge from your position isn’t powerful, it’s childish, based in fear, and unconscious.

There’s more power in questioning than in fixed answers.
There’s more power in examining your precious ideas than in killing other’s ideas.
There’s more power in including dissenting voices than in homogeneity.

Einstein, Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Bill Gates, Marie Curie, Pablo Picasso, Steve Jobs, Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Andy Warhol, Amerigo Vespucci.
These are beacons of genius that shine because of breakout discovery and achievement.
Breakout.
They dissented from the normal, familiar patterns of others around them.
They questioned their tradition, culture, and beliefs.
Their enlightenment came at the cost of their compliance and conformity.

I say, REBELLION IS THE SEED OF ENLIGHTENMENT.
Enlightenment is understanding the non-personal truth.
Rebellion is rejecting the norm.
If the Truth were obvious, we’d all agree.
But we don’t.
Truth isn’t obvious.
If the truth isn’t obvious then we have to seek it away from the norm.

In Zen we call this Beginner Mind. This state is one of curiosity and inquiry. This is a practice of gently and consistently noting our cherished beliefs, opinions, and notions, and setting them aside.

This willing questioning, this suspension of our certainty, this opening to possibility, this mature rebellion, is departing from your comfort zone.
Beyond the comfort zone is innovation, possibility, growth, understanding, and perspective.
Beyond the comfort zone is access to deeper truth.

Beyond the comfort zone is expansive contact with Life.

And “expansive contact” is fancy words for LOVE.
Love is connection. Love is inclusion. Love is endless and holds everything within it.
When we love we don’t judge, we receive.
When we love we don’t push away, we pull closer.
When we love we don’t hurt, we nurture.
When we love we don’t belittle, we value the other.

Love is the most powerful of all the gifts of Beginner Mind.
Love is the most powerful of all leadership principles.
Love and curiosity are the sparks of conscious leadership.

The power you seek in certainty and fixed ideas isn’t sustainable.
The power you seek lies in questioning.
The power you seek lies in Truth.
The power your seek lies in loving.

There’s a trick to being a breakout and conscious leader and person – express your beliefs passionately, but hold them quite lightly.

The path Krishnamurti illuminates for us is the path to a radical and positive change for mankind.
Take his guidance, question your beliefs and reach further with love.
This is the ticket to sustainable power, creative expression, and a thriving society.

In the spirit of leading and learning.
Eric

This Bud’s For 3 and Dwyane Wade:
While a commercial (and this is only made evident at the end), this spot speaks to not just the professional role we play in life, but the personal role and impact we can have that transcends that professional capacity, however we choose to define ourselves…
https://biggeekdad.com/2020/01/bigger-than-basketball/

 

Thanks this week go to HHDL, Dr. Ken D, Eric K, Stan S, Larry H and MLK!
Please pay it forward, choose love and redefine yourself!
Love,
Neville

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“An individual has not started living
until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns
to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This week: Be Like Basho

“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise, seek what they sought”— Basho

The Master Student- Life Lessons from the Mind of the Dragon:
At the end of last year, I picked up a magazine as part of an impulse buy at a local grocery store featuring Bruce Lee- cover to cover.
https://www.amazon.com/BRUCE-LEE-OFFICIAL-COLLECTORS-VOL/dp/B082BWZJCD/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_2/142-9993011-2490252?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B082BWZJCD&pd_rd_r=26d4290d-81fc-451f-b023-c2f059a33c89&pd_rd_w=2DhKi&pd_rd_wg=igMxv&pf_rd_p=5cfcfe89-300f-47d2-b1ad-a4e27203a02a&pf_rd_r=7340DYGF15NXXBGNSZ2D&psc=1&refRID=7340DYGF15NXXBGNSZ2D

As many of you know, I have been practicing traditional martial arts for over 40 years and still feel like a beginner.

Anyway, some of the articles were really good and the concept that stuck with me most, and that resonated most deeply was the idea of the Master Student.

This is in lieu of striving to become a “Master”, which invariably comes with all its ego-driven elements- regardless of your field of interest from martial arts to music or from science to spirituality.

Last week, with the untimely passing of Neil Peart the virtuoso from the rock band RUSH who was nicknamed “The Professor” for his genius as a percussionist and wordsmith, both artistic worlds that I enjoy deeply, in the last few days, a lot of articles about him are revealing other aspects of his life experience.

Clearly, there are no accidents and it was very validating and serendipitous to see this quote on his home page: https://www.rush.com/band/neil-peart/

“What is a master but a master student? And if that’s true, then there’s a responsibility on you to keep getting better and to explore avenues of your profession.”

This approach explained a lot about Peart’s path to greatness, founded on the same lifelong learning orientation that Bruce Lee’s life and success was built on.

His band mates used to tease Peart about his insistence on doing a month of solo preparation before group practices begun, telling him he’s the only man on Earth who “rehearses to rehearse”.

Neil Peart liked to ask himself a couple of key questions.
One is “What is the most excellent thing I can do today?”
The other query, posed in the face of any moral dilemma, is “What would my 16-year-old self do?”
Ultimately, Peart wanted the freaky, purist kid he once was to be proud of him. “It’s about being your own hero,” he says. “I set out to never betray the values that 16-year-old had, to never sell out, to never bow to the man. A compromise is what I can never accept.”

Instead of Moving like Jagger (no disrespect intended Maroon 5) , maybe for this new decade we can “Be like Basho”

 

Finding Secular Spirituality Through Literature:

This week, Here and Now host Robin Young has been exploring secular spirituality, defined as being concerned with the human spirit or soul as opposed to material things. Unless, of course, those things are books. People often turn to them to answer life’s big questions: How can I be a better person? How can I find joy? How can I process grief? Here is a great interview and some amazing book selections to kick off the new decade.

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/01/14/secular-spirituality-books

If you are local:

Preparations have begun for Remake Learning San Diego with exciting family events across the county highlighting innovations in education.
The goal is to highlight the great work already happening here in San Diego.

We Need Your Help!
We encourage you to check out and then post your event information on the Remake Learning San Diego website by Sunday, February 2. Events posted by early February will be included in the Remake Learning national marketing strategy. Please help build the excitement of ReMake Learning by including your events in this inaugural initiative. Our goal is to have 35 – 50 San Diego events populated into our database by the time our website goes live. Please let us know if you would like assistance posting your event; we would be happy to help. Remember, advertising on our website is not only wonderful for our families, it is also great publicity for your organization.

Micro-Awards
Micro-awards, to help defer the costs of events, are still available for up to $500. Applications are available on the Remake Learning website.

We are sending a follow-up newsletter later on this week, so stay tuned! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Warmest regards,

The San Diego ReMake Learning Initiative Team

Erin English, Ed.D.
Executive Director of Innovation
San Diego County Office of Education
erin.english@sdcoe.net

Lisa Dawley, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education, University of San Diego
ldawley@sandiego.edu

Alina Mitchell, M.A.
Learning Experience Specialist
Jacobs Institute for Innovation in Education, University of San Diego
alinamitchell@sandiego.edu

Katie Martin, Ph.D.
Educator, Author of Learner-Centered Innovation
Vice President of Professional Learning, Altitude Learning
katie@altitudelearning.com

Remake Learning Days in San Diego County is an initiative facilitated by the Innovation Division of the San Diego Office of Education, the Jacob’s Institute for Innovation in Education of the University of San Diego and Altitude Learning.

 

Thanks to all the aspiring master students out there!

Please pay it forward…
Love ALL!
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
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“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise, seek what they sought”— Basho

This week:

With so much craziness in the world, sometimes we just need to go back to basics…

Staying Childlike
A Good Laugh and A Long Sleep Are The Two Best Cures for Anything!

THE KEY TO AN EXCITING LIFE:

I believe I have found the key to happiness and success and it can be observed first hand in millions of homes and children’s hearts during the holiday season. The key is to be like a kid on Christmas morning – Thankful for the gifts you have received and optimistic and excited about the new gifts that are coming your way.

It starts with being grateful. When you are grateful for the gifts in your life, big and small, you always seem to find more things to be grateful about. That’s why abundance will flow into our life when gratitude flows out of our heart.

We become a gratitude magnet and experience more joy, love, peace, and happiness. (Note: I’m not talking about material gifts. I’m talking about the gifts of the heart.)

But what about my desire for a promotion, a better job, more money, more friends, better health, more success you might ask? Isn’t it important to strive for more? Doesn’t gratitude breed contentment and stagnation? How can I be thankful when I know my life can be so much better?

That’s why it’s important to also be optimistic and excited about the new gifts that are coming your way.

Sure you are thankful for what you have but you also look forward to more gifts in the future. You believe that your best days are ahead of you, not behind you. When people ask you how things are going you say, “Getting better every day.”

This was something I learned a number of years ago. At the peak of my misery, struggles and failures I realized I had to stop being disappointed about where I was and needed to start looking forward to where I was going. Once I started being thankful for the simple gifts in my life and became excited about the road ahead I experienced a completely different journey.

When you change your heart and mind you change the direction of your life. 

So what are you thankful for? What is right about your life? Be sincerely grateful. Then think about what your brighter and better future looks like. What do you hope for? Trust it is possible. Get excited.

We often think that we’ll get excited about life when we have a life that is exciting but actually it works just the opposite.

When we get excited about life, we get a life that is exciting. 

In this spirit may you experience amazing gifts this year and may 2020 bring you even greater gifts than you could imagine…

 

Peanuts!
It was October 3, 1950 when “Peanuts” first debuted in seven newspapers under the United Features Syndicate.

Developed by Charles M. Schulz, who was raised Lutheran in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, “Peanuts” ran for nearly 50 years and was published in 2,600 newspapers, 75 countries and 21 languages.
Take the time to look at these gems of wisdom from good old Charles Schultz.
Wishing you a terrific week filled with peace & love.

May You Laugh Like This!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYjCY6qVHCY

 

Thanks this week to Larry H for some of these submissions, and all of you who choose virtue over selfishness, inclusion over division and love over fear!
Please pay it forward this week…
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
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“If the youth are not initiated into the village, they will burn it down just to feel its warmth.”
—African Proverb

This week:

 Ancient wisdom dating back thousands of years gave us the truth about gratitude.
Every single religion (and wisdom tradition) speaks of giving thanks.
All the sages and saviors of the world demonstrated the use of gratitude in all their teachings.
The greatest human beings that have ever lived showed us the way with gratitude, and by their example became shining lights in our history.
Surely this is why Einstein said, “Thank You” hundreds of times every single day!

Hello,
Welcome to Flight ✈️#2020 😀.
We are prepared to take off into the New Year 🎉!
Please make sure your Attitude and Blessings 🙏🏼 are secured and locked 🔐 in an upright ⬆️ position.
All self-destructive 💣devices should be turned off at this time.
All negativity👎🏼, hurt 😢 and discouragement 🤫 should be put away.
Should we lose Attitude under pressure 🤯, during the flight, reach up 🙋‍♀️and pull down a Prayer🙇🏼‍♀️.
Prayers 🙇🏼‍♀️will automatically be activated by Faith🙏🏼.
Once your Faith is activated, you can assist other passengers👨‍👩‍👦‍👦.
There will be NO 🚫❌BAGGAGE 🧰📦allowed on this flight !!!.
The Captain 👨‍✈️ has cleared us for takeoff🛫.
Destination GREATNESS 😤💪🏼.

 

Sport-
This One Minute Video is a Hell of a Good “Kick” Start for the New Year:
Nothing is Impossible…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VRzYDQX_iw&feature=youtu.be

 

Health-
The Biggest Wellness Trends of 2020:
Here is to your wellbeing in the new year. Foresight is 2020
https://www.instyle.com/beauty/health-fitness/how-to-start-working-out

 

Science-
The Biggest Scientific Breakthroughs of 2019:

• Capturing a Black Hole
• Fighting Ebola
• The new CRISPR
• Mind-reading Robo-suit
• A Blood Test for Alzheimer’s

https://theweek.com/articles/885357/biggest-scientific-breakthroughs-2019

 

Practical-
28 Things to Help Make 2020 The Cleanest Year of Your Life:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/racheldunkel/things-that-may-make-2020-the-cleanest-year-of-your-life

 

Entertainment-
NPR’s Favorite Movies Of 2019:
(I thought Parasite was mind-bending!)
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/19/788660770/nprs-favorite-movies-of-2019

 

Power Tools-
The 9 Subscriptions You Should Bring With You Into 2020:
https://medium.com/swlh/the-9-subscriptions-you-should-bring-with-you-into-2020-7562c4778bb

 

Remembrance-
Remembering Ram Dass, Psychedelic Pioneer and New Age Guru:
“Soul doesn’t have a fear of dying, ego has a very pronounced fear of dying. The ego, this incarnation is life and dying. The soul is infinite”
Be Here Now!
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/23/us/baba-ram-dass-death-trnd/index.html

 

Thanks this week go to Moshe E, Mehrad N, &Conscious Leaders & Psychonauts of All Stripes that are leading the way to a better tomorrow
Please Pay it Forward!
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds.

Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world.

Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”   

— Patanjali

This week:

Winter Solstice Reflections with Billy S:

The winter solstice was this past Saturday and this begins the winter season. It is a pivot point from which the light will grow stronger and brighter. The longest night and shortest day of the year are followed by a renewal of the sun as days get longer. On this day the sun takes its lowest arc across the sky. On this day the sun sets farthest south on the horizon. Creating a meaningful winter solstice celebration can help us cultivate a deeper connection with nature, family, friends and community.

The winter solstice can be a beautiful reminder that our lives are part of a larger order that’s always changing and renewing. A way to bring warmth, light and cheerfulness into the dark time of the year.

For many millennia humans have marked this sacred time in the yearly cycle of life. The winter solstice can serve as a touchstone to help us cultivate an attitude of receptiveness and appreciation that will carry us through the holiday season.

Reflect on the stillness of the day by cultivating stillness in yourself. Spend more time listening, watching and honoring the slower, quieter rhythm of the season.

Darkness and night are times of rest, dreaming, healing and growth. Seeds must be put into the dark earth in order to send out roots and push up new shoots. Native plants bloom now so that their seeds will be formed and fall to the ground early enough in spring to take advantage of the rains. Plant a seed for a more intuitive, simpler and natural holiday season.

If you want to change something in your life or something about yourself the winter solstice is a good time to work on it.

This longest night can be a time of journeying deep into our inner dreamtime to bring forth a dream that can help us in the new year. A new year with fresh possibilities reborn in us all.

The Winter Solstice is:
A chance to clean house, both inner and outer.
A time for reflection, rest and renewal.
A time for feeding the spirit and nurturing the soul.

Stay in tune with nature!

 

My Christmas Eve:
There are some stories that truly speak to the heart and retired Ohio State Trooper Bob Welsh’s touching poem, “My Christmas Eve”, is certainly one of them…
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DYt83CS1DxGI&data=02%7C01%7C%7C91653cbc03cb43cbd20008d7834b490e%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637122231669539388&sdata=Inw7MVG6p%2B02lgtsV58e567sY%2B8vRl5Lu38hTkEmZxo%3D&reserved=0

 

Christmas Trees From Around The World:

The Capitol Christmas tree in Washington , D.C. is decorated with 3,000
ornaments that are the handiwork of U.S. schoolchildren. Encircling
evergreens in the ‘Pathway of Peace’ represent the 50 U.S. states.

The world’s largest Christmas tree display rises up the slopes
of Monte Ingino outside of Gubbio, in Italy ‘s Umbria region.
Composed of about 500 lights connected by 40,000 feet of wire,
the ‘tree’ is a modern marvel for an ancient city.

A Christmas tree befitting Tokyo ‘s nighttime neon display is
projected onto the exterior of the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka.

Illuminating the Gothic facades of Prague ‘s Old Town Square,
and casting its glow over the manger display of the famous
Christmas market, is a grand tree cut in the Sumava mountains
in the southern Czech Republic.

Venice ‘s Murano Island renowned throughout the world
for its quality glasswork is home to the tallest glass tree
in the world. Sculpted by master glass blower Simone
Cenedese, the artistic Christmas tree is a modern
reflection of the holiday season.

Moscow celebrates Christmas according to the Russian Orthodox
calendar on Jan. 7. For weeks beforehand, the city is alive with
festivities in anticipation of Father Frost’s arrival on his magical
troika with the Snow Maiden.
He and his helper deliver gifts under the New Year tree, or yolka, which is traditionally a fir.

The largest Christmas tree in Europe (more than 230 feet tall)
can be found in the Praça do Comércio in Lisbon , Portugal .
Thousands of lights adorn the tree, adding to the special
enchantment of the city during the holiday season.

‘Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree’: Even in its humblest attire,
aglow beside a tiny chapel in Germany ‘s Karwendel mountains,
a Christmas tree is a wondrous sight.

Ooh la la Galeries Lafayette! In Paris , even the Christmas trees are chic.
With its monumental, baroque dome, plus 10 stories of lights and
high fashion, it’s no surprise this show-stopping department store draws
more visitors than the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

In addition to the Vatican ‘s heavenly evergreen, St. Peter’s Square
in Rome hosts a larger-than-life nativity scene in front of the obelisk.

The Christmas tree that greets revelers at the Puerta del Sol
is dressed for a party. Madrid ‘s two-week celebration makes
millionaires along with merrymakers. On Dec. 22, a lucky citizen
will win El Gordo (the fat one), the world’s biggest lottery.

A token of gratitude for Britain ‘s aid during World War II,
the Christmas tree in London ‘s Trafalgar Square has been
the annual gift of the people of Norway since 1947.

Drink a glass of gluhwein from the holiday market at the Romer
Frankfurt’s city hall since 1405 and enjoy a taste of Christmas past.

Against a backdrop of tall, shadowy firs, a rainbow trio of
Christmas trees lights up the night (location unknown).

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me…
What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,
swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won’t come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?
This week, I found out.
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.
It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.
-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit–Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,  Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit–Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,  Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles’ Creed.
So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol…so pass it on if you wish.’
Merry (Twelve Days of) Christmas Everyone – and, remember, the Twelve Days of Christmas are the 12 days following December 25th.  The Christmas Season runs until Epiphany, January 6.

CHRISTMAS AT ARLINGTON CEMETERY
Arlington National Cemetery

Rest easy, sleep well my brothers.
Know the line has held, your job is done.
Rest easy, sleep well.
Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.
Peace, peace, and farewell…

These wreaths — some 5,000 — are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine . The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He’s done this since 1992. A wonderful guy. Also, most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one the poorest parts of the state.

 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Thanks this week go to Billy S, Larry H and everyone sharing the holiday spirit!
What Could We Do Today To Pay It Forward?
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“Love your enemies and you won’t have any…”

This week:
As we celebrate the solstice, may we keep our true north in focus even if we can’t see the stars for the clouds…

Especially when faced with brief bouts of evidence to the contrary, do know that the universe is conspiring to support you.

Sew a thought, reap an action
Sew an action, reap a habit
Sew a habit, reap a character
Sew a character, reap a destiny…

THE #1 PREDICTOR AND FACTOR OF SUCCESS

Angela Duckworth, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, identifies grit as the number-one predictor and factor of success. It’s not talent, title, wealth, or appearance. It’s grit, the ability to work hard for a long period of time towards a goal; to persevere, overcome, and keep moving forward in the face of adversity, failure, rejection, and obstacles. Success doesn’t happen overnight. Along the way a leader and team will face countless challenges and will need Grit to find a way forward! And this begs the question. If Grit is so important and individuals and teams really need Grit, then what is it? And if Grit drives us, what drives Grit? I believe Grit is:

DRIVEN BY LOVE…

If you don’t love it, you’ll never be great at it. If you don’t love it, you won’t work to overcome all the challenges to keep doing it. If you love what you do, you won’t quit when the world says you should. You will continue to show up every day, do the work, and discover that success created by the love you have inside you.

INSPIRED BY VISION AND PURPOSE…

If you have a vision for what you want and you know why you want it, you will work hard and persevere in order to achieve it. Your vision and purpose are greater than your circumstances and challenges. When you know your why and you know the way you won’t let obstacles get in the way.

FUELED BY OPTIMISM AND BELIEF…

Research shows that when you believe in a brighter and better future you will continue to take the actions necessary to create it. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. What you believe determines what you create.  If you believe it’s possible, you will continue to work to make it happen.

POWERED BY FAITH AND HOPE…

There will be times when your failures and challenges bring you down.  There will be moments you want to give up. It’s during these discouraging times that you need more than positive thinking. You need faith and hope to keep you going. Faith keeps you focused on possibilities instead of problems. Hope keeps you moving towards the future instead of living in the past.

REVIVED BY RESILIENCE…

When you get knocked down your resilience will move you to get back up. You will keep fighting for what you love, what you believe in, what you hope for and what you want. Even when your dream is killed a thousand times, you will keep reviving it and try one more time.

KEPT ALIVE BY STUBBORNNESS…

You just won’t give up. When your dream is revived, your stubbornness keeps it alive. You won’t let your circumstances define you. You are determined to define your circumstances.

AND IF WE’RE HONEST INCLUDES SOME FEAR OF FAILURE AND DESIRE TO PROVE YOURSELF…

The fear of failure I’m talking about is not a paralyzing kind of fear but a healthy dose of fear that causes you to work harder and practice and prepare more. Combine this with a desire to prove yourself that you have what it takes; that you can do it and you’ll keep working to improve in order to reach your goal. All the great ones, no matter how much success they have, still have a healthy dose of fear of failure and desire to prove oneself. It’s what keeps you humble and keeps you working to be great.

 

 

 

Always Look At The Bright Side of Life!

We can All use a Hug at this Time of Year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeNvtECQmxc

Enjoy some Lab Puppy Zaniness and Feel the Stress Melt Away!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOK-2G9GLfY

 

Thanks this week go to Larry H, Bob C and others that dutifully contribute the joy of animals content to our Soul Food additions, keeping them both profound and playful as we are hard on the issues but gentle on the people
Stay Playful, Purposeful and Pay it Forward!

Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

 

This week:

In an age of polarization, xenophobia, inequality, downward mobility, environmental devastation, and climate apocalypse, what are the implications of kindness, where does it come from and how can we promote it?

Animals Loving Humans: A delectable vid to kick off this issue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g2d2t1RMWE

 

America’s Epidemic of Unkindness: A new research institute at UCLA wants to start a virtuous cycle of generosity and do-gooding
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/how-be-kind/602488/?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email

 

Irish School Replaces Homework with Acts of Kindness:
A primary school in County Cork has decided to do away with all homework for the entire month of December, replacing it instead with ‘acts of kindness’.
“Be the reason somebody smiles today”
https://www.irishpost.com/news/irish-school-replaces-homework-acts-kindness-reason-somebody-smiles-today-174728?fbclid=IwAR0ManxkJCjUlPmf4S4FwnvJL29oruxw-0inYgwIsiZc2j7-8YG0kS1ETR4

 

It’s Not Enough to Be Right—You Also Have to Be Kind: Takedowns and clever quips are easy, but empathy and persuasion are better!
https://forge.medium.com/its-not-enough-to-be-right-you-also-have-to-be-kind-b8814111fe1

 

Dogs Can’t Help Falling in Love: One researcher argues that a dog’s ability to bond has more to do with forming emotional attachments than being smart about what humans want…
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/22/science/dogs-love-evolution.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

 

Thanks this week go to Larry H, Sanya D, Shannon Mc.A, and all of you with a kind soul!
Please pay it forward
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“Your own soul is nourished when you are kind; it is destroyed when you are cruel.”– King Solomon

This week, enter and exit Soul Food with some puppy love!

Friday Funnies:
This link with Harley and Loa is priceless and will reset your emotional state!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88XQcpU5Vuk

No Joke:
This is the week of World Aids Day & National Special Education Day, not just Black Friday, Cyber Monday & Giving Tuesday…
If you support a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion value system, that cares for all humans and our planet, then maybe we need to value neuro-diversity in the same way we attend to gender or racial diversity.

“You laugh cuz you think I am different. I laugh cuz you are all the same…”

 

Neuro-Diversity:
December 2^nd is the anniversary of the nation’s first federal special education law.
Before IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) according to the U.S. Department of Education, many individuals with disabilities received little to no education.
Today, states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education, and related services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities.
If you think about it for a moment, we all have learning differences, learning styles and learning paces and it’s just a matter of degree, between you and me.
If normal is the “psychopathology of the average”, I don’t want to be normal! Don’t keep up with the Jones. The Jones are Nuts!

Deficit-based models are antiquated, injurious, demeaning and by extension limit the real potential of every person to manifest their gifts and destiny.
Industrial age educational models are defunct in the same way blood-letting is a thing of the past, and education is in dire need of reform, with innovation on the edges happening all around us, if we know where to look.

If you have kids in school, it is important you both know your rights and don’t fall prey to stigma.
Here is a great handout to help you navigate every student’s rights to accommodations and modifications so they can advocate for themselves (most don’t) and get the support they need (and is their legal right) to be successful.
This handout is thanks to Alex and Beacon College in Florida that is doing transformational work in the Ed Space!
November 2020 Newsletter – Accommodations and Modifications

 

If you prefer a strengths-based orientation, you will value The Power of Different:
In The Power of Different, psychiatrist and bestselling author Gail Saltz examines the latest scientific discoveries, profiles famous geniuses who have been diagnosed with all manner of brain “problems”—including learning disabilities, ADD, anxiety, Depression, Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and Autism—and tells the stories of lay individuals to demonstrate how specific deficits in certain areas of the brain are directly associated with the potential for great talent.
Saltz shows how the very conditions that cause people to experience difficulty at school, in social situations, at home, or at work, are inextricably bound to creative, disciplinary, artistic, empathetic, and cognitive abilities.

Thinking Diversely About Consumption Culture:
Climate activists turn attention to Black Friday: ‘Shoppers cannot ignore the climate emergency’
Young activists worldwide held hundreds of demonstrations on Black Friday to protest overconsumption and draw attention to climate change.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/29/black-friday-climate-strikes-protest-consumerism/4330799002/

 

Racial Diversity:
“Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words”:
Rosa Parks, the civil rights icon made famous for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in December 1955, is often mischaracterized as a quiet seamstress, with little attention paid to her full life story.
A new Library of Congress exhibition, “Rosa Parks: In Her Own Words,” will reveal the real Rosa Parks was a seasoned activist with a militant spirit forged over decades of challenging inequality and injustice.
Here is how she came to be the person who stood up, by sitting down…
https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-19-107/rosa-parks-in-her-own-words-a-new-exhibition-offers-intimate-view-of-seminal-figures-life/2019-11-05/

9 charts to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Season:
For most Americans, these feel like bleak times. We have a president whom a majority of Americans want impeached.

Over, old-fashioned racism is publicly visible and powerful in a way it wasn’t only five years ago. Climate change is exacerbating wildfires and other natural disasters and making air in states like California nearly unbreathable.

This is all real, and truly alarming. But it would be a mistake to view that as the sum total of the world in 2019. Under the radar, some aspects of life on Earth are getting dramatically better.

But it’s not all bad news — life expectancy and literacy are up, and global poverty is down.

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/11/27/20984462/thanksgiving-poverty-health-crime-literacy-good-news

 

Back to the Lighter Side of Life…
Golden Retrievers are the Best Medicine:

Golden Retrievers are the Best Medicine

Golden retrievers are one of the most famous and loved dog breeds in the world. Originally used for hunting, these pooches were raised to retrieve game, but their loyalty and lovable nature won people over. These days, golden retrievers are part of the family, rather than working dogs, and as you can see in the following pictures, there are! good reasons for that.

1.. They have been known to fall asleep ANYWHERE

2. And ANYTIME

3. The simplest things can confuse them

4.. And they’re clumsy

5. But their smile brightens your day

6. Their playfulness captures your heart

7. Their sheer joy makes you alive

8. And their sense of humor is oddly cute

9. They get into the silliest trouble

10. Did I mention they confuse easily?

11. And clumsy?

12. They pretend they’re rugs

13. But will NEVER skip a meal

14. Well, if they can get it…

15. And they will always have your back

16. BYE!

Thanks this week go to Larry H, Alexander M-W and the dedicated team at Beacon College, and every one of you standing up for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion!

Pay it forward
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“Difference- The Only thing we have in Common”

“Reflect upon your present blessings–of which every man has many–not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” -Charles Dickens

This week:

Gratitude IS Happiness Doubled by Wonder!
Research shows that grateful people are happier and more likely to maintain good friendships.
A state of gratitude, according to research by the Institute of HeartMath, also improves the heart’s rhythmic functioning, which helps us to reduce stress, think more clearly under pressure and heal physically.
It’s actually physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time…

THE POWER OF THANK YOU

In the spirit of Thanksgiving this week I’d love to share with you the benefits and power of two simple words. THANK YOU.

They are two words that have the power to transform our health, happiness, athletic performance and success. Research shows that grateful people are happier and more likely to maintain good friendships. A state of gratitude, according to research by the Institute of HeartMath, also improves the heart’s rhythmic functioning, which helps us to reduce stress, think more clearly under pressure and heal physically. It’s actually physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. When you are grateful you flood your body and brain with emotions and endorphins that uplift and energize you rather than the stress hormones that drain you.

Gratitude and appreciation are also essential for a healthy work environment. In fact, the number one reason why people leave their jobs is because they don’t feel appreciated. A simple thank you and a show of appreciation can make all the difference.

Gratitude is like muscle. The more we do with it the stronger it gets. In this spirit here are 5 ways to practice Thanksgiving every day of the year.

1) Take a Daily Thank You Walk – I started this practice 15 years ago and it changed my life. Take a simple 10-30 minute walk each day and say out loud what you are thankful for. This will set you up for a positive day.

2) Meal Time Thank You’s – On Thanksgiving, or just at dinner with your friends and family, go around the table and have each person, including the kids at the little table, say what they are thankful for.

3) Gratitude Visit – Martin Seligman, Ph.D., the father of positive psychology, suggests that we write a letter expressing our gratitude to someone. Then we visit this person and read them the letter. His research shows that people who do this are measurably happier and less depressed a month later.

4) Say Thank You at Work – When Doug Conant was the CEO of Campbell Soup he wrote approximately 30,000 thank you notes to his employees and energized the company in the process. Energize and engage your co-workers and team by letting them know you are grateful for them and their work. Organizations spend billions of dollars collectively on recognition programs but the best and cheapest recognition program of all consists of a sincere THANK YOU. And of course don’t forget to say thank you to your clients and customers too.

5) Say Thank you and Goodnight – At bedtime reflect on your day, identify and share all that you are thankful for. If you have children you can read Thank You and Goodnight with them and add to it.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for allowing me to share this newsletter with you. I’m thankful for YOU.

 

Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper: Thanksgiving Edition
A modern digital newspaper to inspire your heart and mind.

“Reflect upon your present blessings–of which every man has many–not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” -Charles Dickens

I’ve Been Thinking…

I’ve been looking forward to Thanksgiving all year. In fact, I’ve been counting down to it every day since it happened last year. Why? Well, as anyone close to me knows, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

I love the days leading up to it. I love the atmosphere surrounding it. I love that it’s a holiday all about gathering around with family and friends for food, football, and faith. I love that it means my house is full of laughter, and that my table is full of people expressing gratitude for this moment in their lives. I love that friends find comfort and a sense of belonging and home at my family table on Thanksgiving each year.

I also love that Thanksgiving isn’t about going out and buying gifts (which I’ve come to realize just stresses everyone out, anyway). No, Thanksgiving is about celebrating the gifts that are within us. It’s a holiday that’s about honoring the gift of friendship. It’s about recognizing the gift of family. It’s about opening your heart and your mind to the larger picture of family. It’s about reaching out to those who might not have a family or a place to go and inviting them to the table.

I’ve written many times before about our collective need to belong, and how we all feel a need to be invited and included. Thanksgiving is an opportunity for all of us to recognize not just our own internal need for those things, but the need that our loved ones and neighbors have for it as well.

I know the holidays are stressful for many. (That’s why we asked Dr. Lori Gottlieb to give us some advice on handling holiday stress below). I know many people don’t feel welcomed home or like they have a place to go. That’s why I love that my church organizes a Thanksgiving feast every year for those in our larger community who have nowhere else to gather.

Every year, my family serves food at this gathering, and each time, it feels like there are more and more people who line up outside our church for food, clothing, toiletries, and life’s basic necessities. I try to reflect every year on those whom I am serving. I try to express deep gratitude not just for the food, but for the chance to invite them in and treat them with respect and dignity and love.

At the end of the day, that’s what this community gathering is about. It’s about sharing love, respect, and dignity with every person at every table. It’s why this Thanksgiving, I’m going to focus on treating everyone at my family table with respect as well.

I want everyone to feel like they belong. I want everyone to know that I am grateful that they are gathered with me. I’m going to try and make sure our conversations are loving and respectful, and that there is plenty of laughter and love in abundance. I’m going to let everyone at my table know how grateful I am for them, just like I’m grateful to all of you who read this Sunday Paper. I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for championing this newsletter, sharing it, and writing me and coming up to me in person to tell me how much you love it.

You have made The Sunday Paper a huge success by supporting it and spreading the word. Thank you. I find myself so humbled by its success. I’m also so grateful to everyone who supports the work and mission of my nonprofit, The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement. The success of both of these endeavors depends on other people.

We all need others to help us with our work and our ideas. We all need others who can help us see ourselves, love ourselves, and find our way forward. We are all dependent, independent, and interdependent at the same time. None of us are an island, and yet way too many of us feel like we are alone.

So this holiday season, may we each try—in ways big and small—to step out of our comfort zone. May we reach across a political divide. May we notice someone who is struggling and offer them a hand. May we buy someone a coffee. May we thank someone for a gesture (even if it happened long ago).

We can all give thanks for where we are this year, and we should all know that we didn’t get to this day and this place alone. This Thanksgiving, remember that gratitude never goes out of style.

Love,

PRAYER OF THE WEEK

Dear God, may I give thanks this Thanksgiving for all your blessings. As I enter this holiday season, may I remember that the best gifts are those within that you have already given me. Amen.

Views Above the Noise

1. Anxious About the Holidays? Acclaimed Therapist Lori Gottlieb Shares Her Tips to Reduce Stress and Enjoy the Season

2. Afraid That Talking Politics Will Ruin Thanksgiving? Here’s How to Avoid Conflict So That Doesn’t Happen

3. Best-Selling Author Kelly Corrigan’s Thanksgiving Wish: ‘Focus on What’s Going Right’

4. Simple Ways to Find Gratitude Amidst the Holiday Hustle and Bustle from Rabbi Steve Leder

5. Hosting for the Holidays? Easy Steps to Create a Warm and Inviting Home from Lifestyle Expert Alexandra Gove

6. Looking For Meaningful Gifts? Here are 5 Must-Read Books About the Human Spirit from Our Partners at 1440 Multiversity

News Above the Noise

NEWS TO MAKE YOU SMART
Something Happens to Your Brain When You Feel Gratitude

We receive many positive benefits when feeling grateful. Now, a new study reveals that practicing gratitude over a three-month period physically changed brain activity.

NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
New Study Finds That Half of U.S. Men Are Uncomfortable With Women Political Leaders

After a banner week for American women (did you see the Democratic Debate on Wednesday?), a new study reveals that only 49% of American men would feel comfortable with a woman as head of government.

NEWS FOR YOUR MENTAL HEALTH
What Stresses Americans the Most About the Holidays Might Surprise You

If fretting and worrying is your specialty this time of year, you’re not alone.
 The holidays are a stressful time of the year. People are losing sleep over how much they spend during the season on expenses like gift-giving, while others are stressed over travel expenses, and even hosting their in-laws.

NEWS YOU CAN USE
How to Have Closer Friendships (and Why You Need Them)

Even if you find it easy to make friends — and it’s not, for most people — getting truly close to people is still difficult. Here’s how to make it easier.

NEWS TO BRING YOU JOY
Our Yippee! Moment of the Week

We love this story of a wild turkey that’s been stalking a Wisconsin mail carrier along his route. Could it be love?  WATCH VIDEO

The Sunday Paper Reflection

Your Weekly Dose of Wisdom & Wonder

My Thanksgiving To-Do List

A Peek Into How Our Friends Spend Their Favorite Holiday

READ MORE of our friend Jennifer Aniston’s Thanksgiving To-Do List! And make sure to follow her on Instagram, too.

The Sunday Paper Exclusive Offer

Tools to Ignite Your Passion & Purpose

BREAK YOUR NEGATIVE PATTERNS

The present moment is the place from which your entire reality is created. However, most of us live our lives running from task to task, distraction to distraction. Learn how to work with difficulty in your life and break the patterns of reactivity in transformative training program. Sunday Paper readers will receive an exclusive discount. SIGN UP TODAY!

The Sunday Paper Dinner Club

Gather • Share • Find Common Ground

Get This Week’s
MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION STARTER
& RECIPE FROM FOOD NETWORK STAR INA GARTEN

The Sunday Paper Recommend

We Thought You’d Want to Know…

I’m so excited for Katherine Schwarzenegger and so proud of her on the announcement of her forthcoming book, “The Gift Of Forgiveness.” It’s a fresh and inspiring book about learning how to forgive and includes firsthand stories from those who have learned to let go of resentment and find peace. It comes out March 10, 2020. CLICK HERE TO PREORDER!

The Sunday Paper Marketplace

Get More of That Sunday Feeling

We are so excited to announce that The Sunday Paper Marketplace is now officially open for business! The Marketplace is where you’ll find curated products that are good for you, good for your mind, and good for the world. Inspired by our favorite day of the week, the Marketplace features items to inspire, empower and connect you with The Sunday Paper community and beyond. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! XO

And Finally…
Love The Sunday Paper?

Consider Buying Us a Cup of Coffee!

If you love what we’re doing, please consider supporting The Sunday Paper – for the cost of a cup of coffee. While we deliver the newsletter free to your inbox each week, we hope you’ll consider making a one-time gift of $3, or a monthly offering of that same amount, if you love our work and want to help us create more content that Moves Humanity Forward.

Heart-y Chuckles to Carry You Through the Thanksgiving Weak End:

Thanks this week go to all of you who live, love, learn, love and leave a legacy with the positive spirit of gratitude!
Please pay it forward
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder”
-Gilbert K. Chesterton

“Not all of us can do great things.
But we can do small things with great love.”- Mother Teresa

This week:

Check this out…

LOVE, NOT FEAR, AT WORK: Op-Ed
Making LOVE part of an organization’s operating system

 “A business absolutely devoted to service will have only one worry about profits. They will be embarrassingly large!” Henry Ford

A seismic shift of positive proportions is already well underway in San Diego. In stark counterpoint to silent killers like heart disease, or silent scourges like depression, or not so silent dividers like polarizing political party affiliations, a stronger silent typography has emerged in America’s finest, kindest and most purpose-filled region. Like lotus blossoms that thrive in the murkiest of waters, running equally silent and equally deep, there is a steady emergence of heart-centered individuals, organizations and communities committed to a living from a deeper place of being, where love not fear is the prime driver, and elevating humanity is the goal, aim and purpose.

We have witnessed so many people in the workplace and community who have tired of the sordid spectacle of the 24-hour news cycle.  We have heard their yearning for real substance and significance, with a ravenous hunger for better ways to define success in life and business, as well as a deep thirst for authentic connection and belonging. We’re seeing more and more individuals and organizations saying enough is enough!

Business and community leaders in San Diego are bucking against the status quo; they are consciously choosing to put people whole-heartedly at the center of their organizations, and shifting mind sets, heart sets and skill sets toward a love-centered approach to work and life. These companies know empirically and intuitively that doing well by doing good generates significant positive implications for attracting today’s workforce, connecting more deeply with customers, and making a difference of consequence for our communities.

Employees who are passionate about the work that they do are more loyal, innovative, creative, and inspired, and that translates to great customer experience. They don’t serve others out of obligation, but because of a genuine desire to improve people’s lives.

Sally Hogshead, CEO of Fascinate® and New York Times bestselling author of “How the World Sees You” and “Fascinate,” says, “We all know what good business isn’t. It isn’t working your teams to death. Or prioritizing profits above all else. Or clueless hiring and ruthless firing. And it’s no longer enough to be liked, or respected, or even trusted. To succeed in any crowded and distracted market, you must be loved by customers and employees alike.”

While pockets of innovation are found everywhere, San Diego is helping to lead the way to encourage toward building and sustaining business and community cultures centered on love, not hate. Business is not akin to war.  We must stop talking and acting like it is. Deficit thinking is as dated and destructive as bloodletting. Companies that have the courage to lead with love, do better—often much better. Love is not only appropriate in the context of business, it’s at the very heart of great leadership, and, therefore, the very foundation of a thriving, competitive, sustainable enterprise. When love is intentionally part of an organization’s framework and operationalized in its culture, something transformative and great happens. That’s when you foster loyalty. That’s when you cultivate raving fans. That’s when people love you in return.  No one of us is as powerful as all of us and there is no time for by standing!

Steve Farber, best-selling author whose newest book “Love Is Just Damn Good Business”, was just released on September 27th.

 Dr. Moshe Engelberg, Founder of ResearchWorks and author of “The Amare Wave: Uplifting Business by Putting Love to Work” was just released this month.

 Neville Billimoria, Chief Advocacy Officer & Senior Vice President, Mission Federal Credit Union

 

Quadruple bottom line thinking focuses on People, Planet, Profit and Purpose…
If We Don’t Care for Our Environment, Our Environment Won’t Care for Us!
Over 11,000 scientists around the world declare a ‘climate emergency’:
“Scientists have a moral obligation to warn humanity of any great threat…From the data we have, it is clear we are facing a climate emergency.”
https://apple.news/AydM1TkG2TmaoPR3H5H4gDg
Here is the complete article if you want access to the data
Scientists warning of climate emergency 2019

How Climate Change Is Clobbering Kids’ Health
Let’s pretend the 195 nations that signed the 2016 Paris Climate Accord really do take all of the steps necessary to reach the agreement’s key goal: limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In that world, any children born today would grow up to witness some happy milestones…
https://apple.news/AYv1c3VvdQtyuCv4VFVFVJg

And some kids are doing something about it…
107 Teens Awarded for Launching Their Own Projects to Save Our Oceans from Plastics Pollution:
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/15-teens-awarded-for-each-launching-projects-to-protect-oceans-from-plastic/

 

When it Comes to Climate-Change Adaptation, As Goes California, So Goes…the World
Flames engulf a burning building during the Kincade fire in Healdsburg, California, U.S., on Oct. 27, 2019. It’s almost biblical: Apocalyptic images of fires sweeping through communities. The worst droughts in recorded history, followed by floods overwhelming dams and levees. Homeless encampments. Power outages for millions of people. Is this the “end of California as we know it” and the result of a “failure to live sustainably” as New York Times opinion writer Farhad Manjoo suggested?
https://apple.news/AaiHSU2toRDKreZg78E3haw

 

Fur Is Falling Out Of Fashion — Even For Queen Elizabeth II:
The Queen’s move to ditch animal fur mimics the average British consumer’s wishes, says Kitty Block, president and chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States, adding the country actually banned fur farming in 2000
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/11/14/animal-fur-faux-clothing-bans

 

Speaking of Fur…

ENJOY THE LAUGH !!!!

 
An old Doberman   starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he’s lost

Wandering about, he notices a lion heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old Doberman thinks, “Oh, oh! I’m in deep doodoo now!”

Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat.

Just as the lion is about to leap, the old Doberman exclaims loudly,

“Boy, that was one delicious lion! I wonder, if there are any more around here?”

Hearing this, the young lion halts his attack in mid-stride, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees.

“Whew!,” says the lion, “That was close! That old Doberman nearly had me!”

Meanwhile, a squirrel who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the lion. So, off he goes.

The squirrel soon catches up with the lion, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the lion.

The young lion is furious at being made a fool of and says, “Here, squirrel, hop on my back and see what’s going to happen to that conniving canine!”
Now, the old Doberman sees the lion coming with the squirrel on his back and thinks, “What am I going to do now?,” but instead of running, the dog  sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn’t seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old Doberman says……..

“Where’s that squirrel? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another lion!”

Moral of this story…

Don’t mess with the old dogs… Age and skill will always overcome youth and treachery!

BS and brilliance only come with age and experience.

If you don’t send this to two ‘old’ goats right away, there will be two fewer people laughing in the world.

Of course, I am in no way insinuating that you are old, just ‘youthfully challenged’.

You did notice the size of the print, didn’t you?

 

Thanks this week go to Larry H, Steve, Moshe and Larry K, and all of us serving as stewards for our tiny blue planet.

Please pay it forward!
Love,
Neville

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NevilleB108
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nbillimoria

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage”
Lao Tzu