10 easy ways to make the world a better place

1). At the end of the day, send a short thank you or complimentary email to someone who helped you or did something great that day. For teachers, send a quick email or make a short phone call to a parent about their child. Bonus, do a hand-written personalized note and hand deliver it...

2). Find some information or resources for someone who you know is either looking for assistance or struggling with a particular situation. This may include finding someone else who excels in this particular area and asking them to reach out to this person to help them through this process.

3). Surprise a colleague and do something that is typically on their job responsibility list. This is only effective when the intent and purpose are to help. Don't use this as an opportunity to outshine or one-up, or you risk turning a positive gesture into a negative.

4). Stand up for someone who you know is right and struggling to make progress against the masses. This could be as simple as saying something publicly in a meeting or sending an email and including others on that email. The key here is to show your support and help to validate the points that are being shunned. Bonus, by doing this you may empower and embolden others who feel their voice is not being heard...

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5). Commit to doing something in the future that will help someone to do something in the present. There are countless times when others need a little support and encouragement to get them over the hump of trying to do something or change something. Your gesture of commitment in the future is just what they need to get the ball rolling in the present.

6). Find something funny and share it with others. You can't ignore the power of laughter and when presented at just the right time, a good laugh is the difference between an average day and a great day.

7). Finish the task you said you would finish. You would be surprised at how often we say we will do something to only finish half of the promised task. Be the difference and go the distance by finishing what you said you would finish... this means a lot to people.

8). Present someone a challenge you think they can handle and would be excellent at overcoming. Present this challenge in a way that highlights the strengths of others, and remind them that you believe their skill set is perfectly aligned to tackling this challenge. The key here is to empower and send a boost of confidence to someone who may be lacking of late.

9). Start saying 'yes' and 'why not' more than 'no' and 'that's not possible.' Be careful with this, because if you always say 'yes' then you will become overwhelmed and over-committed. In the same breath, don't always say 'no' because you will become the person who nobody approaches with new ideas or possible changes. Help someone by embracing their creativity and innovation by giving them a green light.

10). Be yourself and don't try to be someone you aren't. Far too often we try to be who we think others think we should be, and in the end we ultimately disappoint both them and ourselves. Be yourself and others will be greatly appreciative.

Share a little spark of love & humanity...

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question:

'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection.

Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.

Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.

Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the Plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside  for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact.

The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.

The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.

As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over.

The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.

Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates.

Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first!

Run to first!'

Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base.

He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!'

Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.

By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball. The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.

He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.

Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!

Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!'

Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the  boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this  world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:

We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.

The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.

We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.'

So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:

Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

With something to think about...

We always have a choice...

Sometimes things don't quite work out the way we planned...

Sometimes life throws a curveball when we're expecting a fastball...

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Sometimes people act in ways that we never could have imagined...

Sometimes we're put in a position that is less than favorable to say the least...

Sometimes despite all the advanced planning and preparation, things just don't work out...

In life, when these 'sometimes' happen, we have a choice in how we are going to respond.

It's not complicated and it's not really multiple choice.

It is however extremely difficult to regulate our emotions and maintain a level-head. There is no doubt about that...

Remember, no matter what happens you will always have a choice as to how you are going to let whatever happened affect and impact you.

This is your choice and only your choice.

Here's hoping you are making the right choice...

I wish I could tell you how I really feel...

As a kid we all want to get older because we believe that things will become easier and simpler.

As we all so abruptly find out, life doesn't get simpler with age, it gets more and more complicated.

Life doesn't become more black-and-white, it becomes every shade of grey imaginable.

We soon find out that the simplest and most straight-forward issues become layered in complication and difficulty.

Here's the tricky part as we age... we end up having to play 'games' and we end up having to become masters of manipulation, persuasion, and misdirection.

As youths, we are naive and we assume that everyone is honest and telling the truth at all times.

How far from the truth could we be...

Go back to the most recent conversation or interaction you've had with someone. This can be either someone in your personal life or someone in your professional life.

Were you able to tell them exactly how you felt and were you able to tell them exactly why it is that you felt that way? Were you able to be completely honest with this person?

Now, when we are talking about honesty, please know we aren't talking about a straight-up lie and the straight-up truth. The idea of pure honesty and pure deceit aren't as common as we think they are...

Think about the last time you told someone that you were going to be honest and frank with them... were you really completely honest and truthful with this person or were you still only partially honest about your feelings and thoughts?

Rewind for a moment and go back to when you were a kid.

Think about the pureness and open honesty that comes from the mouths of children...

We all laugh and chuckle about their honesty and simplicity in thinking, but why do we always stop at just laughing about it?

Life is complicated and how we approach life is even more complicated.

Let's all take a page from our younger-selves and bring a little pureness back into the picture.

Let's all do more than just laugh at the honesty of young kids...

Let's encourage young kids and help them not to lose their honesty and pureness as they get older...

Are you getting too big for your britches?

Life has a way of figuring things out...

Life also knows just when to bring you back down to earth so to speak...

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Sometimes life will even send you a loud and clear message that hits like a ton of bricks...

If you're lucky, a single moment of discomfort and humility will have the power to change you for a lifetime...

Sometimes the most important lesson comes at the height of your confidence...

Sometimes the further the fall, the longer-lasting the lesson...

Walk confidently...

Be courageous...

Push the envelope...

Do what you know to be right...

But remember and recognize that your position is never quite as strong as you think, and it's never quite as weak as you think.

You are one person with value, but nobody's value is so high they are irreplaceable.

Lead with dignity...

Lead with respect...

Lead with compassion...

Live life with humility...

Too much of a good thing...?

Is it possible to care too much?

Is it possible to have too much passion?

Could you imagine a world in which too much of a good thing could actually turn out to be a bad thing...?

Can caring too much and having too much invested, ultimately narrow your focus so much that you are unable to see the bigger picture? Can caring too much cause you to dwell and concentrate on what has happened, while completing missing what could happen...?

Passion, I tend to think passion is a great thing, and as such I have tried to live a life full of passion and energy. I have found passion to be energizing to not only those around me, but also energizing to myself as well.

Passion, can it, in too great of a dose, hinder your ability to move forward and prevent the intended effect on others?

Does having too much passion toward a particular topic or area make you vulnerable and put you at risk? Does your passion blind you and become a liability which leads to a weakness...?

Perhaps I am totally off base right now...

Perhaps there is some truth to these questions...

Perhaps there is a happy medium, and in order to find that happy medium we must dip our toes in the water and test it. Test it to help find the path leading to the thin line separating the two. Test it to discover a healthy passion and a healthy level of care...