Valuable Gems-Shining A Light On Life Changing Non Profit Organizations

Have you ever met an individual that is so rare and special that you could compare them to a valuable gem?  Let me tell you about such a person, Jessica Angelique, who has a passionate mission in life to shine a light on life changing non for profit organizations.  Jessica has had an interesting life full of ups and downs and because of that she has dedicated her life to making the world a better place.  Her heart has been drawn to organizations that help build people up and educate them; which allows them to positively impact the world for the better.  She is in need of help to continue to expand her ability to impact the world by educating them through a wonderful opportunity called the Pepsi Refresh Project.

Pepsi is offering up an opportunity to win a $250,000 grant to those who win the most votes in their category.  Jessica Angelique is the creator and executive director of Definitive Voices.   She is also an author who has written of her life’s journey; navigating through the challenging foster care system into a positive, purpose filled adulthood.   She uses her voice to empower people and organizations to be aware and proactive in their communities to build up those in need.

Through Definitive Voices Jessica uses social media to shine a light on individuals and organizations that are doing their best to help people improve the world through education, awareness, and hands on action that is changing the lives of those they encounter.  Jessica needs your help by getting you to go to this link and vote for her Definitive Voices so that she can expand her ability to positively impact the lives of others.  It only takes a couple of seconds once you register and sign in using an active email and a Pepsi password.  Here is the link to cast your vote daily until the 28th of February: http://www.refresheverything.com/definitivevoices . 

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Santa Needed Help

     For those who have not heard the news story this past week; a man by the name of Bruce Pardo dressed up as Santa and went on a shooting rampage directed at his ex-wife and her family.  He was aware that they held an annual Christmas party.  He had been planning this for quite some time.   About a week or so before the shootings took place…Bruce Pardo and his estranged wife,  Sylvia, were officially divorced after 2 years of marriage.  This man who dressed up as Santa, needed help.   If he had gotten it…maybe this tragedy would not have happened.

        It sounds as if  the Pardo’s marriage was one of deceipt.  Mr. Pardo had not disclosed to his wife that he had a child from a previous relationship that he did not see, nor did he help support.  It seems that when this child was a toddler in Mr. Pardo’s care; the child ended up in a pool and almost drowned.  The young child is now around the age of 7 ; but, Bruce Pardo kept this child a secret from his wife.  She discovered that the child existed by going through tax papers and finding out that he claimed the child as a dependent.  He denied the situation and Sylvia called her mother in law who confirmed that a child did in fact exist and was disabled.   She filed for divorce…he did not want it.

       It seems that during this time…Bruce also lost his job and then was ordered, by the court, to pay support to his soon to be ex-wife.  By all appearances…Bruce did his best to follow through on the court’s dissolution of his marriage….yet, all along he planned his revenge on the woman who divorced him and those who were closest to her and helped her to leave him. 

        Bruce rented two vehicles and he had things planned out.  He had an extra large Santa suit made up for him.  It seems that at the annual party, Santa always showed up.  He went to the home with a gift in his hand…when the door was opened by a young 8 year old girl…he opened fire, shooting her in the face.  He then went about shooting and looking for specific people.  After he shot the people he went looking for…he then used a homemade device to set the home on fire; inadvertantly causing himself 3rd degree burns when part of the Santa suit melted into his skin from the incendiary device he used to start the fire.

         People in the home had tried to hide and some were able to flee.  A sister of Sylvia’s escaped to a neighbors with the young 8 year old girl who was shot in the face.  She was able to call 911.  After starting the fire, Bruce Pardo shot out street lights…allegedly to help further his escape. 

         People are speculating that he had plans to shoot his own mother who was planning on attending the Christmas party, at her ex-daughter in laws parents home.  She felt ill that evening and was not able to attend.  Bruce blamed his mother for siding with Sylvia in the divorce.    Also allegedly a possible victim of violence was the divorce lawyer who represented Sylvia.  One of the rental vehicles was sitting near the lawyers home. 

        It appears that Bruce changed his plans after he was burned.  It is thought that he was in great pain.  He allegedly had purchased a plane ticket for Illinois to go there and cross the state line into Iowa to see a friend.  He also had about 17,ooo.oo dollars plastic wrapped to his body.   Instead of implementing those plans…he drove approximately 30-40 miles to his brothers home and broke in and shot himself dead.

         What is hard to understand is; didn’t anyone who knew him or had occasion to spend time with him, during the weeks preceding the violence, see his mental breakdown?  Was he so good at hiding his wrath that he was able to misleed the people in his life?  Or did he isolate himself a this time?

         Those familiar with the divorce situation say that he seemed almost eager to have it over with.  The neighbors say that he was friendly and even wished them a Merry Christmas after telling them he was attending a Christmas party. 

          People who knew him said he was a friendly guy.  They are shocked.  And yet, a close friend of Sylvia allegedly said that Sylvia said he changed almost immediately after the marriage.  He became secretive.  Others say that Bruce had a secret guilt about the child that was gravely injured on his watch.  The mother of the child allegedly says that he was involved when the child was in the hospital; but then…he didn’t visit nor did he support the child.  In fact, he kept the child a secret from many…including his new wife.

         The thing is…people who struggle with mental health issues dont always get the help that they need.  Bruce Pardo needed that kind of help to cope with the feelings that he had from the tragedy that happened to his child.  He needed support and counseling to heal up from the guilt that he most likely felt after the child was injured.  He needed to have pre-marital counseling to help him break the news of this part of his life to his intended wife. 

          Sylvia needed a husband who could share this past with her.  She needed him to seek marriage counseling when their marriage appeared to flounder shortly after it began.  She needed some indication that the man she married was deeply disturbed and capable of such violence.  She needed protection from the man that she fell in love with. 

          Experts will tell you that people who are in a state of flux…or life changes are often the most vulnerable for domestic violence.  This is a dangerous time when emotions are raw and assets or custody rights are at stake.  Passions are running high.  It should almost  be mandatory to have to have some sort of counseling to help people through the maze of emotion and legal wrangling that takes place.

          I can’t help but to think of those that lost their lives and those who were left behind to deal with the aftermath.  God help them.  The things that they saw and heard will live with them for a very long time.  And what about those who weren’t there; but, were directly affected such as Bruce Pardo’s mother or his brother.  What about them?  People need to pray for all of them.  They are not responsible for his actions…and yet, they are directly affected by them as much as Sylvia’s family and friends.  His brother…can you imagine…how will he ever be able to go back into his home?  He has to wonder…why did his brother come there to commit suicide?   His mother…she was obviously friendly with Sylvia and her family; how will she relate to the surviving members?  They are all hurting…will they be able to help support one another or will it be too painful for them to see each other?

          So many questions and so few answers.  The thing is…unfortunately…people who are depressed or going through trauma often don’t think past the moment, about the long term effects of their actions.  It is the survivors that are left to cope with both the questions and the answers.

Read Full Post »

What Are You Going to Accomplish Today?

        Are you living your life fully or are you going through the motions just waiting for something to happen to change the way things are?  Do you have long term and short term goals in place?  Are you focussed on enjoying today while planning for tomorrow?  Life is an interesting mix of failures, accomplishments, goals; each has their place in your life to enable you to be successful in your personal and professional life.

         Have you ever heard how people answer questions about their life?  Anyone ever said to you…it is just another day?  That my friend, is a life that is un-fulfilled.  That is a person who isn’t engaged with their purpose in life.  Maybe they don’t know that they live and breathe for a reason.  Every person has gifts, ideas, experiences, talents, and knowledge that is meant to move them and others through life in a positive way.  Sitting on those  qualities and hoarding them without using them to improve life is a one way trip to no-where.

          Do you know anyone who has to learn life the hard way?  Are they condemned to experience life through failure?  Or , are they equipped to live and learn from the mistakes and the successes of others…saving themselves time and enabling them to succeed more quickly and efficiently?

           I want to tell you about an opportunity to experience something that has never been done before.  There is going to be a life changing seminar in Long Beach, California Sept 26-28th put on by Brendon Burchard, author, life coach, businessman and motivational speaker.   Brendon wrote the book, Life’s Golden Ticket last year and made a huge impact on those who have read it.  It was published by Harper Collins.  He has put together a program that is going to address personal and professional growth as well as wealth building.  Can you use any help in those areas?

           This is an affordable event.  It is not going to be held in a traditional hotel environment where they present you with recycled information and then grab your money.  This experience is going to include, music, business advice, life changing information on gathering business partners, personal growth experts, the power of impact, and learning how to build upon what you have and the contacts in your life.  If any of this interests you…you may want to click on this link to find out how you can be there to see this extra-ordinary event unfold.  It will make history as it takes place under a big top tent.  Nothing boring here 🙂  Here is your link to more information…and some free audio snippets of an interview:  http://www.lifesgoldenticket.com/preview 

            Also at this event, you will see the results of Ken McArthur’s Boot Camp Impact Action Team and what they were able to accomplish in their teamwork by joining together to make a positive impact in an area of life that touches so many.  It is important to support the Impact Action Team and the work that they are doing!  Check out the person that was chosen to receive the benefit of their impact here:  http://speakupsavelives.org/  Meet Deremiah CPE…see how you can help impact the world.

             Find a way to get there…and discover what your purpose in life is; and, how you can nurture that purpose, and allow it to blossom.  You will understand how to take the promise of the seeds in your life and turn them into the amazing life that they were meant to be!  Are you up to the challenge, are you willing to enjoy each day to the fullest, living your life with purpose and clarity, achieving all that you are meant to achieve; and, spreading the message that we are all here to encourage and lift each other up?  Life is too short to spend it wishing for more, accepting less and resenting those who understand how to make things happen in a positive way, Don’t you think so too?  Come on, check it out:  http://www.lifesgoldenticket.com/preview  If you don’t listen to anything else, listen to the last audio…where he talks about his amazing un-precedented money back guarantee!  He sounds pretty confident to me that you will not leave the event un-changed or un-happy!

Read Full Post »

What’s Little Ol’ Me Doing on a call with a Billion Dollar Marketing Dream Team?

          What’s little ol me doing on a call with a Billion Dollar Marketing Dream Team?  I remember starting out with a lot of self-doubt and I pushed myself to take a risk to either fail or succeed.  The only thing i can figure about my being asked to join the call is; that each one of those people started out with a goal, an idea or a dream.  They built up their businesses by learning and growing in their area of expertise.  They each had mentors, role models, and experts that they were smart enough to connect with.  This helped them with their goals and helped them to build up their accomplishments allowing them to live the life of their choosing. 

           The call is a free tele-seminar that i was asked to join, by businessman Michael Penland.  This call is for small business owners and internet marketers who want to grow their business larger and aren’t quite sure how to go about it or want to discover what they are missing.  Learning how to make extra money is never a bad thing when you are willing to work towards your goals.

            I am not a business-person.  I am a wife,mother, daughter and blogger.  I sure do wish to grow my blog; i would love for it to be bigger and better.  Michael Penland knows how to attract people who are good at what they do.  I would like to learn as much as the next person.  Michael heard about my blog and asked me to join on the call.  I am a bit nervous, as I am not sure where he will go with the short interview…there are others on the call who will have much to say; and, are very accomplished in what they do.  Let the call be an encouragement to your future; commit to the call by registering for free.

             If you have a business or website that you would like to grow…you might want to join the call tonight at 9pm eastern time.  It is free after all; and, if it helps you to discover how to make your dreams come true…then, it is worth sacrificing a little time on a tele-seminar.  Here is a link to register…there are only 200 lines open so hurry.  http://tinyurl.com/6k3tpr   Is your dream worth a little time on a call?

             

Read Full Post »

Compact Impact

       Most people have heard that putting all of your eggs into one basket is generally not a good idea; however, Ken McArthur has set about proving that theory all wrong.  He has been the mastermining voice behind the idea of what I call…”Compact Impact”; putting all of your leading experts, from various fields of influence together, to have a positive impact on an individual or small organization; who is motivated to powerfully change the world they live in.  Gathering all of his eggs (I mean experts :)) in one basket allows Ken to multiply their effectiveness, by keeping them close and harnessing their communication skills, to empower their ability to explode their contagious positive impact on a designated target!!!  Ken McArthur is a brilliant man, don’t ya think? 

Read Full Post »

Tortured and Tormented Teacher Retailiates…Against 5 Year Old

        A Kindergarten teacher in Indiana told a young 5 year old kindergartener, named Gabriel Ross, that he “tortured and tormented” her all year.  Young Gabriel kept telling his mother and step-father that his teacher was mean to him.  He said that other children didn’t like him because he was bad.  Who told him he was bad?  The parents were concerned enough that they sent him to school with a tape recorder in his pocket in April.

         On a four hour tape they were able to record shockingly hurtful comments that the teacher allegedly made to Gabriel; and about Gabriel, to the other students in the classroom.  She allegedly told him that he was “self-absorbed, pathetic and ignorant”.  These comments were supposedly made by a teacher with 13 years of experience.

          What i am wondering is; what other things had been said and done to humiliate this child during the rest of the school year; that didn’t get on tape?  Most schools start in late August or early September…this tape was made in April.  That is a long time to damage a young person’s self-esteem.  Most educators teach because it is their passion.  Those teachers teach with joy and skill…when they run into a challenging child…they try to find ways to reach that child and work with them.  If they can’t…at the very least…most will at least move the child to another classroom.

        If the teacher felt that this child was so out of control all year…why wasn’t she contacting the parents to get to the bottom of the issue.  After this tape came to light…the teacher’s association said that the teacher lost her cool.  But the things that were said and done, definately sound like someone who knew how to zero in and verbally annihilate another person’s feelings.  This venom was sounding as if it had built up from more than one difficult day.  Why wasn’t this teacher seeking help handling something that she felt was out of control all year long? 

        At one point, the teacher says that Gabriel is pathetic and that she hopes her words hurt him because he is hurting everyone around him.  Then, she goes on to say to the class…what do they think…is this somone that they want to be with?  Of course, the children all say…NOOOOOOO!   She very effectively made this child a pariah with his own classmates.    What the heck…who is the adult here? 

           How can you justify verbally attacking a child in your classroom?  If a child is out of control…you call in the school counselor, psychologist, principal, parents and evaluate why the child is acting this way. 

           Then depending on the results, you either find an effective way to discipline the child with appropriate boundaries; or you do some medical, psychological or academic testing to see what the problem is.  You find ways to figure it out without getting on the level that this “professional” teacher supposedly did.  There are lots of really good, skilled teachers who want and need jobs.  We dont have to settle for substandard teachers educating our children.

         In my opinion…this was a really horrible example of how not to teach our children. 

      

Read Full Post »

Passionate Impact

        Have you ever felt passionate enough about something that you were willing to step outside of your comfort zone to make an impact on the subject? 

        Here is a story about a man who has been affected by the condition, cerebral palsy and wanted to raise funds and awareness for the United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan.  You can also choose to support their efforts here: http://www.ucp.org/ucp_local.cfm/87.  He is making his impact in an unusual and intriguing way.

           His name is Neil Sauter and he has a mild form of the condition.  The way that he has chosen to raise awareness, is to walk a total of 830 miles ON STILTS over the next six weeks across Michigan.  He started on May 5th and hopes to end the walk up by the Wisconsin/UP border.  He has already raised approximately $5,300.00.  He is making a passionate impact on this issue. 

          You can make a passionate impact on any area of your life that you choose.   Update:  Neil has completed his long journey on stilts…what an accomplishment.  Good job!  He was able to raise more tha 64,000 dollars by a matching grant program through the US Department of Education.   You can read more about this at:  www.stiltstory.org.

Read Full Post »

Can You Make A Difference?

       Do you ever watch the news and hear about all of the tragedies around the world and think; what can I do, I am just one person?  You watch it and are moved, yet, you think…someone should DO SOMETHING ?  It is a helpless feeling, not knowing exactly what to do; isn’t it ?   What if you are the SOMEONE who SHOULD DO SOMETHING ?   Your inner voice is telling you to take some action.  You don’t want to waste time or energy; you want to make the biggest impact whatever you do.

         You see a need somewhere; and maybe you have an idea, a product, or maybe a service that you could utilize, to help change things for the better.  Can YOU make a difference ?  You bet you can!!!  Your inner voice is trying to motivate you.  If you only knew HOW to make an IMPACT on things, to make a difference; things would be different.  Maybe, you could motivate other people to take action as well. 

         All you have to do is, get noticed by enough people; and, things could change.  I have the answer you have been searching for, whether it is for your business, personal goals, or maybe, it is a humanitarian intervention that is calling out to you. 

          What you need is the book, The Impact Factor: How to Get Noticed, Motivate Millions, and Make a Difference In A Noisy World!  

          Ken McArthur is a successful business man, an entrepreneur, an author, a business mentor; and, an all around NICE GUY with lots of integrity.  Ken recognizes the power of IMPACT on both a business and a personal level.  Ken is committed to communicating the power of Impacting the world in a positive way. 

           You see, we all leave a legacy of Impact in our everyday choices, in our areas of expertise; just by living our lives.  Why not harness the power of impact to be as effective as we can be by making a choice to positively Impact the world ?  Our areas of impact could be education, the environment, business, humanitarian aid, adoption, poverty, diseases/illnesses, finance,health, fashion, entertainment, spiritual enlightenment, crime, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, sports, elder care….the list goes on and on.  You know your heart and your skills; how do you want to change the world ?  What is your passion ? 

          Go to Ken’s free website and pick up lots of videos and audio recordings that will help you make an Impact in many areas of your life, and the lives of those around you.  Then, do yourself a favor and purchase his book.  You won’t regret it.  This book could change your life; who knows, it may change the world if you put the message of the book behind everything that you do! 

       

Read Full Post »

Dance Machine

       Wow, last night’s Dances with the Stars was good.  It is never a dull show.  From Adam Carolla’s interesting display of a paso doble in a cape an performed in the beginning on a unicycle.  Hmmm…entertaining yes, dancing…not so much.  I know he has a following and he is funny…up to a point..usually at the point where he crossing the line into uncomfortable…and then…well…it is his night to leave i should think!  So Sorry Julianne Hough…i do love to see you dance…but…you don’t have much to work with this season, i am afraid.

        Priscilla Pressley was beautiful and graceful.  However, she was spotted by Len and Carrie Ann as doing a “lift”.  Although…it didn’t seem to hurt her score overmuch a 22 out of posssible 30.  Carrie Ann also complimented Priscilla on her facial expressions…some people definately disagree with that assessment.

          Mario, partnered with Karina, i thought did a decent job…i see him improving a bit each week.  He seems to definately have a desire to conquer the challenges put before him.  His scores weren’t impressive but they were improved over his scores of a week ago.

          Jason Taylor the football player is large but his footwork is improving.  He seems to be Trying to be graceful with his hands..however…at times it seems awkward.  But i have to say…wow…is there chemistry between him and Edyta.  Their dance, besides a stumble and awkward hand motions by Jason…seemed so filled with passion and attraction that it was almost hypnotic.  I sense something brewing here.

         Shannon Elizabeth did a great job for not being able to have much practice time with Dereck.  He is such a smooth dancer…i think he makes his partners shine.  However, Dereck was injured last week and had to be taken to the hospital because of a neck injury.  So Shannon had to practice with Jonathon…who i also adore.  But, still when it comes time to actually perform…it had to be difficult to transition from one partner to another.  Shannon looked beautiful and did a nice job.

          Christian de la Fuente who is Cheryl Burke’s dancing parnter was awesome.  He did a nice job.  Seems to be a bit of ego though going on between him and Cheryl about who needs to listen to who.  Both strong partners..if they can find a good working pattern they could be very high on the list of scores.

            Marissa Janet Winokur i loved watching perform.  No she isn’t a size 4 and watching her practice getting tossed around by Tony was almost painful.  But, she put all of that aside and tackled the practices with gusto.  Her performance was very good indeed.  However, i do wish the costume department would put a little more time and effort into “presenting” her costumes in a lovely way.  Her outfit this week looked like someone didn’t spend a lot of time trying to make her look good.  Marissa has the potential of becoming one of the better dancers strictly because of  her relationship with Tony.  She is like a sponge…he says it and she focusses her attention on attaining that goal.  I like her energy and her excitement when she is able to do what he throws at her.   Out of all of the seasons…i am truly enjoying watching Tony taking pride in Marissa.  He seems to be loving working with her.  Some of his other partners seemed to irritate him….he was all smiles last night with her.

          Marlee Matland is a marvel at what she has been able to accomplish.  When she said that she was having trouble with her balance last night during the turns…i could see that it was definately throwing her off.  There were some genuine oddities during her dance.  I love that she puts herself out there and for the most part has been a positive role model in reaching out and doing something just because she can.  She doesn’t let her deafness define who she is.  Balance is truly controlled in a large part by the inner ear…so i dont know how she will be able to fair throughout the whole competition if and when they get to dances that require many spins and turns…i hope she can find a way to counteract her off balance feeling.

          Kristi Yamaguchi is a dance machine.  She is very precise in her steps and for some reason seems to have to work hard at connecting to the judges on an emotional level.  I think she has been doing very well…in fact she got a 29 on her scores in spite of those criticisms of her lack of ability to conveyher emotional character in dance.  When she is able to do this to the judges approval she will have a perfect score…but it does seem that her dancing skills are being judged at a higher level than the other contestants.  She came out from the start with very good skills…but they are using her performances to compare the other dancers to her level of skill. 

          It will be getting harder on out from this point…because i think after tonight…those with lessor skills will be starting to leave the show.  The bar will keep being raised each week demanding improvement in all areas.

       

        

Read Full Post »