Five Simple Ways to Spread Happiness and Joy

Smile!

1. Call someone just to tell them thank you for something they did, the example they set, the way they treated you.
2. Look wheelchair-bound, handicapped, and - well, everyone! - straight in the eye with a smile and say "Hello."
   • People often dismiss disabled people and will talk right over their heads to their companion or caretaker. It's so rude and demoralizing! 
   • Treat all people like people, and you'll spread happiness as well as setting a great example for others.
3. When you get great service in a restaurant, write a little note to the server telling him or her what they did to make you feel welcome and special - and bump up the tip, too!
4. Notice something special about everyone you encounter - and mention it! A great haircut, infectious laugh, great taste in clothing or jewelry, etc.
5. Really listen to someone. When someone wants to talk or share something with you, go into ultra-attention mode and absorb every word they're saying as well as think about what they're saying.
   
   Tell yourself your job right now is to listen, not talk, solve, answer, debate.

Just listen, y'hear?
And Smile!

Be Happy: Get a Flatulent Dog

Our dog makes us so happy. 

Anticipating his bath (it doesn't help).

He is perpetually happy himself, and literally smiles (see photo). 

We trained him rigorously as a pup, and it has paid off in a pretty mellow, loving, little furball ("he's so FLUFFY!"). Every morning when I pick up my keys and open the front door, he comes in for his kiss goodbye. He's a real love.

And he's flatulent. 

Reekingly, fumingly, exhuberantly flatulent. Completely disgusting. 

We can be enjoying a good cooking program on TV when suddenly a thick miasma of odor creeps into our noses then WHAM! the full impact of our odoriferous bundle of joy smacks us from the inside out. 

CutiePieHusband and I look at each other and exclaim, "Whew!" in complete disgust.

Then we laugh, sometimes hysterically. And laughing is good. What a great world.

It's not my birthday either, Seth

There was a time when I awaited my birthday with great anticipation. It was an event to look forward to with friends, always swimming, usually some family around... I still remember, too, a great set of Magic Markers I got one year when I was about seven. Birthdays were not only a time for friends, food, and fun, they were conduits for exposure to new and exciting things: new books to read, paints and markers to play with, pieces of a larger world.

The event has lost its allure. Every year passed reminds me of what has been, what might have been, and the disparity between youthful hope and adult reality. The best advice I can offer the younger set is to get a handle on that lizard (in reference to the "lizard brain" coined by Seth Godin that refers to the amygdala... Well, go visit his blog and definitely pick up his absolutely great book Linchpin if you want to learn more).

Thanks to Seth and other great teachers of the day, the lizard is becoming more of a pet along the lines of the villain's dog from Despicable Me. I can now appreciate my lizard's "fluffiness" ("he's so FLUFFY!") and borrow from his primal gruffiness (he's so GRUFFY too!).

Anyway, Seth was the original in deciding it wasn't his birthday; I'm just piggybacking on his blog. Seth decided to give his birthday to the folks at charity:water.

I'm not going to do that. 
Instead, I've decided to give my birthday to Seth.

Huh? Why on earth would I do that? Because Seth has given me, both for free (here's a link to his latest free ebook download) and for the low prices I've paid for every book and ebook of his I could get my hands on, gifts that I cannot repay him other than by using them, and gifts I would not have obtained without his influence. Education. Entertainment. Hope. Freedom. A fluffier, more evolved lizard.

So, since I see that there is less than $15,000 to go on Seth's goal to raise $50,000 for clean water in developing nations, I am hopeful that you will help me give my birthday to Seth by learning about, spreading the message, and contributing to the cause if you agree with its benefits.

You see, it benefits those of us with clean water, too, by reducing exposure to illness, contributing to improvement in global food supply, gender equality, education, economics, the list is long. How is this possible? It starts with resources (ie funding) that results in the building of a good well with good water for a village. That's all it takes sometimes to tip the balance from illness and destitution to a thriving population. There's a great illustration of the chain reaction generated from good water at this link. 

Oh, and for you finance/data geeks like me:

• The ROI is 12:1 
• =(both clean water access and sanitation are factored in to derive an average economic improvement of $12 for every $1
• $20 can provide a single individual with clean water for $20 years
  (source: http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/)

Are you thirsty right now? Gee, I just realized I am! And fortunate for me, when I want water, I just go to the tap and pour it, and it looks a lot like the photo here on the right.

Next time you're thirsty, just indulge your imagination with a little role playing. Think of the seven people closest to you. Do you have children? elderly parents? One in EIGHT people do not have access to clean drinking water. So let's imagine for just a moment that you're that one in eight. And you're thirsty. And you're eventually going to drink the cleanest water you can reach, right?

Well... you know how they say you shouldn't drink the water when you visit some countries? Have you heard about the effects of doing so? Here's the deal:

Let's imagine, since you are that one in eight, that you drink the water. Chances are high that you're being exposed to a killer upon first sip: e coli. Salmonella. Hepatitis. Cholera. Sound pretty nasty? Would you want your frail mother drinking the stuff? Your toddler? No way! Your alternative is to walk miles upon miles in the heat to carry water.

Imagine what a difference a well could make.


So this time, you can choose whether you want a better world without spending any money by simply spreading the word. Or you could spend just a wee little bit and realize a net return that may be hard to see but is certainly there.


Either way, thanks for reading, taking a peek at the clean water site, and... Happy Birthday anyway, Seth!

How About Some Chili? With Cheese and Crumbled Crackers?

I came home earlier than usual this evening (aka on time), and when I opened the front door, the comforting, homey smell of chili inspired me to say, "smells like home!" Now, mind you, I may be inspired to say something else entirely tomorrow as a result of our whole household having consumed such a lovely concoction so full of beans.

Today, though, it was a simple change, a simple smell, and a simple act of cooking that took exhausted, frazzled me to a place closer to normalcy. Home.

When's the last time you dug down and cooked some real comfort food? Macaroni and cheese baked in the oven. Bread pudding. Goulash.

If you want some inspiration, try www.allrecipes.com (although their popup is really getting on my nerves - and I'm a subscriber!), www. copykat.com to find recipes from your favorite restaurants (I recommend Applebee's Maple Butter Blondie recipe), and of course the old standby: the Better Homes & Gardens recipe book. They have the best carrot cake, banana bread, and for cookies, their chocolate chip cookies (add a pinch of extra soda and make sure you use medium eggs), molasses cookies (these are so melty good), and meatloaf recipes are just the best on earth. If you're an oatmeal cookie person, use the recipe on the Quaker Oats box: you can't beat it. And if you do bread pudding, try using prebuttered baguette slices (Gordon Ramsay has a great recipe for bread pudding).

I'm going to have another cup of chili. Household, beware!

Pamela

Save Some Trees

One tree produces about 8,333 pieces of paper (sources: Dartmouth and Conserveatree).
Many businesses are reducing paper usage through Document Management Systems like those offered by Perceptive Software, EMC Documentation, Perceptive's ImageNow, FileHold, and so on.

Consider a happy, green environment - you can use document management to capture and warehouse most if not all of your personal and business documents and save time and money through reduction of paper, toner, equipment, rework, delay, lost documents, filing and retrieving, it's a long list.

Check out Google Docs, too. They even have Optical Character Recognition (OCR)now, where you can turn a scanned image or pdf into data. 

Save money + Save time + Save trees = Better World. 

Do it!

Email or tweet me if you want more links or some help finding good resources.

Is It Time for a Shock Collar?

A person who chooses to use a shock collar for a pet should consider getting another one for him/herself and or one's spouse. Go ahead, try it - you can zap them if they yell at you or leave their socks on the floor. Really, if you're going to expose one member of the family to one, why not the rest? Maybe the kids next?

I was mortified to learn that people actually use electrical shock to control their animals. Oh, the marketers and those who buy into the idea say, "It's just a small shock, only a deterrent! It keeps the dog from running in the road or getting poisoned by a disgruntled neighbor tired of being awakened by barking. It doesn't hurt the dog, we would never hurt our pet!"

Baloney!

You wear a shock collar all day - give the control to one of your kids, your spouse, boss, employees, perhaps your ex - and see what you think afterwards.

A better, happier world doesn't have to be confined to the human population. In fact, I'll warrant that by choosing a better, happier path for your pets, the environment, any part of the world around us - especially the living who cannot speak for themselves - makes the world a better place for you.

Perhaps you have a dog that bites or becomes vicious. I can understand trying everything to ensure that the dog does no harm. No shock collar is going to stop a powerful dog when it gets into a red zone, fixated on attacking.

1. Invest in a one-on-one session with a good, reputable trainer. Even one hour will pay for itself throughout the dog's lifetime. I know. I've done it.
2. Get formal obedience training. Keep in mind that it's the humans who need the training on how to handle the dog and teach it desirable behaviors. The dog is going to behave as a result of the manner by which you train it. Think about it. The same dog, if it could be raised by two people simultaneously, could turn out to be a vicious biter in one environment and a cuddly marshmallow in another. It's the people, not the pet.
3. Watch It's Me or the Dog, and learn more about Victoria Stilwell's techniques. She's a genius, and she provides to you FREE the benefit of her TV show (from which I've learned the most) podcasts, and some advice on her website. Even if you were to spend money to purchase one of her Books
   or DVD's of her show
4. I am a huge fan of Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer). He has a heck of a life story
   that is well worth reading, too.
   Before you adopt his methods, however, be fully aware that even the television show recommends that the some of his techniques not be used without a qualified professional involved, if at all. Cesar uses a dominant approach that requires incredible knowledge about dog and breed psychology, seemingly uncanny awareness: the ability to read the direction a dog's mind will or could take far in advance, advanced martial arts level anger and anxiety control, plus unquestionable confidence and experience in all of the above. I recommend using Cesar's advice about walking and exercising your pet, etc., but based on experience, I do not recommend that you attempt to make a dog submit using the "hand bite" technique, for example. If you err here and read a frightened dog as aggressive, you can do damage to yourself and the dog. If you want to use Cesar's techniques, either connect directly with Cesar or find a trainer he personally recommends.

Have a Happy Dog, and help make the world a happier place!

Lucky Lattes

Getting to work is almost always a stressful experience for me. I like mornings, but from the moment I get up, I'm fixated on time and time per task. Doing dishes reduces hairdrying to 5 minutes, taking the trash out means a trip back for hand washing - another 5 minutes, etc.

I love it when there is an extra 15 minutes to make coffee. I use a French press with 8 O'Clock Coffee and a spoonful of cocoa powder, stir in boiled water that has cooled for about 2-3 minutes, steep 4 minutes, then pour. If you decide to try it, don't let the price fool you: 8 O'Clock Coffee is not very expensive, you can get it at most grocery stores, and it's just plain good. 

Sometimes you really get more value at a lower price point, and that's a nice thing. Hmmm... I wonder if that counts as a Purple Cow...

Anyway, the other morning I was so pleased to get everything together and not feel over rushed. I took out the last bit of trash, made my lattes, cleaned up, packed up the brownies I'd made for the office potluck, and got moving nice an early – on a Monday! As I carefully placed the brownies on the passenger's seat, I got that little feeling that I was forgetting something. I've learned to pay attention (apparently not enough) to that little discomfort and stop to double checking. Hmmm. Well, whatever it was, I concluded it wasn't significant enough to spend more time on, so I went on my merry way.

About ½ mile down the road, I heard a cathunk! on the roof of my car. 

What the heck? I LOVE my car, and I was imagining something denting the roof, had a momentary fear that I hit a tree limb… and then I thought, OH....

I pulled over and got out. Sure enough: highly significant forgotten items! There were my two very important homemade lattes in their lidded mugs on the roof right where I had put them while packing up the car. One mug had tipped over, and the other was upright, still holding the fort. Both were still full. I grinned, plucked them off the roof, put them carefully in their proper holders, and drove off with a smile. What a lucky day!

 

Good luck must surely be in the air, so I hope you are able to reach out and pluck it!

Be happy,

Pamela