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What does transparency and celebrity have to do with charity? Have you heard about the $600 billion challenge? Which Canadian Charity is rated the highest among its peers? Read on to find out.

Once upon a time I read a book called “Philanthrocapitalism” by Matthew Bishop and Michael Green. This book opened my eyes to the world of philanthropy and the wealthy people who have taken it upon themselves to make their mark through charity and social assistance on a global scale. “Philanthrocapitalism” includes interviews with such social-conscious celebrities as Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, George Soros, Richard Branson, Angelina Jolie, and Bono. In the past, we have all looked to our governments to tackle and solve social issues, but a new movement is beginning where the more fortunate citizens of this world are using their money to tackle issues such as poverty, climate change, and treatable disease. In June of this year, Fortune Magazine ran a story that is yet another example of celebrities flexing their philanthropic muscles. The story was called “The $600 billion challenge.” According to this article, Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett are asking America’s billionaires to pledge to give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death. To pitch this idea, the Gates’ and Mr. Buffet held a special dinner with some of the most notable billionaires in America, including David Rockefeller and Oprah Winfrey. The face of philanthropy is changing, or at the very least is being challenged, and this, I feel, is cause for great hope.

“Philanthrocapitalism” also got me thinking about the need for transparency in the world of non-profit organizations, and in some cases the need to treat non-profits more like a for-profit business in order to run more effectively and efficiently. Now, I can’t even begin to pretend I know much about the world of non-profit, but the area of for-profit business that I specialize in is in looking for ways to make businesses and business processes more streamlined and efficient. How could it be a bad thing to apply this to the non-profit world as well? Especially when so much of their spending capital comes from citizen donations.

I soon started my research and came across two websites – GuideStar and Charity Navigator. I wanted to see how non-profits reported their day-to-day activities and annual successes. The problem was that both these websites are American-based, and thus not 100% relevant to a Canadian. Because of this I had a short-lived dream of building my own website that would provide this information for Canadians, but with my aforementioned lack of knowledge in the non-profit area, I really had no clue where to start. This is why I was so excited when I saw in this summer’s issue of MoneySense magazine that they had actually taken the time to rate our Canadian Charities. To see this full article, buy a copy of MoneySense magazine today, or click here to see the free online article.

In this article, MoneySense has rated the Top 100 charities operating in Canada by the following criteria – Overall Charity Efficiency (the percentage of charity expenditures that go to program costs, rather than overhead and fundraising costs), Fundraising Efficiency, Governance and Transparency, and Reserve Fund Size. While this approach can be controversial, it again highlights how transparency is needed in all areas of business and charity. Without it, your hard-earned dollars may not be making as much of a difference as you would like to see when donated to your favourite charity. I think it is great that MoneySense has taken the time to put this list together, and at the very least it has people talking about philanthropy and the pros and cons of giving to certain organizations (for proof, just visit the comments section of the MoneySense article shared above).

In conclusion, my point is this – we all have a responsibility to make this world a better place than how we found it. One of the many ways to do this is by donating money, no matter how big or small the donation. This is what makes it all the more exciting to come across articles like the one in MoneySense this issue. It is also exciting to learn more through books, blogs, and web tools that help make our decisions of who and what cause to donate to all the more educated and impacting. I have gathered several resources below for you to check out if you are interested in learning more.

Books
Philanthrocapitalism by Matthew Bishop and Michael Green
Women and Philanthropy: Boldly Shaping a Better World by Sondra Shaw-Hardy, Martha A. Taylor, Buffy Beaudoin-Schwartz
The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty by Peter Singer

Articles
Nonprofits and the $100 Billion Opportunity
The $600 billion challenge
Warren Buffett gives it away

Websites
Me to We
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
MoneySense

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“You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight.”
~ Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

I recently finished reading ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ by Elizabeth Gilbert. I know there are numerous reviews out there on this book (the book only remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for 158 weeks), but I thought I would share with you my thoughts on it. Most simply, I would have to say it was one of the best books I have read. Elizabeth Gilbert, in this creation of genius, was so easy to read and relate to that I was able to finish this book in just a couple weeks (I’m a slow reader, and don’t get oodles of time to read, so that’s a good pace). It was funny, encouraging, and inspiring. I’m not sure how the male readers feel (so please weigh in if you are reading), but as a woman I loved how it showed the journey of one woman who was able to discover who she was by realizing who she didn’t want to be. It’s a story of love, in learning to love another, but most importantly in learning to love yourself. It’s a story of new beginnings, in fighting through despair and finding happiness on the other side. It’s a story of finding your spirit, in being able to be still and find your god, while allowing others to find theirs without judgment. It is a magnificent story, and I recommend you read it.

In order to emphasize how good this book really is I want to share with you 12 quotes from the book itself. I hope they resonate with you as much as they did with me.

“I’m here. I love you. I don’t care if you need to stay up crying all night long, I will stay with you. There’s nothing you can ever do to lose my love. I will protect you until you die, and after your death I will still protect you. I am stronger than Depression and I am braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me.”

“When I get lonely these days, I think: So BE lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person’s body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings.”

“In desperate love, we always invent the characters of our partners, demanding they be what we need of them, and then feeling devastated when they refuse to perform the role we created in the first place.”

“We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy’s fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure–your perfection–is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart.”

“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.”

“Tis’ better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else’s perfectly.”

“There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under the jurisdiction. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I can select what I can read and eat and study. I can choose how I’m going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life-whether I will see them as curses or opportunities. I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which I speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts.”

“In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.”

“You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight.”

“I am a better person when I have less on my plate.”

“Some days are meant to be counted, others are meant to be weighed.”

“I have good idea, for if you meet some person from different religion and he want to make argument about God. My idea is, you listen to everything this man say about God. Never argue about God with him. Best thing to say is, ‘I agree with you.’ Then you go home, pray what you want. This is my idea for people to have peace about religion.”

In case you can’t get enough and you want more inspiration from “Liz” Gilbert herself, check out her TED Talk on nurturing creativity. This is a great talk on distancing ourselves from our creative anguish, and to have the courage to show up every day to do what you can, even if your creative genius isn’t always there. (click here if you cannot see the video below).

Thank you for visiting!

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“There is some one thing that you can do better than anyone else in the world.” ~ Napoleon Hill

One of the greatest teachers of all time for personal development is Napoleon Hill. The author of the classic book “Think and Grow Rich” studied the habits of the world’s most successful people for over 20 years, notably Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Charles Schwab, just to name a few. Napoleon Hill, through his years of research and writing, inspired a nation, and he has become one of my greatest teachers.

Napoleon Hill wrote two books that were fairly similar in nature – “The Laws of Success” and “Think and Grow Rich”. The former was the result of Mr. Hill’s twenty-plus years of researching successful men and women. The latter was the condensed, less intimidating version. In both books, chapter one introduces us to the benefits of choosing a definite purpose for our lives. Mr. Hill also calls this a ‘burning desire’ or ‘definite chief aim’. Whichever way you put it, it’s obvious that he feels the first step in achieving success in life is by choosing that one thing that we can concentrate all of our unique and individual efforts on. I know in this day and age it is difficult to choose just one thing, but take a moment to think about how many tasks you have on the go right now. Do you feel scattered or do you feel like you are making headway on the right path? Too many ideas, too many paths, too many commitments will leave you spinning your wheels. Choosing a definite purpose in life, a definite path, a definite vision, will keep you focused and allow you to draw boundaries around your time and commitments.

While no one but yourself can choose your definite purpose, there are a few key steps to consider while choosing that purpose and taking the next steps:

Burning Desire / Definite Purpose

“Desire is the starting point of all achievement, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.”

What do you love to do? What do you love to think about? Now, have you ever heard of the Law of Attraction? The Law of Attraction refers to the idea that thoughts influence chance. Napoleon Hill argues that once you find your definite purpose and make that your dominating thought as you move about this earth, it will saturate into your subconscious and become a magnet for attracting all things associated. Sound intense? It should. The good news is that this burning desire will be what YOU want more than anything in the world. It will be your passion, and because of that, focusing on it won’t be so difficult. So think about what you love to do, then start thinking about all the ways that you can integrate that into your daily life. Pretty soon, thanks to the law of attraction, the world around you will start giving you more of what you want most.

Know Yourself / Study Others

“If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.”

It is a never-ending process to get to know yourself. It takes time and effort and concentration….and time (did I say that already?). It is also a never-ending process to get to know others and to study their behaviors so that you can start to recognize what works and what doesn’t work, both to apply to your own life and to your interactions with the outside world. Some things you can study include posture, tone of voice, eye movements, and the use of words or language someone uses. All it takes is awareness. Start paying attention to your own behaviors, then start observing others. Apply what you like and get rid of what you don’t. The key is to continue growing, continue pushing forward, continue improving yourself.

Keep an Open Mind

“Edison failed 10,000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times.”

In the words of Napoleon Hill, stagnant minds breed fear. Great minds are always gathering new ideas and contemplating how to use those ideas for the betterment of the world. Keep your mind open to all the great ideas out there. Listen to them, don’t block them out. Don’t judge them by their covers, but sit with them, let them marinate. Recognize great ideas put forth by others, and allow yourself the creativity to work through your own ideas. Also, don’t be afraid to fail. In order to be successful you have to take chances, put yourself out there. You may not succeed the first time, or the second, or the 9,999th time, but as “they” say – if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

Organize Yourself

“First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”

On your way to success there are many things to be organized, including facts, knowledge, and effort (as a start). What’s that disney movie with the dog that always gets distracted by the squirrel? You know the one? He could be having a full-on doggy conversation, but as soon as he sees a squirrel he forgets everything else. Life is like this if we don’t keep ourselves organized. How many thoughts run through your mind in a minute? What you were thinking about 30 seconds ago could be completely different from what you are thinking about now. With so much information overload going on, we need to keep ourselves organized. Especially when it comes to our definite purpose. We need to keep track of what books we want to read, what we have already read, which speakers we should listen to, which websites to visit, how to start doing what we want to do, how to sustain it, how to get paid for doing it, etc. Without organization, again, we will be spinning our wheels. And there’s no time for that when our purpose is on the line.

Take Action

“Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought.”

Make your definite purpose your hobby. Think, breath, act with your purpose in mind persistently, unyieldingly. Decide what you want, organize your thoughts and plans, and put it all into motion. Maybe one step at a time, maybe a baby step at a time, it doesn’t matter. Just take the step, then the next one. Set goals and keep track. Soon you will be on your way to living the life you have always wanted for yourself because you found your purpose and lived to achieve it.

“It is always your next move.” ~ Napoleon Hill

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Gratitude – a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation. How can exercising gratitude help in living a happy life? Well, from first-hand experience, I can tell you that it helps take the focus off the negative emotions you might be having. Instead of thinking ‘I wish I had this’ or ‘I wish this would happen’, it brings you back to the present moment and helps you say ‘wow, I am grateful for my feet today. I can use them to walk or to run. It’s pretty cool.’ That may seem hokey to some people, but why not be grateful for your feet, or your hands, or even the breath moving in and out of you?

Leo Babauta, the author of one of my favourite blogs Zen Habits, wrote a post on gratitude that I would like to share with you today. I take absolutely no credit for the writing that follows. All credit goes to Mr. Babauta. To read more from Zen Habits (which I recommend you do), click here.

———————————————————————————

Why Living a Life of Gratitude Can Make You Happy
by Leo Babauta

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

Many days, I try to humble myself and hold a 2-minute gratitude session. I simply sit or kneel, with no distractions, close my eyes, and think about what I’m grateful for and who I’m grateful for.

I don’t do it every day, but let me tell you, on the days I do it, it makes me very happy.

Why should that be? Why should the simple act of thinking about who and what I’m grateful for make such a big difference in my life?

Just a few reasons:

• Because it reminds you of the positive things in your life. It makes you happy about the people in your life, whether they’re loved ones or just a stranger you met who was kind to you in some ways.
• Because it turns bad things into good things. Having problems at work? Be grateful you have work. Be grateful you have challenges, and that life isn’t boring. Be grateful that you can learn from these challenges. Be thankful they make you a stronger person.
• Because it reminds you of what’s important. It’s hard to complain about the little things when you give thanks that your children are alive and healthy. It’s hard to get stressed out over paying bills when you are grateful there is a roof over your head.
• Because it reminds you to thank others. I’ll talk about this more below, but the simple act of saying “thank you” to someone can make a big difference in that person’s life. Calling them, emailing them, stopping by to say thank you … just taking that minute out of your life to tell them why you are grateful toward them is important to them. People like being appreciated for who they are and what they do. It costs you little, but makes someone else happy. And making someone else happy will make you happy.

What do I give thanks for, privately, in my little gratitude session? It varies every day. I thank all the readers of this site, for the encouragement you have given me, for the donations you’ve made that have made me that much closer to realizing my dreams, for the criticism you’ve given that has made this site better … for the time you’ve given me, just reading the articles when you have the chance.

I thank my loved ones, for all they do to me. I thank strangers who’ve shown me little acts of kindness. I thank God, for the life he’s given me. I thank people around the world for the things they’ve done to make the world better. I thank myself, for things that I’ve done (it’s important to recognize your own accomplishments).

How to Live a Life of Gratitude

The thing is, simple acts of gratitude don’t cost you much (especially once you get over the initial discomfort some people feel with thanking others). But they can make a huge difference.

If you’re interested in living a life of gratitude, here are my suggestions:

• Morning gratitude session. Take 2-3 minutes each morning to give thanks, to whoever or whatever you’re grateful for. You don’t have to do anything, other than close your eyes and silently give thanks. This one act can make a huge difference.
• Say thank you. When someone does something nice for you, however small, try to remember to say thank you. And really mean it.
• Call to say thanks. Sometimes you might think about something nice that someone did for you. Perhaps you remember during your gratitude session. When you do, pick up the phone and call the person, just to say thanks. Let them know what they did that you’re grateful for, and why you appreciate it. Takes a minute or two. If it’s too early to call, make a note to call later. Even better is telling them in person, if you happen to see them or if they’re on your route. Almost as good is a thank-you email — keep it short and sweet.
• Give thanks for “negative” things in your life. There’s always two ways to look at something. Many times we think of something as negative — it’s stressful, harmful, sad, unfortunate, difficult. But that same thing can be looked at in a more positive way. Giving thanks for those things is a great way to remind yourself that there is good in just about everything. Problems can be seen as opportunities to grow, to be creative. See the prayer below for more on this.
• Learn a gratitude prayer. There are many prayers, religious or not, that can remind you to be grateful. Find one you like, and print it out or make it your desktop wallpaper. You can find many prayers on the Internet, or write your own. If you’re not religious, make one that doesn’t include the concept of God. A good one is below.

Let me leave you with a prayer of gratitude that I’ve always found … well, perfect:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

~ Author Unknown ~

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“My left brain is doing the best job it can with the information it has to work with. I need to remember, however, that there are enormous gaps between what I know and what I think I know.”
~ Jill Bolte Taylor

Who here has heard of Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor? I hadn’t heard of her until this year when she was profiled in Success Magazine, but since then I have sought out videos of her talks on both TED.com and Oprah’s Soul Series. If you haven’t heard of Dr. Taylor, or even if you have, I encourage you to keep reading. In May of 2008, TIME Magazine chose Dr. Taylor as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Her story has been featured in Success Magazine, she appeared as a guest on Oprah’s Soul Series in early 2010, and gave a keynote presentation at TED2008. Her story is intriguing and inspiring, which is why I share it with you today.

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a Harvard-trained and published neuroanatomist. What is that you ask? Since I had to look it up myself, here is the definition – in short, neuroanatomy is a branch of neuroscience which deals with the study of the structure of the brain and the nervous system. In 1996, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor became a neuroanatomist with first-hand knowledge of how the brain really works when one morning she woke up to discover that she was experiencing a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of her brain. Now, I would imagine most people, if they were to experience something like this, would freak out a little bit and call for help. However, being a brain expert allowed Dr. Taylor to observe what was happening within her body from an objective point of view, and because of this has been able to go on to share her fascinating story through interviews and her book “My Stroke of Insight“.

Two and a half weeks after the incident, Dr. Taylor underwent major brain surgery to remove a golf ball size blood clot that was placing pressure on the language centers in the left hemisphere of her brain. It took eight years for Dr. Taylor to successfully rebuild her brain. Since that time she has gone on to become a successful author, speaker, and overall brain and life activist.

I share with you now Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s presentation from TED2008. May it be the beginning, or perhaps the continuation, of your relationship with this fascinating and inspiring woman. Click here if you cannot see the video below.

Did you enjoy this video? Want to learn more about this amazing woman and her experience? Read “My Stroke of Insight” by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor or visit her website today.

“When we are being compassionate, we consider another’s circumstance with love rather than judgement… To be compassionate is to move into the right here, right now with an open heart consciousness and a willingness to be supportive.”
~ Jill Bolte Taylor

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