Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week: Protecting Our Planet, Honoring Our Women, & Transforming Every Community Through Literacy

World Wildlife Day March 3^rd 2019:

Learn about the 15 Biggest Threats to the World’s Oceans and what we can do to help save them…
https://www.newsweek.com/world-wildlife-day-2019-oceans-pollution-global-warming-1349026

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2019:
#BalanceforBetter

A balanced world is a better world. How can we help forge a more gender-balanced world? Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.

https://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Local Company Learning Upgrade Transforms Community & Supports Social Mobility Through Literacy!

Join me in celebrating the Grand Prize winners of the Adult Literacy XPRIZE, a San Diego-based org that is doing such important work in our community.
Attached are a press release and front-page articles that were in the news recently.
So proud to say I have been a small part of this journey as they now get the recognition and support they so well deserve to scale up to help millions of low-literate families!
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190208005329/en/Teams-Tie-Grand-Prize-7M-Barbara-Bush

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/technology/sd-fi-xprize-barbara-bush-learning-upgrade-20190216-story.html

Stay quadruple bottom line focused:
People
Planet
Profit
Purpose

Congrats to Team Lobo and gratitude to all that make our world better through their hard work and positive energy!
Pay it forward.
Love,
Neville

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

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

This week:

Did you watch the Oscars last weekend?
For many a 3 hour + show is pushing it, so here are my favorite highlights with the “why” behind my choices from a soul-filled perspective- all in under 15 minutes.

As Jason Carbone, reality show innovator and UCSD Alum shared recently at a UC San Diego Triton Leadership Conference keynote, it is an existential imperative that we save the art and craft of storytelling as it is essential aspect that defines our humanity.

Today’s consumers of media find themselves in a pitch battle between story and spectacle!
The constant accelerating quest to create the next “watercooler moment” keeps raising the stakes and leaving us wondering which ‘reality’ will prevail- authentic human story or the over-the-top spectacle that titillates but lacks substance, meaning and value.

1. In the midst of Hollywood’s biggest night Lady Gaga and Bradley Coopers duet of Shallow, subordinated all the glam and sparkle and distractions in the background as the two artists disappeared into each other with a command performance that is definitely worth (re) watching! Experience the art, the artists and the creative process merge into a moving meditation of mastery…  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVx-zvCjUZU
2. Olivia Colman’s Acceptance Speech for Best Actress in a Leading Role is as genuine and moving as it can get! You couldn’t script this, and if you did it certainly wouldn’t land like this… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy8z_Tq_VHo
3. Rami Malek’s Acceptance Speech for Best Actor speaks to every artists struggle with their identity as they try to figure out who they are. Making this even more poignant as Rami himself is an immigrant and first gen American who plays Freddie Mercury- a gay man and an immigrant who lives his life unapologetically…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy4GL6RtVOk
4. Spike Lee’s Oscar Acceptance Speech for BLACKkKLANSMAN while politically charged and not necessarily well delivered, provides rich context for this nation’s struggle against racism that is his lived experience, with a great grandmother who was a slave and a grandma that was a college graduate and saved social security checks to pay for Spikey Poo’s college education. It made me go back and watch, Do The Right Thing this week and it blew my mind! Make the moral choice between Love v. Hate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTo3XYm33WU

Nike- Dream Crazier: While this was actually an Ad that ran during the Oscars it speaks compellingly to gender inequality. “So if they want to call you crazy, fine, show them what crazy can do!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whpJ19RJ4JY

Well done is better than well said!

Gratitude to artists of life who speak truth to power and elevate humanity in the process!
Here’s to the artist in you. Now go out and live your masterpiece…

Pay it forward, there is no going back.
Love,
Neville

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

 

In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then… they came for me. ..And by that time there was no one left to speak up.
–Rev Martin Niemoller, January 1946

This week:

Creating A Positive Workplace Culture – A Little Kindness Goes A Long Way:

Research shows positive environments produce positive benefits specifically to engagement, relationships, health and the bottom line

Does your company promote a positive work culture? Do you consider yourself a person who acts with kindness and positivity? Today’s high stress work environment is taking a negative toll on our overall well-being. We spend more time working than we do anything else. It is becoming more important now to pay attention to how we treat each other whether at work, home or at the grocery store. As a team and culture specialist, how we interact at work has consequences on our well-being

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/creating-a-positive-workplace-culture-a-little-kindness_b_59a43419e4b0a62d0987b0f0?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003&fbclid=IwAR2FpzPaaCSiVZs09tK5yp-7ClrWH9CkHisBUB6f08G7mO4MlIHEtIPELZ0

Students Learn From People They Love:

Putting relationship quality at the center of education and honoring the Power of Vulnerability where emotion is not the opposite of reason, it’s essential to reason…

https://vegnews.com/2019/2/12-year-old-activist-challenges-pope-francis-to-go-vegan-for-1-million

 

12-Year-Old Activist Challenges Pope Francis to Go Vegan for $1 Million:
A group of animal advocates, including actress Mena Suvari, Sir Paul McCartney, and young vegan activist Genesis Butler, urges the Pope to set an example by going vegan for Lent.
https://vegnews.com/2019/2/12-year-old-activist-challenges-pope-francis-to-go-vegan-for-1-million

 

What’s Going On In This Picture?
Amazing Images From Four Years of “What’s Going On In This Picture…http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2016/08/16/learning/images-from-four-years-of-whats-going-on-in-this-picture/s/VTS11-02-15LN.html?interstitial=true&prev=3&next=4&src=3

 

Thanks this week go to Marlaine M, Alan D, and leaders promoting kindness and positive culture everywhere!

Please pay it forward.
Love,
Neville

 

“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we have learned
here. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and
the acceptance of love back into our hearts.”
— Marianne Williamson

This week:

WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? From Dr. Ed DeRoche:
The title of Tina Turner’s first comeback song after a hiatus that followed an abusive marriage and domestic violence.
February—the month of love and friendship; the celebration of Valentine’s Day, and the call for people of character to do something (cards, candy, cash)

A History Lesson
Americans probably began exchanging handmade valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began selling the first mass-produced valentines in America. Howland, known as the “Mother of the Valentine,” made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as “scrap.”
Today, according to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.) Women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines. https://www.history.com/topics

A Science Lesson
There is an extreme powerful force that, so far, science has not found a formal explanation…This universal force is LOVE….
Love is Light to those who give it and receive it.
Love is Gravity, because it makes some people feel attracted to others.
Love is Power, because it multiplies the best we have, and allows humanity not to be extinguished in their blind selfishness.
Love unfolds and reveals.
For love we live and die.
Love is the most powerful force there is, because it has no limit.
Love is God and God is Love….
From a letter by Albert Einstein to his daughter

A Question: What Is This Thing Called Love?
The title of a song written by Cole Porter that asks: “What is this thing called love, this funny thing called love? Just who can solve this mystery?
Psychologist, Barbara Fredrickson, author of the book Positivity, writes about “the science of happiness” and focuses on ten positive emotions – love, joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration and awe. She writes that these ten emotions give life to the “happiness habits” of building and maintaining strong relationships.
“Love,” she writes, “comes into play in a close and safe relationship. Love is the most common feeling of positivity and comes in surges. Love bonds us to those with whom we have the deepest connections. Love fosters warmth and trust with the people who mean the most to us. Love makes us want to do and be better people.”

Another Question: What is Good Character?
Our friend, character education guru, and psychologist Thomas Lickona answers:
It’s having the right stuff on the inside strengths such as honesty, respect, responsibility, caring, and self-control. Character is built, not born. We create our character by the choices we make. Good choices create good character; bad choices create bad character. Character is the key to self-respect, to the respect of others, to positive relationships, to a sense of fulfillment, to achievement, to a happy marriage, to success in every area of life.

Three Views of Character and Love
I found these quotes in my files. I do not know who the authors are.
Your character is who you are. To understand yourself is to know your character. To love yourself is to love your character.
People of character know how to love. They love unconditionally. They forgive freely. They lift up all people without prejudice or discrimination. You never really know the true quality of someone’s character until the road gets rocky…those, who truly love us, always stick with us; the losers fall off the boat quickly!

Practicing Forgiveness Even When It Is Hard:
This Grammy artist shares where that soulful spirit comes from.
Yes sometimes love means having to say you are sorry…
http://www.nprillinois.org/post/encore-brandi-carlile-practicing-forgiveness-even-when-its-hard#stream/0

Difference: The ONLY Thing We Have In Common:
Empathy for others and seeing the divinity in them, even when they don’t look, think or act like us is a noble human trait!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/parenting2.0/permalink/10156109544683061/

Thanks this week go to Ed D, Marlaine C & All Lovers of Humanity and Sentient Beings

Please pay it forward!
Love,
Neville

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

This week:

You Deserve Privacy Online. Here’s How You Could Actually Get It:

In 2019, it’s time to stand up for the right to privacy—yours, mine, all of ours. Consumers shouldn’t have to tolerate another year of companies irresponsibly amassing huge user profiles, data breaches that seem out of control and the vanishing ability to control our own digital lives.

This problem is solvable—it isn’t too big, too challenging or too late. Innovation, breakthrough ideas and great features can go hand in hand with user privacy—and they must. Realizing technology’s potential depends on it.

We all deserve control over our digital lives. That’s why we must rein in the data brokers Read the full story

Here Are Some Tips on How to Better Protect Your Personal Email Accounts:

• Use complex passwords of at least 10 characters long (combination of upper and lowercase, symbols and numbers).
• Change your email password regularly, and use phrases instead of words (e.g. Change “SmellyCat” to “_Sm3llyC@T_”).
• Use dual-factor authentication (e.g. Gmail’s 2-step-verification), where access to your email requires your user credentials and a soft-token like a one-time code texted to your mobile device. If your email service does not have dual-factor capability, change email providers !
• Do not use the same password for multiple websites. (We are all guilty of this)
• Do not enter password hints when prompted.

 

I Mentored Mark Zuckerberg. I Loved Facebook. But I Can’t Stay Silent About What’s Happening:
I am really sad about Facebook. I got involved with the company more than a decade ago and have taken great pride and joy in the company’s success … until the past few months. Now I am disappointed. I am embarrassed. I am ashamed. With more than 1.7 billion members, Facebook is among the most influential businesses in the world. Whether they like it or not–whether Facebook is a technology company or a media company–the company has a huge impact on politics and social welfare. Every decision that Read the full story

 

What you can do if your child has allowed Facebook to mine their phone for $20/month:
Here are some issues you need to discuss with your child…

1. Personal information is money

Let your child know that their personal information is worth a lot more than $20/month. They need to value it and protect it.  Talk to them about being selective with the information they provide to apps and websites.

2. They can be spied on

Inform your child that they are potentially being spied by Facebook. Even though Facebook claims that they are not spying on teens but how do we really know what Facebook is doing.  Since Facebook is collecting all the information they have about your child, for all we know they are monitoring everything about their digital lives.

3. They can be accused of a crime

Everyone has the right to privacy, especially children. Facebook collect — and store — untold amounts of data. It’s unclear what it is doing with the data they pick up. And if it’s subpoenaed, they might have to hand it over.

Say your kid jokes about terrorism or something else illegal; if there’s an investigation into those activities, Facebook might have to give up the transcripts.

4. Talk to your child about online safety 

When such an incident happens, talk to your child about the event and the implications of it. Let them know that big tech companies can never protect them online. This goes not just for Facebook but all social media platform.

All the personal information your child have shared can be sucked out of them instantly. Once their data is exposed it is irreversible and Facebook cannot protect them from this.

Finally, don’t forget to install parental monitoring software on your children’s phone. This can help you oversee what sort of apps your child has downloaded. You can tighten their security or prevent them from installing apps that you’ve decided are just too risky or untrustworthy.

https://kidsnclicks.com/what-you-can-do-if-your-child-have-allowed-facebook-to-mine-their-phone-for-20-month/?fbclid=IwAR0h-7kYtsKbRDHiDajCawcMAJGcVSFAXSgYAOfNl3Ndkf0RsjW5DECPTlE

 

Apple rolls out fix for FaceTime eavesdropping bug- Everything you need to know about the iPhone XR

San Francisco (CNN Business) Apple has fixed the FaceTime bug that let people eavesdrop on unanswered group video calls.

The software updates — iOS 12.1.4 and macOS Mojave 10.14.3 — were rolled out to iPhones, iPads and Mac computers on Thursday, nine days after videos of the bug in action went viral on social media.

A person could exploit the glitch to hear live audio on another other person’s phone, even though the recipient had not accepted the FaceTime call. In some cases, the bug could also show live video of the other person if they pressed a volume button to dismiss the call.

Apple said it will compensate 14-year-old Grant Thompson and his family for flagging the bug more than a week before it attracted national attention. The company, which didn’t reveal how much the reward would be, said it will also contribute money toward his education.

While investigating the bug, Apple discovered another security issue involving Live Photos on FaceTime. The company did not specify what the bug was or how it worked, but the new updates fixes that issue. Apple disabled the use of LivePhotos in FaceTime on devices that have not yet been updated.

To install the software updates on iOS devices, go to Settings -> General -> Software Updates and tap “Download and Install.” On a Mac, open the App Store and go to the Updates section.

If you disabled FaceTime, you’ll have to turn it back on in Settings to resume using the feature.

The bug was first reported by 9to5Mac on January 29 after people began sharing videos of it in action on social media. Apple disabled the Group FaceTime feature later that day for all users while it worked on a software fix for the issue. The bug worked on iPhones and iPads running iOS 12.1, and Apple PCs running macOS Mojave, which recently added the Group FaceTime feature.

“Today’s software update fixes the security bug in Group FaceTime. We again apologize to our customers and we thank them for their patience,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement. “In addition to addressing the bug that was reported, our team conducted a thorough security audit of the FaceTime service and made additional updates to both the FaceTime app and server to improve security”

Thompson, a high school freshman in Arizona, discovered the flaw on January 19 while trying to start a FaceTime group chat with his friends. His mother Michele Thompson tried to warn Apple about the issue by calling, emailing, tweeting at, and even faxing the company, but Apple did not publicly address the problem until was shared online by other iPhone users.

 

If you are local…
Making Work Meaningful with Purpose Calling & Passion:

MAKING WORK MEANINGFUL
WITH PURPOSE CALLING & PASSION

Register

Join us for an Evening of Learning & Inspiration on February 12^th

According to Gallup, only one-third of the American workforce are actually engaged, while 16% are actively disengaged, leaving 51% that are just showing up and doing the bare minimum!

But why? Jeff will explore what is behind this atrocity, what to do about it and what it will mean to you, your employees and your customers.

You will discover:
– How business lost its meaning
– How a leader’s personal purpose and calling are the cornerstone for positive change
– Proof: An experiential exercise to prove the process can make work meaningful

Click here to watch a video On Purpose.

Agenda:

5:30pm – 6:00pm – Networking, Registration, and Happy Hour
6:15pm – Welcome
6:15pm – 7:45pm – Main Event

Biography of Jeff Blanton

Jeff’s purpose in life is “Mobilizing Possibilities.” His book, “Jailbreak Leadership”, provides a proven process for leaders to discover both their Purpose and Calling. When aligned to their natural passion, leaders gain the confidence to fully utilize their unique gifts and apply their own powerful principles to make work meaningful for themselves as well as the businesses and individuals they lead.

Frustrated, both by his own lack of satisfaction and the fact that over 80% of today’s workforce is not fully engaged, Jeff aggressively sought after a solution for making work meaningful. His 35 years of successfully leading large strategic change initiatives, for well-funded start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, became the backdrop for understanding how the Purpose and Calling of the leader is the key for changing how we all see work.
Jeff is the President of the Blanton Group, an organization dedicated to helping leaders transform Purpose into possibility. He is involved with multiple non-profit boards and has been engaged in all forms of business ministry.

Jeff’s radio show can be heard on AM 1210, FM 106.5 North County on Sunday afternoons. You can also follow Jeff and his guests on his highly engaging podcast, Jailbreak Leaders.

When: February 12, 2019
5:30 PM – 7:45 PM

Address and Parking:

Corporate Alliance
9540 Towne Centre Dr, Unit 150, San Diego, CA 92121

Free parking in front of building.

Pricing:

CCSD Member – $15

Chamber of Purpose/Purpose SD Member – $20
(promo code required)

Corporate Alliance Member – $15
(promo code required)

Friends of CCSD – $20
(promo code required)

Non-Member – $30

New Member: Become a member today and
get this event FREE! – $100

Register

Thanks this week go to Peter S, Jojo S, Parenting 2.0 and Mindful Digital Citizens and Parents Everywhere!

Please Pay It Forward
Love,
Neville

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

“Thomas Edison dreamed of a lamp that could be operated by electricity, began where he stood to put his dream into action, and despite more than ten thousand failures, he stood by that dream until he made it a physical reality. Practical dreamers do not quit.”— Napoleon Hill:

 

This week on a doggone lighter note…

“May I always be the person my dog thinks I am”

Enjoy some light-hearted vids with (hu)man’s best friend!

Unleash your unbounded spirit with Stella
If this doesn’t make you smile check your pulse…
https://youtu.be/YNrkaYOk2Ps

And this proves you can teach old dogs new tricks!
https://www.youtube.com/embed/5I_QzPLEjM4?rel=0

Can’t we just get along?

‘Superpower Dogs’ who will save the world & steal your heart:
‘Superpower Dogs’ finally pays respect to an overlooked breed of superhero: the four-legged variety. The first IMAX film to focus on dogs arrives March 15 in theaters nationwide, highlights canines that are saving lives, fighting crime and making life better for humans around the world…
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/01/24/exclusive-imax-trailer-superpower-dogs-steal-your-heart/2648245002/

Thanks this week go to Bob C for the vids, and to Kailee, Ellie and all the animals in the world that give us unbridled joy!

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

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
We are caught in an inevitable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
MLK Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail

 

This week:

Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned 90 this month, so this week we celebrate his work and enduring legacy of fighting for justice and liberation. And we remind ourselves of the work to come.  Rev. Dr. Steven Bland Jr. said, “We aren’t a nation that is divided, but a nation that is disconnected.”  This resonates even more today at this remarkable time in our country. As we strive to reconcile the disunited states of America, some brands are courageous enough to stand up for the beliefs and values that they hold near and dear.

Here are some poignant examples…

Race Relations
Hilarious AeroMexico Ad Trolls Border Wall Debate With Mexican ‘DNA Discounts’:
Surprise! You’re part Mexican!
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aeromexico-ad-trolls-animostiy-stirred-up-over-border-wall_us_5c41369ce4b0bfa693c1a5c6

 

Gender Issues
Gillette…
“It’s time we acknowledge that brands, like ours, play a role in influencing culture. And as a company that encourages men to be their best, we have a responsibility to make sure we are promoting positive, attainable, inclusive and healthy versions” of what it means to be a

Shaving company Gillette has been bombarded with both praise and abuse after launching an advertising campaign promoting a new kind of positive masculinity. Engaging with the #MeToo movement, the company’s new advertising campaign plays on its 30-year tagline “The best a man can get”, replacing it with “The best men can be”. The film, called We Believe: the Best Men Can Be, immediately went viral with more than 4m views on YouTube in 48 hours and generated both lavish praise and angry criticism.

“This commercial isn’t anti-male. It’s pro-humanity,” wrote Bernice King, daughter of the late civil rights legend Martin Luther King. “And it demonstrates that character can step up to change conditions.”

https://gillette.com/en-us/the-best-men-can-be

 

And the backsplash…
Me Too Ad Cuts Deep With Men’s Rights Activists
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/15/gillette-metoo-ad-on-toxic-masculinity-cuts-deep-with-mens-rights-activists?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

 

Color Flood
A more subtle yet equally powerful way to affirm diversity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8LJXcQhD0k

It doesn’t just have to be businesses serving as a force for good
Canadian Air Traffic Send Pizzas to US Controllers Without Pay:
…one of CATCA’s control centers in Edmonton, Alberta, had the idea of sending pizzas to the controllers in Anchorage, Alaska. The units are so close that they regularly interact and the Canadian controllers thought it would be a nice gesture of solidarity. The idea took hold, and other units along the border sent pizza to the controllers with whom they share airspace. But now, units have been randomly selecting other units to send pizza to, sometimes based on similarities they think they share.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/13/us/canadian-air-traffic-send-pizzas-to-us-controllers-without-pay/index.html

 

And here is a sound rejoinder to do it authentically!
Brand Purpose Is A Lie:
Purpose is something you believe, not something you make up one day as a marketing strategy
https://www.fastcompany.com/90293137/brand-purpose-is-a-lie

“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.

Thanks this week go to Alan D, Ron A, Ron M, Meg M, and all you fine individuals and organizations willing to stand up for what you believe!

Please Pay it forward…
Love,
Neville

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

 

This week:

Unbridled Joy of Sport and Art
Enjoy the unbounded delight, off the charts athleticism, and total engagement of her team and audience in this amazing soul-filled routine by Katelyn Ohashi that is a Perfect 10 in more ways than one!
Watch it a second time and focus not on her routine (good luck) but on the crowd that are one with the experience …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ7sO9BxKYQ

Behind each great talent and success story there is invariably a personal narrative, a heroine’s journey, an existential struggle and a coach/mentor/guide that helps press carbon into diamonds, turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones and convert the ordinary into magical…

UCLA Coach Helps Star Gymnast Find Her Way Back To A Sport She Loves
Perfect 10 Vid Gone Wild- Here is the Story Behind the Athlete & Her Coach
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/16/685777396/ucla-coach-helps-star-gymnast-find-her-way-back-to-a-sport-she-loves

In your life are you the performer, the coach, the performance or the audience?

Thanks this week go to Charles B, and inspirers everywhere!

Stay Soul Filled and Surround Yourself with Those That Actualize YOUR Greatness While Actualizing the Greatness in Others!
Love,
Neville

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

“One should guard against preaching to young people success in the customary form as the main aim in life.
The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work,
pleasure in its result, and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community.” – Albert Einstein, On Education

This week:

“Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts” 

See Free Purpose Field Guide Offer (good thru Saturday) below…

Art & Education to Inspire Action: A Mission of Love and Reconciliation

On October 28, 1938, Nazi secret police arrested 10-year-old Alfred Schindler at school because he was Jewish. That day he and his family were pushed out of Germany. Alfred never returned home to see his friends again. Of the entire Schindler family, only he and his brother Max survived the Holocaust. For the first time ever, German schoolchildren at Bewegte Grundschule, a primary school not far from Berlin have embarked on an art and education program to learn about the hate that embroiled their small town and much of Europe during WWII. They read the story of Alfred Schindler, a child much like them and the last Jewish boy to ever attend their school. What these students learned wasn’t easy, but they said they wanted to know what happened and they want to remember.

https://thebutterflyprojectnow.org/connecting-usa-germany/

 

5 Guidelines for an Alchemical (Yoga) Class:
Insights for All Teachers of Integrity:
https://www.exploringbodymindfreedom.com/blog/2018/12/29/5-guideline-for-an-alchemical-yoga-class?utm_source=The+Pool&utm_campaign=2c86e3636c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_12_31_08_47&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dafc7366b3-2c86e3636c-528935373

 

THE PRINCIPAL-  CHARACTER, COLLABORATION, COMMITMENT by Dr. Ed D:

This blog was written as a direct result of reading David Brooks’ column, “Good Leaders Make Good Schools” which I will summarize below.  The column topic reminded me of previous notes and publications that I wrote about school leadership.

For example, several years ago, I published an article in the Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education, and Development (September 2000, Vol. 39, Issue 1) titled, “Leadership for Character Education Programs.”  I suggested school principals and program leaders should be visionaries, missionaries, consensus builders, knowledge sources, standard bearers, architects, role models, communicators, collaborators, resource providers, and evaluators.  For each responsibility, I offered commentary about the “what and why.”

Elsewhere, I wrote described two views about character and leadership.

One was that of Zenger and Folkman (The Extraordinary Leader) who made a clear case that “Character is the center pole, the core of leadership effectiveness.”

The other was a summary of the Turknett Leadership Group’s “Leadership Character Model.”  Their view is that “Leadership is about character – who you are not, what you do.”  Their model includes three core qualities as the keys of leadership character:

1) Integrity [honesty, credibility, trustworthy];
2) Respect (empathy, lack of blame, motivational mastery, humility); and
3) Responsibility (self-confidence, accountability, focus on the whole, courage).
(www.turknett.com)

Current research about school principals is exciting and informative.  The Knowledge Center at www.wallacefoundation.org contains more than 70 publications about school leadership.  In my readings of a few of the reports, I found evidence that effective principals establish leadership teams, led by the principal, assistant principals, and teacher leaders.  Team members shared responsibility for student progress.

Another discovery (at least for me) was that effective principals encourage collaboration “paying special attention to how school time is allocated.”  Another study reported that, coupled with collaboration, “principals who rated highly for the strength of their actions (commitment) to improve instruction were also more apt to encourage the staff to work collaboratively.”  Note this important finding, “When principals and teachers share leadership, teachers’ working relationships with one another are stronger and student achievement is higher.”

Now, all of this information is what I call “in-house stuff.”  My point—the public knows little about these significant findings.

Thus, it is left to journalists and the media to bring this important information to the public, especially parents, board members, and community leaders.  David Brooks did this in his column, “Good Leaders Make Good Schools” (NYT, 3-12, 2018).

In brief, here is what he wrote.

If you want to learn how to improve city schools, look how Washington D.C., New Orleans, and Chicago are already doing it. Restructuring schools and increasing teacher quality don’t get you very far without a strong principal.

How do they do this he asks?  His answer, “They build a culture…set by their behavior (character).”

He also notes that “it takes five to seven years for a principal to have full impact on a school….When you learn about successful principals, you keep coming back to character traits they embody and spread:  energy, trustworthiness, honesty, optimism, determination, and promotes a collaborative power structure.”

In bold type he writes a key finding from researchers who studied principals in 180 schools across nine states and concluded, “We have not found a single case of a school improving its student achievement record in absence of talented leadership.”

Brooks concludes, “We went through a period when we believed you could change institutions without first changing the character of the people in them.  But we were wrong. Social transformation follows personal transformation.”

The question for current school principals posed by Baruti K. Kafele, an award-winning former urban principal in New Jersey: “Is my school a better school because I lead it?”

His answer:

“It’s my strong belief that to lead your school forward, you must consider this question daily.  To answer this question affirmatively, you must be absolutely clear about who you are as the school leader, what your mission is, what purpose drives your work, and how you envision the future of your leadership and school.  These characteristics determine who you are, what you’re about, why you’re about it, and where you are going.  They serve as a mirror for why you do this work in the first place. You must lead your school with the confidence to say, ‘Yes, my school is, in fact, a better school because I lead it.’  And when you do, students win.”

https://www.sandiego.edu/soles/character-education-resource-center/

 

Teachers and Trust: Cornerstones of the Finnish Education System:
Public school teachers in Brazil, Indonesia or Peru have stable jobs, enjoy high level of legal protection, and are part of teacher unions that shield them politically. Public school teachers in Finland also have stable jobs and are rarely fired. They are represented by a powerful teacher union, which is very influential among other stakeholders in policy discussions. Why do student learning outcomes among these countries vary dramatically?

http://blogs.worldbank.org/education/teachers-and-trust-cornerstones-finnish-education-system?cid=SHR_BlogSiteShare_XX_EXT

 

Soul Food Bonus- Free Purpose Field Guide Available Thru This Saturday Jan 12! (after which it is $10)

Snap up this free resource from a valued member of our Chamber of Purpose Community, Brandon Peele.
The Purpose Field Guide is a multimedia purpose discovery program / e-book that empowers you to use 2019 to awaken your true purpose and make your highest contribution.
Get it now while it’s free and share with your community! (It goes up to $10 on Sunday.)
Together we will create a flourishing world!
http://PurposeFieldGuide.com”

Thanks this week go to Steve S,  Hayley E, Ed DeR, Paula C and Brandon P for building purposeful learning communities everywhere!

Please Pay it Forward!
Love,
Neville

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

“There are two educations: the one that teaches how to make a living
and the other that teaches how to live”
—Anthony DeMello

Happy Soul Food Friday for the New Year!

This week:

This missive sent out to my inner circle was well received so I am sending it out more broadly to kick off the New Year with full intention to actualize your joy, wisdom and well-being in the new year…

Captured in a Spell of Gratitude

“Silence is the Language of God.

All Else is Poor Translation.”- Rumi

Creating a Masterpiece:

As artists we seem to share the same canvas and similar aspirations about the masterpiece. It is threaded by respect for life, helping others find freedom, living in harmony and being of service. In weaving this fabric we simultaneously make our dreams, and those of the planet come true. Alignment with nature both outer nature and our inner nature is a powerful multiplex, moving energy in both directions.

Polishing the Mirror of Our Mind:

By taming the mind without domesticating it, turning our internal enemies and doubts into allies and resources, owning our own distortions made up of cognitive, unconscious and implicit biases, as well as waking up from the nightmare (as contrasted with the dream) of unconsciousness through active practice and self-forgiveness into the manifest reality of present moment awareness we become the dream-masters our world needs. May we transform our deepest wounds into our greatest gifts…

On Matters of Worthiness:

Part of our purpose journey is about vigilantly stalking our mind and ambushing the parasites within. Both the fallacy that we are not enough or its inverse that we are “all that and a bag of chips” are equally destructive. Dispelling the darkness & shadow shape shifting so others are seen in the clear mirror of our self-reflection brings to light our deepest selves and mobilizes our greatest good.

Leveraging our Strengths, Interests and Values:

Our competencies are not brute strength and cunning but inspiration, imagination and creative spirit. These fuel and foster courage, love and wisdom as we release unhealthy beliefs and behaviors and wake up to the promise and potentiality right in front of us.

We don’t have to be well-rounded, our team does!

We are judged by the company we keep, so choose wisely.

Through mindful practice, in a syntactical inversion of consciousness, we realize the mind isn’t in here and the world out there but just the opposite! By applying the distinction with a difference between judgement and discernment we move ourselves and others to the light.

Thanks for sharing yourself and the journey with us and helping cast a new and powerfully positive spell on our community.

Wishing you peace, prosperity & purpose as we propel ourselves on another journey around the sun and start a new year.

Love,

Neville

10 Heartwarming CA Stories About Acts Of Kindness In 2018:

With every tragedy there is an act of kindness to accompany it. Here are California stories that will melt your heart.

https://patch.com/california/encinitas/s/gl45w/10-heartwarming-ca-stories-about-acts-of-kindness-in-2018?utm_term=article-slot-2&utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

4 Conscious Choices to Energize You to Live Your Best Life in the New Year:

The start of a New Year is wonderful time to connect to your heart’s deepest yearnings — and do so in a way that energizes your capacity to create more of what you yearn to bring into your life.

https://blogs.psychcentral.com/relationships/2018/12/four-conscious-choices-to-energize-you-in-the-new-year/

Thanks this week go to Marlaine C, and all of you that energize my purpose practice in extended family, in meaningful work & in conscious community!

Here’s wishing you a passionate, purposeful and positive New Year…

Love,

Neville

“Even after all this time

the sun never says to the earth,

“You owe me.”

Look what happens with a love like that

It lights the whole world.”–Hafiz