Word to the Wise

I’m warning you ahead of time that today’s “Word to the Wise” is quite a tongue twister. But I promise that the actual definition is a lot simpler than the huge word implies.

And here it is;

eleemosynary [el-uh-mos-uh-ner-ee,]
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to alms, charity, or charitable donations; charitable.
2. derived from or provided by charity.

I don’t have to tell you how good it feels to know you’ve made a positive impact on someone. I’m just here to remind you that there are opportunities for contribution everywhere you look.

Charity comes in many forms, and is not necessarily defined by cash donations. So no matter your status, there are tons of ways to be charitable.

For example, if you’re a pro at knitting, why not knit a baby blanket for a local shelter? This costs you little to nothing, but provides a child with warmth he or she might otherwise lack.

Or even less time consuming; why not drop a couple quarters in the parking meter of a stranger the next time you see it is about to expire? Not only will you save the person the hassle of a parking ticket, but you’ll also have good car-ma!

It’s important every now and then to step back in our lives and consider those of others. There are a lot of life lessons to be learned from people you don’t know. If you’re constantly thinking how things will affect ONLY you, how will you ever get to be your optimal self?

All that being said, consider this old Chinese riddle.

A curious man once asked to visit Heaven and Hell. Expecting Hell to be a terrifying and scary place, he was surprised to find people surrounding a table loaded with delicious gourmet food. The man thought, “Perhaps Hell isn’t so bad after all.”

But upon closer examination, the man noticed that the people surrounding the table were miserable. They were starving because, although there was a mountain of food before them, they had been given three foot long chopsticks to eat with. There was no way for them to carry the food to their mouths with such long utensils, and so no one could eat a bite.

The man was then taken to Heaven. To his surprise, he found the exact same situation he had seen in Hell; people surrounding a table piled high with glorious food with only three foot chopsticks to eat it with. But here in Heaven, everyone was plump and happily eating the wonderful food.

How is this possible?


If you’re stumped, tune into tomorrow’s blog where I’ll reveal the answer!

Holley Simmons Reporting!

BE HAPPY DAMMIT TIPS!

This has been a super fun week on my sirius show Be Happy Dammit at Lime 114.

Some highlights...

WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 TH 8:00
A GOOD WAY TO BE GOOD TO ANIMALS: GOODSEARCH.COM

JJ Ramberg talked with me about how she created a world-changing company called Goodsearch.com. Every time you use its search engine, Ramberg has it set up that various companies advertising on her site donate money to a variety of charitable organizations -- like the TV celebrity Cesar's famed Millan Foundation -- aka The Dog Whisperer Foundation. Stacey Candella, the head of this Foundation, talked about how much she appreciates all the good Goodsearch.com is doing to help animals in need - and why raising money is so important for her cause.


WEDNESDAY, MAY 16 TH 8:15
SECRETS TO LONGLASTING AND LUSTING LOVE

Jonathan Fields talked with me about the Love Lab -- Dr. John Gottman's research laboratory which has found a way to predict divorce 10 years out -- with 94% accuracy -- based on a mere 15-minute observation of couples. Plus we talked about that magic 5 to 1 ratio which happy couples have -- where there are 5 nice moments to every nasty moment. Similarly. in the workplace, teams with 3/1 postive/negative interactions are significantly more productive. However, interestingly, when the ratio goes up to 13 nice to 1 nasty moment the productivity starts to erode – most likely because it starts to feel like false positivity which leads to a patronizing feeling.


THURSDAY, MAY 17TH, 8:00 - 8:30
THE # 1 SECRET FUEL FOR SUCCESS: PASSION


Daniel Schutzsmith is often called "an evangelist for creative people" -- because he has a business which helps inspire creative people to pursue their passions -- by guiding them with a wise strategy and productive process. He's famous for his "Creative Business Bootcamp", and talked with me about what it's like to give seminars at the CRE8 Conference set in -- of all places -- Disney World! And...Daniel and I will both be speaking at the same conference in June - THE HOW DESIGN CONFERENCE. So if you're interested in learning more about the business of creativity sign up for that conference ASAP -- in Hotlanta...um...er I mean Atlanta!If you do sign up let me know and I'd love to meet you for a drink at barside!


FRIDAY, MAY 18TH, 8:30-9:00
LOVE IN THE PRESENT TENSE:How To Have A High Intimacy, Low Maintenance Marriage

Morrie Shechtman literally wrote the book on how to do this. Actually, that is the title of his latest book -- which I loved and we talked about. Some of his provocative ideas included: How Smart Women Become Dumb When They Get Married; Why Most Couples Settle For Mediocrity In Their Relationships; If You Never Fight, You Lost Interest A Long Time Ago; Unconditional Acceptance: The Ultimate Abandonment; It Pays To Be Average Looking: Why Good-Looking People Struggle With Intimacy; Data Dumps: Why Most Couples Bore Each Other To Death;
Love Conquers All: Only For Idiots

If any of the above pisses you off -- or just plain intrigues you -- feel free to comment on my blog space below!