Motivational Mondays: Do You Have What It Takes To Become a Superhero?

*Photo Credit

Thought for the Day: This weekend I was fortunate to overhear a conversation between three teenage boys. They were discussing the benefits of having different super powers. They were trying to decide which super power was the most beneficial. The influx of movies about super heroes like, Superman, Man of Steel, The Amazing Spiderman & Iron Man 3, prompted the discussion. If you could choose any super power, what would it be? The question prompted me to think about what I would want & I realized I already had created my "super power," but I need your help to make it work!

Personally, the concept of having endless physical strength or the ability to fly or climb tall buildings does little for me, although I must admit that being able to fly without paying the cost of airfare or having to wait at airports is appealing! The ability to make a difference in the world to help others is  what makes a superhero in my eyes. When I wrote my book, helping others accomplish their dreams, from wildest dreams to the simplest ones, was my objective. Having discovered & created techniques that enabled people to reach their dreams while working as a psychologist was what motivated me to write & self publish my book, The Wake Up and Dream Challenge.

After I thought I had completed the book, I realized that I wanted to do more. That was when I decided to feature 21 nonprofit organizations in the book that help people accomplish their dreams. These organizations & their founders are real superheroes. They do things like rehabilitate wounded warriors, Higher Ground, rebuild communities after hurricanes & other disasters, New York Says Thank You, fight prejudice, Eliminate Prejudice & teach blind athletes to compete in judo, the Blind Judo Foundation, to name just a few.  Their stories offer examples of ways to help people accomplish their dreams at any age regardless of their physical, emotional or financial handicaps.

If you want, you too can become a superhero, you can. By purchasing the book you can help one of these organizations help others while learning how to accomplish your own dreams.  I hope you will take the time to read about the nonprofit organizations on my website before purchasing a copy of the book on Amazon.com. Then, when you purchase a copy you can donate half of the profits to a specific nonprofit & become a superhero. Thanks in advance for taking the time & for your help!


* Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob_react/6028293726/">Rob React</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

#FF Friday's Fabulous Finds: Easy Activism, NPO Helps Other NPO's, Marathon Winners, Operation Beautiful

Thought for the Day: This week has been an exciting week for me. I have not had time to reflect & write about my trip to Washington DC yet. As a psychologist, the parallels between the issues related to bullying & the gun lobby in Washington are ironic. On Monday, I plan to write about my observations of this phenomenon. In the meantime, my 1st Fab find gives some easy ways that you can get involved & help Moms Demand Action. Even if you have never been politically active before check it out. On twitter, I found an innovative nonprofit organization that offers support to other nonprofit organizations. In these rough financial times, their support will be a welcome service. If you know an NPO that could use some help, pass this information on. My third find is a story about a father who is facing the challenge of brain cancer by running marathons with his 5 year old daughter. Finally, I found it refreshing to see teen age girls encouraging their peers to go makeup free. Have a great weekend & enjoy these finds! I hope you will come back on Saturday for Saturday's Songs for the Soul & Sunday's Comic Strips & on Monday for Motivational Mondays. -->

I am honored to be standing behind Nancy Pelosi

1) Moms Demand Action is the main page of this grassroots revolution that has grown from one mom's web page to 80,000 members & 80 chapters across the USA since 12/14/2012. On this page they have several short videos including one showing how to make phone call to your congressmen & phone numbers of some senators who have voted against the current legislation.

     In addition they have an amazing page that includes easy click & tweet options to let your elected officials know you want them to support the anti-gun legislation being voted on now in the senate & tweets to let the world know the facts about gun violence in America

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2) Kerstner Foundation offers free websites& other services for Nonprofits.

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3) An truly inspiring story of true marathon winners. A father running for his life & making sure his 5 year old daughter knows her father's legacy first hand.

  

4) How some teenage girls from Texas are encouraging their peers be themselves & to go Make Up Free: Operation Beautiful.

 
 
 

Would You Stop Running a Race to Help a Competitor?

Seth Goldstein, Last Place Winner

Thought for the day: What would you do? Would you stop & help a competitor while running a race or run on like the rest of the pack? Are we running past people in need without even realizing it?

Today, I saw a story about a 17 year old Tennessee High School senior, Seth Goldstein, (pictured above) who was running a cross country race when he saw another competitor drop to the ground. He was the only runner in the race to stop to help the student from another high school. He called his parents & had them dial 911. He kept his wits when he saw that the boy was bleeding from the mouth & turned him on his side so that he would not choke on the blood. When the runner began to have a seizure he held him, told him he would be all right & reassured him that help was on the way. After the paramedics came, he stayed till he was sure the boy was all right. Then he asked if he could complete the race. The paramedics had not even realized that the young man was in the middle of a competition. He came in last, but he in my mind is the real winner of the race.

We all would like to think that we would stop & help someone in a similar situation, but don't really know until a situation arises. As I thought about this incident, other less obvious situations came to mind. Several of my posts have addressed the psychology of bullying & bi-standers who do not step forward to help someone being bullied, even when they disapprove. Our lives at times become like races. We run from place to place, taking care of work and family obligations. In this day & age, when people are anxious about their jobs or unemployed, the race becomes even more hectic. As we run the race of life, do we sometimes pass by those in need of assistance? When we hear about a charity or a worthy cause, do we feel too poor or too busy, with our own troubles to help someone with greater needs than our own. Working with the nonprofit organizations featured in my book and others I have been supporting since writing my book, I know that many nonprofit organizations are struggling to raise funds in these tough economic times.

Over the past few months, I have written about some of these amazing organizations that help people reach for their dreams. Most recently, I posted "It Takes A Cell Phone To Raise a Child," a call to register your cell phone to help keep children, disabled & elderly citizens safe from harm when they go missing. A Child Is Missing has facilitated the safe return of over 1,000 missing people. It does not cost a penny, just some time to give them your number. Did you stop your race to register your cell phone? In another post I raised the question of whether social media is leading to social inaction. Another post talks about two organizations using dolls as therapeutic tools for homeless children & children struggling with Cancer.  In another post I wrote about, Simon's Fund, another organization featured in & benefiting from my book, helps screen children for otherwise invisible heart conditions that can be life threatening if they are not detected. Voices Against Brain Cancer is working to try to end a disease that is taking so many people. My list goes on & there are many others.

I hope you will be inspired by Seth's selfless act of caring for someone in need & stop to take some time to read about these organizations & find a way to help them. If you can't afford to donate money, donate some time. I am building teams of volunteer interns to help. Let me know if you would like to help with social media or other activities.