Quote of the Day: “Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities crept in. Forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The Lesson: If you are unable to connect with the people in your workplace, you may never be able to improve a workplace. So how is it that you’re supposed to connect with people? Some of the big ideas that is explored in this podcast include how to optimize our ability to connect (practice with the little moments!), The Pygmalion Effect (aka the self-fulfilling prophecy), the importance of centering for conflict resolution, and how our addiction to digital devices is leading to troubles in connecting and what to do about it.
Notable Book Excerpt: “The first rule of conflict management is don’t make it worse. So if you’re not gonna make it worse and you want to make it better, you have to connect … the relationship and the empathy transforms everything and that is especially important in the face of conflict. And you’ll never be able to do it in the face of conflict if you don’t practice it before there’s a conflict. So if you want to come up with solutions and you want to be creative, connect first with yourself and then with the people you’re interacting with – and this applies just as much to your children, your life partner, your friends, and certainly in the workplace.”
The Guest: Michael Gelb is one of the world’s leading creativity teachers. He’s also a qi gong and aikido master who teaches us the art of creating connection; a best-selling author and keynote speaker; and he is the founder of The High Performance Learning Center, a firm specializing in consulting and training for organizations interested in developing more innovative cultures.
The Host: Brian Johnson is a philosopher and founder of Optimize.me, a website, app, and free video series that help people to optimize their lives so they can be their best selves. He studies self-improvement books, then breaks them down into bite-sized chunks and ‘Philosopher‘s Notes’ for busy people who want ‘more wisdom in less time’. He also offers Optimal Living classes and online training for your Hero’s Journey.
Podcast: Brian’s podcast, OPTIMIZE with Brian Johnson, features the best Big Ideas from the best optimal living books. More wisdom in less time (between 4-19 minutes each) to help you live your greatest life – and they are available on Stitcher, iTunes, and Podbean.
Books: Michael Gelb is the author of the national bestseller “How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci” and “The Art of Connection: 7 Relationship-Building Skills Every Leader Needs Now”.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below) – Photo by Virgo Group, CC
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Ralph Giles is being hailed as a hero after his quick-thinking helped him to save two automobile passengers who were trapped by a burning car.
During the wee hours of a February morning in Addison Township, Michigan, a Ford Fiesta was hit head-on by a Ford Edge SUV that had drifted over the center line of the road.
Meanwhile, Ralph and Doris Giles were driving home from an event in their Jeep Wrangler when they spotted the collision. Doris dialed 911 while Ralph attempted to help the Fiesta passengers out of the car.
To his dismay, the doors would not open. Ralph then decided to move his Jeep out of the way of the road – but as he was doing this, a LeSabre that had been driving through the darkness collided with the Fiesta and pushed it into the Edge, causing the SUV’s engine to catch fire.
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Giles knew he had to act fast in order to save the people trapped in the Fiesta, so he hopped back into his Jeep, turned on the 4-wheel drive setting, and drove it into the SUV so he could push it away from the other two cars.
“I still have no idea where that [thought] came from,” Gilles told the Oxford Leader. “The only thing I can remember thinking [is] I’ve got a Jeep, it’s got a bumper on it, I think I can do this. All I could think about were the two people still inside the other car.”
“I figured the fire department would take a while to get there … at that time of day. I had to do something fast,” he continued.
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First responders eventually arrived on the scene and transported the Fiesta passengers to nearby hospitals. They also called Giles a hero for his quick actions – although, he disagrees.
“I am NOT a hero. I think most people would have tried to help somehow,” Ralph wrote on Instagram.“What ultimately turned out to be a 2-hour ordeal for us as we filled out police reports gave us a unique view of the whole process. It made us appreciate the true heroes; the first responders, firemen/women, EMS and police who deal with this stuff everyday day.”
(WATCH a clip of the crash scene below)
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It’s been five long years since this basketball player last saw his mom in his home country – so when his coaches flew her out to America for a surprise visit, he could not contain his emotions.
Norbertas Giga is a senior forward for the Jacksonville State Gamecocks who moved from Lithuania to the United States in 2013 so he could play basketball. That was the last time he saw his family.
In preparation for the 2018 Ohio Valley Championships, Giga was staying at a hotel in Evansville, Indiana when his coaches called him into a conference room and told him that they wanted him to watch a movie.
WATCH: Bus Driver’s “Ecstatic” Reaction to Students Surprising Him With Super Bowl Tickets
But instead of playing a film, Giga’s mother walked in.
Overcome with emotion, Giga bursts into tears before hugging his beloved mom.
Giga tweeted: “A HUGE thank you to everybody that was involved in this surprise for me. I can’t even explain how much it means and how this moment feels to me. THANK YOU!”
(WATCH the video below)
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This vaccine has had such a staggering amount of success in Australia, experts believe that it may become the first country to eliminate cervical cancer.
The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection rate, which is shown to cause 99.9% of all cervical cancer, fell from 22.7% of young Australian women to 1.1%.
The findings were recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, much to the excitement of the medical community.
Researchers at the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) released a statement on Sunday saying that they believe Australia will become the first country in the world to defeat HPV and cervical cancer.
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Professor Suzanne Garland from the Royal Women’s Hospital and University of Melbourne said: “We are forecasting that over the next 30-40 years, rates of cervical cancer will drop from around the current 1,000 cases a year in Australia to just a few.
“Our national HPV immunization program for both boys and girls, combined with our cervical cancer population screening, means we are well positioned to be the first country to effectively end this deadly cancer,” she added.
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Australian actress Nicole Kidman was on her way to get dressed up for the 90th Oscars ceremony when she decided to surprise a bus full of tourists.
The breathtaking movie star, who starred in such films as Moulin Rouge! and Eyes Wide Shut, was in the back seat of a car when she pulled up next to the tourists.
Instead of hiding behind tinted windows, she rolled down the window, poked her head out, and greeted the sightseers.
The women on the bus can be heard gasping in surprise before Kidman cheekily asks: “What are you doing on that bus?”
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One woman can be heard saying “This is my dream come true!” while another person said “I loved you in ‘The Hours’”.
Two more people say “You’re so beautiful in person, I love you” and “You’re gorgeous!”
Kidman, with her blonde hair casually pulled back in a ponytail, mentions that she had not yet done her hair and makeup for the Academy Awards. She then says that she hopes the tourists will have a good time before blowing them some kisses and waving goodbye.
(WATCH the video below)
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Quote of the Day: “The ultimate lesson all of us have to learn is unconditional love, which includes not only others but ourselves as well.” – Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Photo: by Henry Player, CC – Flickr
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The government of Canada has followed through on their promise to give youngsters free access to all of their national parks.
New budget reforms will permanently give free admission to any youth aged 17 or younger into more than 40 national parks and reserves.
“This budget recognizes something that every Canadian understands: that our quality of life, and our present and our future prosperity, is deeply connected to the environment in which we live,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in a speech on Tuesday.
Free admission for everyone was a popular benefit doled out throughout 2017, celebrating Canada’s 150th anniversary last year.
“The extraordinary beauty of Canada’s nature, parks, and wild spaces – these are central to our identity as Canadians.”
Young visitors will still be required to pay the normal camping fees, however.
Pass On The Positivity, Eh? Click To Share With Your Friends (Photo by Parks Canada Youth Ambassador Program)
How good are you in a crisis? This woman didn’t stop to consider her own safety, but marched straight to the rescue—of a stranger’s dog.
Ben West was out for a snowy stroll in the park when disaster struck. Luckily, this good Samaritan was nearby.
According to several dramatic videos uploaded by West to Instagram, he had been taking his dog for a walk around Trout Lake in Eastern Vancouver when another dog wandered onto the frozen surface.
Suddenly, the meandering pup fell through the surface of the ice and into the lake.
As pedestrians panicked and tried to call the dog and coax him to crawl back out of the water, one woman simply started breaking the ice with her hands and making her way out to the struggling canine.
“People were kind-of cautioning her — ‘Don’t do it,’” West told the CBC. But all she said was, “It’s a dog, I have to.”
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In full winter garb that became soaked and heavy, when she finally reached the animal, she was waiste-deep. She then pulled the pup back towards the shore through the watery path that she had just created.
Onlookers had already called paramedics to the scene where they were waiting with warm blankets.
West said he wasn’t able to get the woman’s name, but she was reportedly remarkably calm throughout the whole incident.
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The dog, after being toweled off, was back to playing with the other pups at the park without any signs of injury or stress from the life-threatening accident.
“I was just in shock—and really amazed at this woman’s heroic instinct to go do this thing,” added West. “It wasn’t even her dog.”
(WATCH the nerve-wracking video below)
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A video of an Alabama Walmart employee is going viral.
Sabrina Barnes, a worker at the Trussville, Alabama location, was asked to sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” at the store’s ribbon-cutting for their new Walmart Pickup service last week. And, the moving rendition was conjured with more meaning than anyone could have guessed.
“One of our assistant managers knew that I could sing, so he asked if I’d do it,” she said, although she hadn’t sung that song since her middle school talent show.
“I started to cry when I sang it. The song has more meaning to me now, because my son recently joined the military and just left for basic training.”
“I didn’t get to see him off because I had the flu. And all of this happened on my birthday!”
WATCH: Little Girl’s Dancing Goes Viral as She Steals the Show From Her Choir
Her emotional week doesn’t end there, either; she also became a grandmother on Wednesday after her son’s wife gave birth to a baby girl.
That said, don’t expect Sabrina to shy away from further challenges. She says she is going to compete for a spot in the Walmart Talent Show, with hopes to perform at the company’s shareholders meeting in June. And then?
“I’d love to try out for ‘The Voice.’ I was supposed to do it before, but I lost my voice. I can’t wait to try again!”
(WATCH the video below)
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Quote of the Day: “Patience is not an absence of action; rather, it is timing; it waits on the right time to act… in the right way.” – Fulton J. Sheen
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
The human brain truly is a marvel of anatomy; it functions much like the main processor of a computer, sorting through vast amounts of data, making decisions, prioritizing, utilizing information.
But despite its incredible capabilities – such as creating everything from roller coasters to nuclear weapons – our brains can become overloaded; especially in today’s technologically driven world where our devices continuously wash us with a steady stream of facts and information.
Don’t get me wrong – I love my android and my laptop! In many ways, they make my life easier and they respond instantly to my brain’s queries. Our Western culture supports this need to be constantly connected and informed.
But sometimes, I just want to unplug; I just want to stop the tsunami of yet more information. And I know exactly where to look for a role model to help me do that.
Yup – dogs!
Dogs have the innate, wonderful gift of keeping it simple. They remind me of my childhood, a time when I was blissfully unaware of protocol, of wearing lipstick in public, and ensuring that my clothes were neatly ironed and lint-free.
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For me, dogs are ignorantly innocent hedonists. When they see a cozy sun spot on the rug, they stretch luxuriantly and meander over to lie down for a nap, basking in its warmth and softness. Itchy back? They flop over and wriggle around with their legs flailing wildly till the itch is gone. Great smell in the backyard? Dig and dig some more and unearth that magical scent! Time for a snack? Saunter up to the nearest human who has access to food and look up beguilingly with eyes wide and beseeching. If dogs need to yawn or burp or fart, they just do it unapologetically.
And, if dogs want some attention or love from us, they just ask for it. Probably more than anything, their ability to ask for (and give) love is the most endearing quality about dogs. They don’t keep a mental tally of whose “turn” it is to be affectionate; they have no hidden emotional agendas; they don’t use innuendo or implication. They are forthright and clear in their expression of affection. And, they express their love and adoration often throughout the day.
It didn’t matter whether I was gone for twenty minutes or for two hours; when I came home, my dog Nora always did her “whirley dance” at the door. She bounced around exuberantly with her eyes bright and a big smile on her face – I was back!! How could I not smile? Whatever I had experienced when I’d been out dissolved away. There was my beautiful, sweet pup welcoming me home, so delighted to see me again. Each time she danced her welcome dance, I was reminded of what was really important. That she loved me, that I loved her, that we were a family.
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Take a minute or two to imagine our world as a place where all people felt loved and expressed love freely. What would that be like?
Would war cease to happen? Would anyone ever go hungry again? Would prejudice vanish? Would we ever be afraid of not having enough again? Could our fears of not being enough simply disappear? Would our feelings of loneliness, frustration, depression and anger fall by the wayside? Hmmm, sounds like a possibility to me!
Longer than any other domesticated animal, we humans have lived with dogs. Researchers place our co-habitation at a minimum of 15,000 years and on the far end, up to 30,000 years. Either way, it’s been a long time.
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We put them to work; they herded for us, they pulled carts, they guarded our land. They gave us their all and asked for little in return. In time, the role of dogs shifted and today they are our companions.
I believe they are also our teachers; that they can be vital role models for us. They remind us to cut to the chase, to figure out what our priorities are. They help us to simplify, to pare down our lives to those parts that really matter, mentally, emotionally and materially. Dogs are emotionally forthright and honest; they ask for what they want and they give back without restraint. Current research tells us that yes, they do have a variety of emotions, but we can see that their feelings are pretty transparent and direct. Dogs take care of their own needs whenever possible and when not possible, they just ask for help. They know when to run and chase, and when it’s time to take a nap or admire a beautiful view.
Maybe that’s why dogs don’t need to live very long. Maybe they’ve got the most important stuff figured out and they see their current job as helping us to get it too.
That’s what I believe.
Deborah Dobson is a dog behaviorist, professional pet sitter, and (obviously) a dog lover who can be contacted by email at [email protected].
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Rome was given a rare treat from the heavens this week when they were hit with between 2 to 6 inches of snow on Monday.
The last time that it snowed in the Italian city was six years ago.
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Despite not being equipped for the unusual weather, city officials say that Rome has faired quite well.
Vatican workers even took a break from serving God to delight in the wintery phenomenon and throw some snowballs.
One excited civil servant described the snowfall as “a spectacle—enchanting, surreal.”
(WATCH the video below)
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Canadian residents are becoming more and more excited over the construction of a new village in British Columbia.
This isn’t just any village, however – it is a place specifically designed for seniors suffering from dementia.
The community, which will simply be called The Village, will host a few dozen cottages and shared living spaces for up to 72 dementia patients.
Construction workers started building The Village in Langley earlier this week. Elroy Jespersen, who is the vice-president of special projects at Verve Senior Living and the mastermind behind the Village, told CTV News that he wanted dementia patients to feel the same amount of independence as their able-bodied counterparts. The Village will give them a controlled space in which to live their lives, free of the stressful feeling of always “running into a locked door”.
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He told CTV: “We believe that it’s really important for people to be connected to nature and life and the outdoors.”
The initiative draws inspiration from Hogeweyk, a similarly-designed community in the Netherlands that was declared the world’s first village for dementia patients. The compound features everything from supermarkets and stores, to restaurants and gardens.
While The Village currently is being developed through private funding, and will be completed by spring of next year, its organizers hope that the government will eventually assist with some of the resident’s costs.
Don’t Forget To Share The News With Your Friends: Click To Share (Photo by The Village)
How often does a teenage street fighter — four times expelled from school — turn his life around and start giving the love he never got as a kid?
[You can also listen to “The Good News Guru” tell this story on the Ellen K. radio show.)
Brian Ortega grew up in LA with 13 brothers and sisters, yet had no champions in his corner—but that’s not the case anymore.
The one thing “falling in with a bad crowd” did for Ortega is inspire his purpose. Because he loved to fight, he was drawn, at 13, to the famed Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy. He asked the owners if he could clean the mats, wash towels, help in any way possible, in exchange for lessons in the Brazilian martial art. Later he found a pair of mentors and started training in MMA.
While some athletes have fancy facilities and high-tech equipment, Ortega wanted to show the world that he could make it happen from a tiny one-car garage. And, show the world he did.
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But the best part about this young man is his love of giving back.
“I want to be the person who stands for the people that need help,” he says in the inspiring video below.
For ten years, he’s made an impact in his community, volunteering to give surfing experiences to kids with cystic fibrosis, and going on a nationwide tour of children’s hospitals.
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Even though he has earned well over a hundred thousand dollars, the 27-year-old is still driving a 20-year-old car without heat or air conditioning. He did, however, just spend $20,000 to set up the charitable Brian Ortega Foundation.
He recently received the Hispanic Athlete of the Year Award and, thanks to his unrelenting hard work, the UFC Championship Title is in his sights. Currently undefeated at 14-0, having beaten second-ranked former champion Frankie Edgar on Saturday in Las Vegas, he will soon compete to become the world featherweight UFC champion.
“I was down and out, but was lucky enough to have good people come into my life — I want to do that for kids who are at risk of going down the wrong path and help steer their energy into something positive,” says the fighter.
(WATCH him discuss love and giving back in the video below)
Power Up With Positivity: Click To Share With Your Friends
Quote of the Day: “Sorrow looks back; Fear looks forward; Faith looks up.” – Irish proverb
Photo: by Mark Stevens, Flickr, CC
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
Raised on the hard streets of LA, Brian Ortega now wants to use the fruits of his hard work to help others—and he’s fighting for the chance to win the UFC title. Hear The Good News Guru tell the inspiring story.
READ more and see the video on GNN…
The Lesson: Is your body trying to tell you something as you sleep? This Harvard psychologist confirms what people have always known; answers, ideas, and inspiration can come while we sleep. Dr. Deirdre Barrett has spent her career studying the science of dreaming and has some compelling insights on how you can first remember your dreams, then make them work for you.
Notable Excerpt: “First of all, I think [dreams are] naturally already working for us to a certain extent without us having to have any very specific intent about that. In my work … I went around interviewing experts in all fields about whether they ever had had a dream that was useful and the majority of the examples I collected were completely spontaneous. The narrative would often be, ‘You know, I never paid much attention to my dreams until I was working on this chemistry problem that I just couldn’t solve and then one night, I had this dream where dream solved it.’ People who aren’t particularly paying attention to their dreams can sometimes have breakthrough dreams. I think it happens a lot more in cultures that explicitly teach that dreams may be useful for practical things, because I think some of the problem-solving dreams are so obvious that when you wake up, it’s just you remember being told exactly the literal answer to this problem.”
The Speaker: Dr. Deirdre Barrett, PhD, is a psychologist who teaches at Harvard Medical School and specializes in the study of dreams. Barrett has written a few books about human behavior and the science of sleep, such as “The Committee of Sleep: How Artists, Scientists, and Athletes Use Dreams for Creative Problem Solving––and How You Can Too”.
The Host: Dave Asprey, the CEO and Founder of Bulletproof, is a biohacker (changing his environment from the inside-out to have full control of his biology). For nearly two decades, he’s been questioning the status quo of nutrition and medicine so he could feel better—and have more energy in his 40s than he had in his 20s. Join more than 1 million biohackers who follow Bulletproof for leading-edge information on how to supercharge your body and upgrade your brain.
Books: Asprey is the author of “The Bulletproof Diet” – a guide on how to feel more energized and lose weight – and “Head Strong: The Bulletproof Plan to Activate Untapped Brain Energy to Work Smarter and Think Faster-in Just Two Weeks”.
Podcast: The Bulletproof podcast is available on PodcastOne, iTunes, Stitcher, and YouTube.
(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below or read the transcript here)
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As a means of pushing their company towards sustainability, LEGO has just announced that they will soon be selling bricks made from plant-based plastic.
The natural polyethylene plastic, which is sourced from sugar cane, will be used for a line of botanical-themed LEGO pieces that will be included in box sets later this year. While they aren’t completely biodegradable, they are much more recyclable than their crude oil counterparts. Plus, the sugarcane used for the polyethylene is sustainably sourced.
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The initiative is part of the Danish toy company’s goal of achieving 100% sustainability by 2030.
Tim Brooks, the firm’s vice-president of environmental responsibility, said: “This is a great first step in our ambitious commitment of making all Lego bricks using sustainable materials.”
Build Up Some Positivity: Click To Share (Photo by LEGO)
Humans are capable of extraordinary things – such as piercing a pane of glass with a needle.
The hosts of The Super Slow Show on Youtube traveled to China so they could film such an astonishing feat of skill performed by Shaolin Master Feng Fei.
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The camera filming the throw was able to slow the footage down to 28,500 frames per second – and the result is incredible.
If you want to skip the details, just fast forward to about two minutes into the video for the throw.
(WATCH the video below)
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