Aimee Mullins was born without fibular bones, and had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was an infant. She learned to walk on prosthetics, then to run — competing at the national and international level as a champion sprinter, and setting world records at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta. She never gave up, she got stronger and now she can motivate other people!
The world left behind the rocky horizon seems unreal with it’s absurd problems. Here, everything takes on another meaning. The rhythm of time slows down, amazing things happen, thoughts can’t keep up with events, and words can’t keep up with thoughts…
I wrote this over 10 years ago and this is still what I feel about being in mountains. The nature and my body is my link to “be here and now”. Each time I am newly excited with the mountain experience. It is time for us to connect to the nature, step back and get a new perspective of our outer and inner world. And the most important to be together, to be here and now.
Lewis Pugh is a British environmental campaigner and swimmer. He gives motivational speeches and performs extreme actions to draw attention to environmental problems. At TED he talks about symbolic swims across the North Pole (0:18:51) and a glacial lake under the summit of Mt Everest (0:09:45). Read more…
A very optimistic video found at facebook. It would be interesting to use the video as a 30-day trial by picking each hint as a motto of the day. Even just watching it cheers up
Be happy
Show up
Follow your heart
Find a new perspective
Have a sense of wonder
Find people you love
Set goals
Help others
Dance
Pamper yourself
Face your fears
Go to a museum
Exercise
Limit television
Get in touch with nature
Lighten up
Get a good night’s sleep
Read books
Buy yourself flowers
Don’t compare yourself with others
Don’t beat yourself up
Be open to new ideas
Don’t focus on negative thoughts
Focus on creating what you desire
Make time just to have fun
Keep the romance in your life
Make a gratitude list
(my family, my friends, a roof over my head, my work, the ocean, creme brulee, …)
Love your Mother Earth
Want what you have
Be true to yourself
You’re not perfect, sport, and let me save you the suspense: this girl you’ve met, she’s not perfect either. But the question is whether or not you’re perfect for each other. That’s the whole deal.
This book goes deeper into concepts presented in The Power of Now. It is slightly redundant with the first book, but it gives more insights into the matter (especially the ego). There is a lot of resources on the book on Oprah’s webpage and on youtube.
Birth and death are intertwined into the eternal plait of life. In the Christian world birth is white and happy, whereas death is black and sad. This is only one point of view imposed by a certain tradition and belief system. In Bali, for example, a cremation is not a gloomy ceremony. It is a chance for the soul to be reborn, therefore it is a positive event.
Even if one does not believe in reincarnation, hearing death knocking on the next door may wake us up to life. Wake up the gratitude for every moment of our life and every moment we share with people we love. Wake up to our meaning and purpose of life. Thus, we can also look at the bright side of death.
This is probably the most accessible modern book on spirituality. Even for somebody not keen on spiritual side of life it may be a very valuable reading. It helps to see the world and ourselves in a different light. The author has a technical background, so concepts are presented in a simple and sound way. Even if you do not experience awakening triggered by the book, it has a potential to change your mindset.
List of chapters and some excerpts from the book can be found on amazon.com (“look inside”). There are some more resources for the book on youtube.
Don’t be blind to the positive even if you are surrounded by the negative. There is always a positive side of an event, but sometimes it is not clearly obvious and visible. It may take some time to notice and appreciate it. Being able to recognise it instantaneously is a great wisdom worth aiming for. Carpe diem!
Aimee Mullins was born without fibular bones, and had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was an infant. She learned to walk on prosthetics, then to run — competing at the national and international level as a champion sprinter, and setting world records at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta. She never gave up, she got stronger and now she can motivate other people! 
Lately I had an opportunity to learn something new. This time something very different from my daily activities (IT): 
Even just watching it cheers up 
