I saw a great tweet on twitter the other day: “You may regret helping a specific person, but you’ll never regret being a helpful person.”
~ http://twitter.com/sethsimonds Read the rest of this entry »

So I’ve been considering long and hard what I’m going to buy and what I’m going to give on 3/17.  Really, as I’ve pointed out before, you could do this ANY day. Just 3/17 sounded like a fun day for a goal.  So if you’re doing something another day feel free to post that too.

Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what I can buy and what I can give that’ll make a difference.  I haven’t decided yet what to BUY, but I think I’m going to donate my time fixing up some old computers, and training some ladies who’ve never had one.  And also give up some of my cuter clothes that will be un-cute by the time I can wear them again.

What are you going to do?  Or what might you do? Let’s brainstorm a bit, if you don’t mind humoring me, and let’s come up with some good ideas!

I’m so glad we’re not the only ones rejecting the gloom and DOING something about the economy!  Who wants cupcakes?

Kerry Patterson told a bizarre story of a family that didn’t own a fridge, was given one, but then sold it so they could go to disneyland.  Unfortunately, the live for today and let tomorrow deal with itself attitude is prevalent among all walks of life right now.  Consider all the ‘bubbles’ that have burst over the last few years.  It’s like we’re taking that dear goose who lays golden eggs and bludgeoning her near to death, and the moment she starts to recover, we do it again.

I would like to suggest that when you give something away on March 17th, it’s something you really don’t need.  I don’t want you to be concerned as to whether the recipient will do what you want them to.  Although I hope they’d make good use of it, part of the good that comes from giving away what you don’t need is in realizing how much you have.

But then when it comes to the item you’ll be purchasing, try to think of something that is going to keep giving back.  An investment of a sort.  I said tube socks earlier.  New tube socks, if they inspire you to work out more often, are an investment in your health.   Weigh out your priorities and try to be sure you’re going with something that can make a long term difference to you.

Take an inventory of what you have and don’t need.  For many of us, even those of us who consider ourselves poor, this is an absolutely shocking amount of stuff. Read the rest of this entry »

That’s the question I run into most.  “So what if forty people, or even four hundred people buy something they need and can afford, and give away something they don’t?  It’s not like it’s going to make a difference.”

I’m not delusional. I know this isn’t going to solve all our problems and change the world. The fact is, you don’t have to change the world to make a difference. Read the rest of this entry »

Tired of waiting for Washington to patch up the economic mess we’re in?   I am too.  Everywhere I turn, I see or hear about Washington’s plans to ’save’ businesses, industries, communities, and the economy in general.

But guess what?  As much as it seems we’d want to believe it, Washington isn’t exactly full of superheros. I’d dare say it’s got its share of villains, but even they don’t have superpowers.  So why are we looking to THEM to make or break us?  Washington  can’t save everyone.  So let’s save ourselves. Read the rest of this entry »