Wake Up and Dream Catalyst: Short inspirational thoughts for the day. Raising questions & hopefully opening a dialogue with people interested in learning how to turn their dreams into plans and start navigating their way towards them.
Thought for the Day: Over the last month, I have been celebrating the blog's 2nd birthday. I've posted the Reader's choices of the Top 10 posts in the various categories based on the number of page views. Today is the last of the Top Posts in #FF Friday's Fabulous Finds from 3013. Don't miss the #1 post if you did not see it before, the Stem Cell Rapper is well worth viewing! When 2014 began there were almost 80,000 page views over the course of 2 years. Today there are 85,600 page views. Thank you for reading, sharing & commenting on the blog!
I had intended to just post the Top 5 #FF Posts today, but yesterday decided to run my first Voting Contest to have you help choose the best image from this blog last year (from 20 top images). One lucky participant will win a free 1/2 hour phone consult with me and a paperback version of my best selling Kindle book, The Wake Up and Dream Challenge. Click this link to enter from now till February 12th. It is easy and will only take a couple minutes of your time.
I was also interviewed on SportsPsych101. Now you can listen to the podcast at your convenience. Ep.052 - Sports Psych 101 feat. Dr. Barbara Lavi Hear: How are sports good for children?; How parents influence their kids sports aspirations; Overbearing parents in sports; Team vs Individual sports as confidence builders for kids; How baby boomers changed physical fitness; How advertising affects our diets & how to counter those effects; How to achieve your goals in sports & life; The difference between DQ and IQ; & How Dream Positioning can help overcome roadblocks.
Thought for the Day: I love the internet. It exposes me to new things
every day. This week was no exception. My #FF Friday's Fabulous Finds
this week include: two videos about a Professor, I happen to know personally, from Tufts Medical School who uses Rap to teach students about stem cell research, a world wide Valentine's Day Dance with Jane Fonda
leading the way to stop violence against women, questions to facilitate communication with your children
& an article with questions a five year old might ask their
working mother about juggling work & motherhood.
1) My first Fabulous Find was a video, http://bcove.me/ip2g48yb, from The Boston Globe about Jonathan Garlick, A Tufts University professor who uses Rap music to teach students about stem cell research. I've met Jonathan socially several times while in Boston & never suspected his hidden talents. The 60 year old professor has earned a reputation with his students as the Stem Cell Rapper. I have included not only the Boston Globe article, but an earlier YouTube video (above) that went viral. He is an educator who is literally breaking down a difficult subject & communicating his message about the importance of stem cell research to young people in a way that they will remember.
2) My second Fabulous Find for the week brings together multiple areas of interest for me. I have been a fan of Jane Fonda for many years. Her acting skills, outspoken ability to speak her mind even when her beliefs are unpopular, candid sharing of her personal problems & support for feminine causes are some of my reasons for respecting her. I have heard her speak twice & spoke with her briefly each time. The first time, I learned about her early painful years in Connecticut. I had not known that Ms. Fonda spent years in therapy trying to make sense of her mother's suicide when Jane was just a toddler. I also heard how years after Jane had taken on the cause of helping women victimized by rape, that she learned that her mother had been raped. So I was hooked when I saw that Jane Fonda was sponsoring this massive event: V Day Until the Violence Stops, http://janefonda.com/one-billion-rising/#.URK3X2P3hF0.facebook. But my excitement did not stop there. The event involves another of my passions, dancing, to help promote the cause. They call it One Billion Rising / Strike / Dance / Rise! Events are happening around the world & anyone (including men who care about their mothers, daughters & wives) can join in the world wide flashmob experience. Take a look, find an event over Valentine's week near where you live & join the movement!
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3) I discovered my third find on Google+. This blog post by +Stefanie Mullen suggests 10 questions a week for Table Talk with your children: http://www.ooph.com/table-talk/table-talk-family-dinner-questions-week-37/#. This week's post is number 37, but you can check previous weeks. On the blog you will find great ideas for conversation starters with your kids like: 8. If I had to dance or sing in front of your friends, which would be less embarrassing for you? or 10. If I gave you one rule free day, which rule would you most be excited to be free of? It's never too early to start speaking with your kids about all kinds of topics so that they will feel comfortable speaking with you as they enter the tough teen years.
