Who Else Changes the Game?

Tell us who makes you do something you normally wouldn't.

Yesterday's blog post was a bit of a winner, in that it attracted a good bit of feedback and comments here, on my personal blog, on Newsvine and on Facebook.

The more I thought about it, I realized the ability of remarkable individuals to get folks to do things they normally wouldn't. As I mentioned before with Lance Armstrong, it's one thing to stand on the podium with a sponsor's logo across your chest. It's another entirely to drastically increase the number of eyeballs fixated on said logo because you brought newbies into the game.

As I began thinking in my own life, outside of the worlds of golf, cycling and voting, I realized:

• I didn't read marketing blogs, but then I found Seth Godin.
• I didn't eat salad, but then I ordered the BBQ Chicken Chop Salad at California Pizza Kitchen.
• I didn't read op/ed columnists, but then a professor steered me towards Thomas Friedman.
• I didn't loan money out to folks, but then I tried Kiva.
• I don't go to a lot of concerts, but I never miss David Wilcox when he comes to town.
• I don't keep beer in my fridge, but I can't pass up a Yazoo growler from time to time.
• I don't watch late night TV, but I'm sure to DVR Leno, Letterman or Conan when someone interesting is on.

There are game changers in every industry and in every walk of life. And, once you find them, your world view is changed and your behavior is modified.

Because these people and organizations are so remarkable, folks need to hear about them.

So here's the deal: Between now and Tuesday, leave your own game changers in the comments. Next week, I'll take a look at the recommendations that have been made wherever this article has been posted. Whichever idea strikes my fancy as the best game changer will get a copy of my book.

Maybe you don't participate in contests or leave comments. Well...until now.

Lances and Tigers and Obamas - Oh My!

Some people are just able to change the game.

The neatest thing about watching (and supporting) the whole Obamania recently is what Barack is able to do to change the game of politics. As much as he stands for change, as much as he inspires with his speeches, as much as he's able to breathe a breath of fresh air into what's become a very stale process, he's done one thing that makes him a superstar:

He makes people do things they normally wouldn't.

People go to the polls (and will do so next week) because they get to vote for Obama. Rest assured – as much as folks may love Hillary or any other contender, Barack makes people put on their coat and head out the door to press the button next to his name. He's able to get people who usually don't cast their ballot to do so in his favor. He increases the number of participants, draws the circle wider, and gets more people involved in the conversation.

Getting people to do something they normally don't is valuable. Barack could ride this value all the way to the White House.

Lance Armstong and Tiger Woods do the same thing. They get people to watch cycling and golf who normally don't. I watched the Tour de France a few times because I got to see Lance ride a bike, and now I don't care who wears a yellow jersey. I watch Tiger Woods hit golf balls every time he takes to the course. And I'm sure that when he rides off into the sunset on his diamond-encrusted horse, I'll stop lazing on my couch on the weekend while tuning in to what Mark Twain called "a good walk spoiled."

Folks like these three are role models to many, and perhaps especially to the Gen-Y set. Use the entitlement word all you want. The fact of the matter is that we've seen in a few short years – while we've been coming of age and developing our value systems – what is possible when someone dedicates themselves to being the best.

Not only does it result in fame and fortune, but it results in being able to go solely on a first name basis. That's what happens when you get people to do something they normally don't.

I want to be like these three. No, I don't want to ride fast through France, don a green jacket or run for President, but I do want to be the best out there – whether I'm getting folks to save the world or trying to sell the most widgets. I want to be the best realtor or the best nonprofit program director or the best at giving PR advice. I want to exceed – but not in the way those before me did.

I want to open up the game to a whole new world of participants. I don't just want to win or be successful. I want to radically alter how the game is played.

So if I'm a customer service rep, I don't just want to fix the problem quickly and get on to the next call. I want to make sure you never hesitate to call me in the first place because you know you'll get the help you need. So, even though you normally only buy printers from my company, you'll start to by computers from us because you're impressed with the service.

If I'm a design guy, I'll be open and honest and tell you what you don't need as part of your new Web site, even though it means I'll earn less. But by bringing a new level of openness to the project, you won't go anywhere else, and you may even use me for your print services.

If I'm a coffee shop owner, I'm going to offer more than just free wi-fi and a good cup of java. I'm going to make it easy for you to work at my spot, with plenty of plugs and even a printer or fax machine if you need it. You normally don't have staff meetings out of the office, but now you're heavily considering it.

Getting new customers is often the hardest thing to do in business. In order to do so today, you can't just be good or come out on top once in a while. You've got to fundamentally change the game by getting people to do something they normally wouldn't.

After all, as great as Hillary Clinton, Phil Mickelson and Jan Ulrich may be, their one fatal flaw is that they simply tried to win as someone else was changing how the game is played.

Oh Forbes! You Came So Close!

Telling the story is only step one.

A recent issue of Forbes Magazine has a cover image of a young boy, laboring away as his underaged hands weave a carpet for export. The cover copy suggests I'll find a story about child labor inside. I'm intrigued.

As I read the short write-up on the realities of child labor, I'm fixated on both the article and the fact that Forbes has chosen to highlight this horrific epidemic. I'm glad they've chosen to play the role of flashlight, shining truth into the dark realities of where our clothes and household goods come from.

Wonderful facts and analysis jump out:

Teenagers in the Midwest get $7 an hour so they can spend it at the mall. Their Indian counterparts are getting 20 cents an hour to buy food.

And then I read how it's the demand of the consumer that essentially enslaves young children to a life of production:

It's a fact of a global economy, and will continue to be, as long as Americans (and Europeans) demand cheap goods – and incomes in emerging economies remain low.

The article is accompanied by photos of young people working in fields and factories, forcing the reader to take a look at his or her own shirt and wonder, “Did a kid make this?”

As I continue to turn the pages, I finish the article. And I said out loud, “That's it? That's it?!?!?!?

The article is a great primer in what child labor is. And it does a fair job of pointing out the realities of the situation today. The piece even mentions a few companies to have known ties to child labor. Overall it's a good piece. But it's lacking in one key area.

It doesn't tell me what to do about it.

There is no call to action. If such a worldwide phenomenon is so problematic (as the article suggests), then where is the checklist of possible remedies? If the problem persist due to my lust for discounted goods, then where are the recommendations for me to stop perpetuating such a problem? The article highlights the problem, but never mentions a solution.

There is no talk of eliminating from my personal portfolio companies that use child labor.
There is no suggestion of a consumer boycott of clothes and goods made with tiny hands.
There is no mention of a better system to prevent such practices.
There is no information about who I can contact to voice my concern.
There is no recommendation for ways to kick my consumption habit, and therefore save lives.

It's easy to argue that this isn't Forbes' role in the world. It's easy to suggest that as a business magazine that promises readers insight into financial markets and wealth management, it doesn't fill the role of seer or moral advisor. Forbes exists to tell the stories important to the business community, not to tell the individual consumer what is 'wrong' or 'right.'

But such a spinning of the perceived intent of this journalistic endeavor is just an excuse for apathy. By letting Forbes off the hook on an editorial technicality, we remain complicit in its silence in the wake of injustice.

With a quarter-page insert, Forbes could have changed the game and flipped the focus and shown its power to make a difference and change the world. It is possible to propose a remedy without being authoritarian. It is possible to paint a picture of a better tomorrow without mandating adherence to such a vision. And it is possible to not only highlight a problem, but to show us the necessary tools to fix it. (To be fair, Forbes does have a series of recommendations in the form of a slide show on their site. But the print readers misses it.)

I for one would love to see such activism take the form of stories and essays. I'd love for newspapers and magazines the world over to not just tell the stories that need telling, but to also propose how to change the things that need changing. After all, storytelling will only get us so far. Because unless we get up from the campfire and venture out into the world of need, the stories will begin to sound more and more familiar.

Here's to the brave ones, who after hearing the stories, are willing to grab a torch and get to marching.

Two Ways to Get There

How you get there shapes what you think about where you’re going.

My friend John used a great analogy last week. When talking about his home, which is located in an older community that is being revitalized, John said:

You can get to my house two difference ways. You can come in from 5th Avenue, via Germantown and drive by nice houses – houses that are new, were built well, and that really are the showpiece of the neighborhood. You'll see nicely manicured lawns, unique local businesses and clean, orderly streets. When you come to my house that way, you think the neighborhood is nearly perfect and that I live in a great place.

Or, you can come in from 8th Avenue, and turn onto Garfield. If you come that way, you won't see many nice houses. What you'll see are shady liquor stores, government housing, and prostitutes. You'll see dilapidated housing, vacant lots and lots of trash. You'll think that I live in a terrible neighborhood.

Of course, John's house is the same, no matter how you get there. Whether you get there via 5th or 8th, you'll end up where you want to be.

I'm not sure that I have any sort of deep insight here. I just find it fascinating that the way we journey has a profound effect on our view of the destination.

This has far-reaching implications, then, for your Web site, church or store. It matters how people find you.

How did someone hear about what you're doing? A friendly recommendation? A terrible review in the newspaper? Facebook's news feed? A billboard or commercial?

You can't control the flow of traffic that ends at your door, but you should at least be thinking about it.

A Survey? Yeah, We Got That

For only the second time in history, CoolPeopleCare is asking you, our faithful, dedicated, saving-the-world audience, to answer a few questions.

We want to know more about you. We're really enamored by all that you do. We want to find out about the things you care about, and your hopes and dreams.

Don't take this lightly – our survey is serious stuff. We ask serious questions that we want serious answers to. We want to get some serious data to make everything better.

Because as much as we like the way things are going here, we want them to grow, improve and make this a better place as we all make this world a better place. We want to give you more and better ideas, more and better tools and more and better options as you wave up each morning with a unique and burning desire to save the world.

So tell us how old you are.
Tell us where you get your news.
Tell us how you use our site.
Tell us your wildest dreams for CoolPeopleCare.

Because we're listening. And we're really listening – not like your 10th grade boyfriend who fell asleep when you were up late talking on the phone, often in hushed whispers so your mom wouldn't hear you, storm down the hall, fling open your door and demand that you get off the phone. NOW!

In other words, we hope we're better than your 10th grade boyfriend.

To prove it, we're going to give you something. No, not a corsage to wear to the homecoming dance or a note after 5th period. We're going to give you some wonderful tools to help you save the world, direct from our wonderful store into your wonderful life.

So take the five minutes required to answer some questions and leave some feedback. We'll hold up our end of the bargain to make this site the best yet as we all make this world the best yet.

We promise.

Social Networking, or Social Fragmenting?

Where exactly are we headed with all of these new digital toys?

Rebecca Thorman's blog post about how social media doesn't create a new generation of leaders remains embedded in my mind as prophetic beacon of how all of this online networking may not be getting us as far along as we'd like. Two magazines I've recently read prove she's right.

In last month's Wired Magazine, Tim Harford explains why new technological tools, which intend to eliminate the importance of geography when it comes to collaboration, actually do just the opposite. As wonderful as email and wall posting are, it doesn't decrease our need for human interaction. Harford writes:

Business is more innovative, and its processes more complex. That demands tacit knowledge, collaboration, and trust – all things that seem to follow best from person-to-person meetings.

In other words, if you're going to do work, you may need to meet people in person. As Harford correctly points out, business travel isn't dying out, and air travel is at record highs.

Likewise, two items of note jump out in this month's Fast Company (which is the best magazine you could be reading if you want to know anything about anything). We'll start at the end.

Rob Walker's back page column points out how online marketing may not live up to the hype. Even with Facebook's Beacon advertising and marketing program, a targeted market may be elusive. Sure, lots of folks are sharing information on their profile, but perhaps they're omitting what it is they really need, thus leaving advertisers in the lurch. And that's if you’re lucky; some folks might lie on their profile outright.

Secondly, an excerpt from Richard Florida's new book is a perfect compliment to Harford's article, in that he also highlights the importance of geography in today's global economy. He departs from Thomas Friedman's groundbreaking theory that the world is flat and instead suggests a spiky world, where peaks of innovation are cropping up in selected areas. Even if similar types of folks link themselves digitally by being 'friends,' Florida points out the importance of linking via geographical proximity:

Geographic concentration encourages innovation because ideas flow more freely, are honed more sharply, and can be put into practice more quickly when innovators, implementers and financial backers are in constant contact. Creative people cluster not simply because they like to be around one another or prefer cosmopolitan centers with lots of amenities (though both things tend to be true). They cluster because density brings such powerful productivity advantages, economies of scale, and knowledge spillovers.

So perhaps all of this technological innovation isn't taking us as far as we think it is. Maybe it's just a better way to play Scrabble.

As someone who runs a digital property, I'm constantly looking for what all this means for CoolPeopleCare and our mission to enable people to change the world. Yeah – we've got the Facebook fan page, we've got the MySpace profile, we Twitter and we blog. But why do we do all this, especially when we believe in the power of the offline community so much and that change happens best face to face?

Because we have to be where people are. And people now gather online. Even if the ultimate action we're soliciting is one of offline, real world, or analog behavior, the doorway into people's minds is a digital one.

So by all means use social media and use it well – but don't expect it to save the world in an instant. Countless individuals are finding that social networks could lead to social fragmenting. Rebecca's found that social networks don't create new leaders. Even if there is a digital doorway, the pathway to change has to still be traversed with two very real feet.

Attention Nonprofits: Watch Out for the Social Entrepreneurs

Hi. My name is Sam, and I’m a social entrepreneur.

Hi. My name is Sam, and I'm a social entrepreneur.

I had the extreme privilege of speaking to two business classes at Belmont University this morning. I got a chance to tell the tale that is CoolPeopleCare – how it started, where we are, and what we'd like to become.

Belmont University is unique as it begins to offer a social entrepreneurship major. For the first time, students can focus on what it means to build a business that is focused on multiple bottom lines, focusing on serving the community while running their operation. No longer are students forced to choose between operating a greedy business or working for an altruistic nonprofit. Now, students can live and work in that lovely overlapping Venn diagram of a place where their need to make a living can coincide and address the largest needs of the world.

Very recently, this hybrid of a concept has been gaining attention and momentum. Obviously, when someone wins the Nobel Peace Prize for their creation of a banking and loan system that lifts people out of poverty, they're bound to gain attention. And now, Muhammad Yunus is the poster child for all of us out there who want to change the world in a new, meaningful and lasting way.

Recently, Yunus penned a piece for the Christian Science Monitor that is breathtakingly brilliant. In just a few short paragraphs, Yunus accurately describes the emerging world of social entrepreneurship and why new ideas and investments are needed in the space. While social entrepreneurship alone won't cure all of society’s ills, it can get us darn-well close.

Yunus hits the nail on the head, when he points out the benefits of social entrepreneurship:

Traditional philanthropy and nonprofits generate a social gain, but they do not design their programs as self-sustaining business models. A charitable dollar can be used only once. A dollar invested in a self-sustaining social business is recycled endlessly.

Today's talks at Belmont were the perfect complement to a few experiences I had in Boston a few weeks ago. While there, I met with a handful of folks working in the nonprofit sector, all of whom were under the age of thirty. And while I've seen this before, I was a bit amazed. After all, Boston is a bit more expensive to live in, compared to Nashville or Birmingham.

And so I asked them: Why, as a young person would you want to live here and work in the nonprofit world? Why not find a job in finance or business, pay your dues, climb the ladder and give back once you’re more established?

And every answer was the same: I want to make a difference and this is the best way to do so right now.

I didn't ask the students the same question this morning, but I did get a glimpse of the kind of people they want to be and the kind of good they want to do once they have a degree. And finally, they have a valid option, where their passion to save the world meets their talents as a businessperson. For this budding crop of entrepreneurs and world changers, making a difference is no longer an afterthought – it's on the forefront of their minds. It's as different as a business deciding to donate a percentage of revenue as opposed to a percentage of profits: one is a commitment on the front end, the other is just a 'maybe' on the back end.

I was asked this morning, "So if you went to a school that offered a social entrepreneurship major, would you major in that?"

"Absolutely."

The nonprofit sector needs to take notice. What was once a luxury for them – the ability to recruit, young, affordable and reliable talent – may be slipping from their grasp. And it's no longer a conversation just about salary and income. It's just as much about meaning as it ever was.

Today, when I recounted the history of my own passion to make a difference and my own quest to do so professionally, a student remarked, "So it sounds like CoolPeopleCare has provided a perfect blend of all the areas you wanted to impact while allowing you to use your talents to their fullest."

Precisely. No longer does this generation have to 'pay their dues' anywhere – not even at a nonprofit. They can do what they love and change the world simultaneously. They can pave their own road instead of walking down the road more traveled by boomers and Gen-X before them. They can launch their own venture and be happy – not just because they get to be their own boss, but because they get to make their own impact.

No longer is good and meaning closely guarded by 501(c)(3)'s – it's being found in the small businesses that crop up to address great need. The decision to go nonprofit or forprofit will soon be a no-brainer.

I'd love to offer some sort of silver lining to the nonprofit folks out there, but I can't. Not because they're aren't any, but because I don't need to. This might just be as good as it gets.

A Culture of Once

Congratulations. You did something once.

We know that everyone gets their 15 minutes (thereabouts) nowadays. One hit wonders may be flashes in the pan, but most of us still can’t get "Macarena" or "Tubthumping" out of our heads. Why is that?

It's because in a world where media is becoming more democratized and in a culture where the definition of 'news' is negotiable, something only has to happen once to get our attention and make us prepare for the unlikely occurrence of twice.

Snow's "Informer" hits the charts and we're thinking he's the next (or first) big white rapper. Vince Young has a phenomenal first year, but then throws more interceptions then touchdowns. We saw something on Dateline about someone getting killed, and now we'll take the precautions to make sure we're not next – even if it's expensive or irrational to do so. We buy lottery tickets because let's face it: someone has to win and you can't win without a ticket.

A culture of once is built on reputation and as opposed to legacy. And those who can see the market developed by this culture are laughing all the way to the bank (more than once, most likely).

Because even though I only slice a turkey once a year, I need to shell out the big bucks for the super duper knife. Because even though my gutters only need to be cleaned once a year, I'll opt for the nice foldable, telescoping ladder. Because a racehorse beat the odds at one race, I'll bet the house on him again. Because one song was a hit for a summer, I'll get the band's merchandise to wear.

Since when did exceptions become rules?

The stuff of reputation happens in an instant, with a mention on a blog or an appearance on Oprah. Anyone can create a reputation and milk it for all it's worth.

Because eventually, a reputation is worthless.

On the other hand, the stuff of legacy is priceless.

A legacy happens through repeated and consistent action. A good preacher isn't one with one great sermon, but countless good ones. The best musicians are those who crank out hits and meaningful compositions, regardless of what's trendy at the moment. Good Web sites are those that maintain traffic long after the novelty wears off.

Today, a lot of people spend money and time on trying to develop a reputation. Sadly, not enough of us concentrate on building a legacy – once that will last long after our time on earth has passed.

A culture of once that builds reputation is one that thrives on fear. In contrast, a legacy is built on hope, optimism, expectation and meaning.

I heard an anecdote once about a missionary couple in Peru. Known for their generosity, one day, while on the way home from shopping for groceries, a stranger asked them for a ride. The couple gladly obliged. A few miles down the road, their car and groceries were stolen at knifepoint by the new passenger.

Eventually, they made it back home and filed the necessary police report. Later, when recounting their story, someone asked, "So I guess you won’t be so kind as to pick up a stranger again, will you?"

"Nonsense," they effortlessly replied. "We're not going to let the unfortunate actions of one prevent us from the opportunity to help so many others."

Why Websites Suck: Make It Big

If there were a simple 3-step process to (re)making your website suck less, this would definitely be it.

When we last left our hero...

Ok. Welcome back. It’s been too long to actually consider this series of blog posts anything less than inconsistent, but hopefully by using the power of HTML we can keep the thread alive.

First we identified our audiences.

Second, we determined what we wanted to communicate with those audiences.

There, you’re caught up.

Now, the next step -- Make it.

Too often the “Make It” step is the first phase undertaken in a Web site (re)design and while the end result still might look pretty, it might not serve to function as a useful or usable tool to extend your organization’s mission into the digital world.


So, by ID’ing the audience first, and tailoring your content to both what your audience(s) want and what you want them to know, you’re putting a higher priority on what is in actuality the most important element of your Web site -- the people and the message.

The colors and photos and layout and functionality all take a back seat to making sure you’re talking to the right people and saying the right things -- and don’t let any heady designer try and convince you otherwise.

Now it’s time to partner with the right person or firm to make your Web site reflect the attitude and personality of your organization. And of course, there are more than three ways to skin this cat, all usually related to the available budget for said skinning.

But it’s easiest to break it down into three possible options, small Medium and LARGE.

If you’re undertaking your (re)design with a preset budget, categorize your budget as such (NOTE: these are to be used only as guidelines and indeed, are neither hard nor fast rules):

small - $500 and under

Medium - $501 - $1,500

LARGE - $1,501 and up

Working “budget-backwards” isn’t always ideal, and too often in the nonprofit world, money dictates action. But fret not, you will be able to get what you need no matter the budget, with the right partnerships and right approach.

Consider partnering (read: hiring) an outside firm to handle this piece of the puzzle for you. Volunteers and board members are great assets, but are potentially pulled too many other directions for this process to go as smoothly and quickly as it can.

Plenty of firms have capacity to do either pro-bono work or to offer cut rates to nonprofits. Spend some time asking other nonprofit professionals in your community if they’ve worked with someone in the community. Look for first-degree referrals and explore the possibility of “making it” and making it work.

If you’re fortunate to have staff available to do the design work, great. Make sure the design process (audicence ID’ing, message creation, etc.) is a collaborative process and not left to the designs only of the marketing department, et al.

Strategically spending some money up front will reap long-term benefits in the end, and after working yourself to design the most important elements on your own, you’ll spend less (and get more) by working with a capable contractor.

We’ll talk more about this approach and other pieces to the “Why Websites Suck” puzzle, but for now, make a new friend to help you make it big.

Check Us Out

Here's a quick mention of our mentions.

For the faithful out there, here's some quick updates about where we've been (featured) lately:

• Online phenom Ray Chung interviewed Sam as part of his blog series, "Young People Spotlight." Click here to read about Sam's 3 R's.
• Basil and Spice, which is an online collection of book reviews for a healthy life, features Sam and New Day Revolution as part of its Living Green discussion. Click here to read about the nastiest rumor to come around in quite a while.
• We had a nice segment air on "Live at 9" on Memphis' WREG News Channel 3. Click here to download and then fast forward to the 30-minute mark to see our stellar 7 minutes.
• CoolPeopleCare is now on Twitter. This means you can now get our updates as we're on the road, as well as be alerted to new posts and thoughts. If you don't know what Twitter is, don't worry.
• We also got a nice plug in the recent newsletter for the Davis Food Co-Op. You can click here to download it and jump on over to page 4.
• And, there's only two weeks left for our 2nd Annual User Survey. We'll give away some prizes in exchange for some answers. How easy is that?!?!

At Every Airport in the World

We have a continual desire to always want to be somewhere else.

Ask anyone about air travel and you'll hear a horror story. Bags get lost, flights get delayed, and plans get changed. The system isn't perfect, and never will be. So, during your next unplanned respite in an airport, take a look around.

Last Sunday, I was delayed in Chicago. Here's what I saw:

• Across from me in the waiting area near K3 is the guy who wants to upgrade. He thinks that his accumulation of thousands of miles and his platinum status will get him a comfier seat for the next leg of his journey.
• A quick jaunt down the concourse reveals more corporate logos that Main Street, and with each step deeper into the terminal, you quickly realize you can buy everything from sunglasses to liquor to bestsellers to apparel. Who needs malls? Just buy a plane ticket.
• In some airports, if you take off your trendy white headphones and listen to humanity for a second, you’ll hear languages as diverse as our ideas and reasons for traveling.

Everyone in an airport is watching something or someone. What if we could watch ourselves watching?

Sure, traveling often gives me enough deep examinations in our human nature that I can stack up trite clichés like jets stack up on the O'Hare tarmac in January. But that's not the point.

If you look around at any airport long enough, you'll notice one thing: no one wants to be here.

It's the same way with the DMV and hospitals. If there were another way to accomplish the mission, we'd do it. But, given that this is the best option (to get to San Diego in under 4 hours, to get rid of the tumor, to renew the license), it's all I've got.

I bet it's hard to work in the airport. Not because it's the hospitality industry (I used to work at a hotel), but because no one wants to be there. Even if someone is traveling for pleasure an is embarking on the vacation of a lifetime, they're thinking about where they're going, and not where they are.

That's why I stopped and watched for a few hours a week ago. There was something about being present – about understanding where I was. As much as our modern conveniences (and yes, air travel is a convenience) afford us the notion of being somewhere else, it's important every once in a while to take stock of where you are and think about simply being present, noticing the moment and observing the possibility that lies therein.

Airports aren't reality, no matter how wonderfully curious JFK and LAX may feel. Even if we can get anything and go anywhere easier than ever before, airports are only as real as reality TV. They're full of ordinary people doing things we wonder about, but their identity is limited only to where they hope to be (and not where they currently are) once the cameras stop rolling and the aircraft has come to a complete stop and the fasten seatbelt light has been turned off by the captain.

Because in the end, no one really likes to think about airports. We just think about the destination.

Get off the nonstop to dreamland and breathe in the deep air of reality that is Where-I-Am-Now.

Near-Life Experiences

When was the last time you almost lived?

It's easy to tell stories about near-death experiences. Maybe we were almost in a car wreck, maybe there was terrible turbulence. Maybe a pretzel went down the wrong pipe or we had some really sketchy Mexican food. Or maybe things got really serious and a heart attack landed us in the emergency room, cancer nearly did us in, or a stranger who knew CPR saved our life.

Certainly, these experiences (especially the graver ones) aren't to be overlooked, brushed aside or even taken lightly. Those of us who have gone through one of these came out on the other side somehow changed. The sky seemed bluer, juice tasted sweeter, or time with loved ones meant a lot more.

And so, the near-death experience is prized above nearly other in our life as it teaches us that which we should have learned at some other point. As much as we never hope to have one, a near-death experience puts into perspective that which should have been properly aligned all along. Like a strict schoolmaster or a guilt-giving grandmother, the near-death experience is supposed to instruct us as to what is truly important in life.

A recent email from a very good friend said:

I could go on like this for a while, but I'm just afraid of what it could do to me if I let it. I can be a cold bastard, Sam. I want to be more human. And humanistic. I just want to live, bro, and be real.

I just want to live, bro.

How many of us have ever had a near-life experience? How many of us have had a time where we got a glimpse not of what things might look like if we weren't here, but if we were more here? How many of us have been allowed a wake up call to what it means to truly live?

Maybe it was the taste of momentary success. Maybe it was that moment when our greatest passions were matched up with the world's deepest needs. Maybe it was when we realized we truly could find meaningful work. Maybe it was a crisp February day when the sky was blue and the breeze hit us in a way that made us shiver from head to toe, but simultaneously made us realize we were truly alive – perhaps more in that moment of chills than ever before.

When we do that thing that provides a near-life experience, we are also never the same. When we get a glimpse into that which truly makes us happy and when we understand that which gives us meaning, we want to live more than ever before.

When we get a glimpse of our dream, we want to chase it down more than ever before.

I don't have any answers for my friend on how he can truly live. There is no 5-step process or simple 12-part checklist. If he wants to truly live, he needs to do the arduous task of exactly that. He needs to find that moment that allows him to see what truly living is like and seek to recreate that moment every day when he wakes up. He needs to seek the moments, memories and meaningfulness that makes him feel alive, fully human, fully engaged in community and relation to others.

Because when we truly live, we find the stuff that life is made of, the stuff that makes life the beautiful and bountiful gift that it is. And then we can never be the same.

I Read a Book: Culture Jam

Kalle Lasn's book is challenging and convicting.

I had been aware of Kalle Lasn's Culture Jam for a while. I grabbed it recently at a local used book store, but left it sitting on my shelf until last week. His manifesto for a new way to understand consumerism is refreshing, convicting, and challenging.

I enjoy Lasn's passion, which is evident on each page of the book. He clearly has a desire to show Americans a better way for our county, economy and neighborhoods when he shares swaths of data and countless ideas for ways to reverse "America's Consumer Binge."

His thesis is simple:

America is no longer a country. It's a multitrillion-dollar brand.

Because of this, we "now live designer lives - sleep, eat, sit in a car, work, shop, watch TV, sleep again. I doubt there's more than a handful of free, spontaneous minutes anywhere in that cycle."

And that's just in the introduction. The rest of the text is a walk down the corridors of our capitalist structures, as Lasn pulls back the veil that so easily shrouds the reality of the system, lulling us to sleep while we carry on, overburden ourselves with debt, and hope the next product we see advertised will fix everything.

While it's easy to think he goes overboard with some suggestions, and while I'd like to think what he's asking is too over-the-top and completely unrealistic, if I'm honest with myself, I find that I only accuse him of such because I find it so difficult to loose myself from the chains of my own lust after the designer lifestyle.

But when I realized that, I knew I must change. That's the beauty of Lasn's book. Don't read it if you're not willing to consider his argument, and then be confronted with the reality of your own house and closet.

Here are some of Lasn's other great quotes:

The pursuit of freedom is what revolutions are all about.

The generations alive today - who cannot recognize an edible mushroom in the forest of build a fire without matches - are the first to have had their lives shaped almost entirely by the electronic mass media environment.

Fear breeds insecurity - and then consumer culture offers us a variety of ways to buy our way back to security.

The first time we saw a starving child on a late-night TV ad, we were appalled. Maybe we sent money. As these images became more familiar, though, our compassion evaporated. Eventually, these ads started to repulse us. Now we never want to see another starving child again. Our sensitivity to violence has been eroded by the same process of attrition.

Lack of diversity leads to inefficiency and failure. The loss of a language, tradition or heritage - or the foregoing of one good idea - is as big a loss to future generations as a biological species going extinct.

We, the people, have lost control. Corporations, these legal fictions that we ourselves created two centuries ago, now have more rights, freedoms and powers than we do. And we accept this as the normal state of affairs. We go to corporations on our knees. Please do the right thing, we plead. Please don't cut down any more ancient forests. Please don't pollute any more lakes and rivers (but please don't move your factories and jobs offshore either). Please don't use pornographic images to sell fashion to my kids. Please don't play governments off against each other to get a better deal. We've spent so much time bowed down in deference, we've forgotten how to stand up straight.

The GDP fails to assign any value at all to unpaid or volunteer work.

The GDP measures "goods" but not "bads." [That is] like driving your car without a gas gauge.

We sink billions into mutual funds and retirement plans, assuming these to be secure, broad-based, blue-chip investments. But what's in these funds? Just as with hot dogs, you don't really want to know. Some of your money may be bolstering the economies of dubious, often atrocious, even genocidal regimes.

[There has been] a devolution in the state of living: from "being" to "having" and then from "having" to "appearing to have."

On the American campus - the great waiting room, the traditional place for radical demonstrations to rage - not much is happening. There's no real rush to finish a degree because what lies on the other side but debt, pavement pounding and the potential shame of boomeranging back home? [Some say] "Life sucks." Okay. So fix a small corner of it. When so much is at stake, how can you be so complacent?

What if each shareholder was deemed personally responsible and liable for collateral damage to bystanders or harms to the environment? Why shouldn't it be so? If you're a shareholder, a part-owner of a corporation, and you reap the rewards when the going is good, why shouldn't you be held responsible for that company when it becomes criminally liable?

The fossil fuel-based automobile industry is being subsidized by unborn generations to the tunes of hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

For most of us the economy remains a mysterious abstract system. As with our microwave over, we don't know hoe it works and we don't really want to know. We just keep pushing buttons and hot dinners keep coming out.

In all revolutions, the agents of change - usually a small core of fired-up individuals - reach a personal point of reckoning where to do nothing becomes harder than to step forward.

But we know better.

Circle Up!

Get in shape. Literally.

I don't know exactly what it is, but when people sit in a circle, stuff happens. Good stuff. Stuff that needs to happen. Stuff that inspires. Stuff that we remember. Stuff that changes our lives.

In the past month, I've sat in a circle three times in three different cities, and each time I had an experience to remember – an experience that was transformative for each person who sat and listened.

In Asheville, North Carolina, after our standard presentation that accompanies our book signings, Stephen and I were pleasantly surprised as a time for Q&A turned into a time for storytelling. Having greased the wheels that transport our stories of social change, the group decided to move their chairs that were in neatly organized rows into a circle. We then sped quickly down the freeway of motivation as we heard stories from people who were fighting to make the world a better place.

We heard the tales of one woman's crusade to publish letters to the editor to educate her neighbors and community members about the need to pass pending clean air legislation. We heard the frustrations of a 16-year-old as he wished his classmates would be more responsive to his pleas to recruit teen volunteers. That was followed by words of encouragement and concrete ideas from a lifelong educator, also in the group.

There, in a local bookstore was a circle of hope.

A few weeks later, while discussing New Day Revolution with a group of 20- and 30-somethings at a church in Indianapolis, Indiana, we again got into a circle. After the same presentation about why the need for small, actionable steps is critical when it comes to making a dent in our largest social ills, we again heard stories of ordinary individuals on the front lines of making a difference.

We heard about the young woman helping other women start businesses nearby and abroad. We heard about the family who went to Cuba simply to learn of the needs in order to tell those stories to anyone who would listen back home. We heard of the young woman who pledged with a group of others to not buy anything new (save for food and necessities) for an entire year, and of the young man working tech support who made it his mission to be friendly to every caller.

There, in the fellowship hall was a circle of progress.

And last night, while speaking at the monthly gathering for the Green Campus Initiative at Harvard University, I saw it again. After sharing our approach to social change and how we motivate individuals to act in light of that, I heard stories of involvement and commitment from the next generation.

I hear