Keith Ferrazzi launch of “Who’s Got Your Back” at Arianna Huffington’s home

We’re proud to be associated with such a powerful message.  Who’s got your back is not just some new flavor of the month self-help book.  Our connectedness to others that are not just telling us what we want to hear, but instead telling us what we need to hear has been lacking.  This is the beginning of an amazing change for those willing to embrace what it means to have true lifelines and to be a lifeline to others.

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Folsom Lake Crossing Human Chain of Gratitude

It will come as no surprise that when Julie Bjorgum introduced her idea to demonstrate gratitude  – I jumped. We have a new bridge opening in Folsom, CA.  It's a rare event -and has become an opportunity to express gratitude and thanks.  970 feet of bridge joining communities together.

Show your “gratitude attitude” by joining the Human Chain of
Gratitude
stretching across the Folsom L
ake Crossing during the Grand Opening Festival on Saturday,
March 28 at 12:00.

DETAILS on Eventbrite or Facebook  

What would it be like if we all gave up and believed in
hopelessness, doom, despair?  Great
things are accomplished because despite the odds, there were people who tried,
people who believed in the possible, who weren’t afraid to fail if it furthered
the greater good.  We are humbled by our
present circumstances, but that does not make us losers.  Our society does not support the idea of
coming in 2nd, but I believe it is by our efforts that we are all
winners.  Folsom’s newest bridge next to
Folsom Dam is certainly an inspiring example of seemingly insurmountable odds
made possible by hard work,Gratitude folsom lake bridge grand opening folsom lake corssing human chain commitment and positive thinking.  We pay tribute to all who made it a reality.

 I am grateful that a smile is more contagious than a
disease.

What are you grateful for?

Author; Julie Bjorgum

We'll be making a cool video to be shared publicly.


Come show your gratitude!

 

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Pittsburgh Steelers Achieve Victory With Heart

 Character, selflessness and focus
are the reasons
that the Pittsburgh Steelers are Super Bowl Champions. 
Steelers Super Bowl XLIII super-bowl-trophy

Coach Tomlin:

“…The standard is the standard. We don’t choose to point fingers. We
stay humble in times of excellence, and achievements individually are part of a team. By the same token we don’t point the fingers as members of the team. The issue has been, is and hopefully will continue to be winning in this game indefinitely for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s where the focus is. We care less how others may judge portions of our football team or portions of our football game and are more concerned about the final outcome, which is having one more point than our opponent…”
 

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Rabbi Yossi – Jump Higher

I had a great meeting last week with Rabbi Yossi Grossbaum, founder of Chabad Jewish Community Center of Folsom. His story is inspiring:

Rabbi Yossi was born and raised in a family of Chabad emissaries in the vibrant and friendly Jewish community of Melbourne, Australia.  He attended Yeshiva College (Melbourne) for his Elementary & High School education, and later continued his studies at the Educational Institute Oholei Torah in Brooklyn, NY. In 2001, he was chosen as a Yeshiva exchange student and sent for two years to Toronto, Canada. Upon completion of his studies in 2004, he received his Rabbinic Ordination from the Central Lubavitcher Yeshiva in New York. Ever the trail-blazer, Rabbi Yossi, was the founding director of the highly successful Student Outreach Organization of the Yeshiva Lubavitch in Toronto.”

Our conversation was about staying the course through difficult challenges.  Many of us are facing tough economic times.  This means not having enough money to pay all your bills, right?  Or, spending your savings on groceries instead of keeping it for retirement. I know my family is in a tough bind. Maintaining our belief that we’ll still accomplish great things and overcome obstacles is hard.

Rabbi Yossi reminded me of a concept similar to the old addage, its darkest before the dawn.  I couldn’t find it in hebrew, however, he explained that a more effective jump is always produced when starting from a crouching position.  Historically, great discoveries and terrific achievements often occur just beyond decline and struggle.

Here’s hoping…
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Staying on task

Our family trip back east was a great one.  We were fortunate to make some great memories.  A common thread was the importance of focus and concentration.

I had the pleasure of meeting with Michael J. Bowers, former Attorney General of Georgia, and a twenty year mentor and friend to my brother, David. Mr. Bowers will tell you that the three most important factors for success are focus, focus and focus.  It's one of his favorite mantras to new associates at their firm, Balch and Bingham LLP.

Another great example came from my nephew, Alec.  He gave me a great tour of The Lovett School.  Aside from getting choked up from Alec's beaming pride in his campus, I found the emphasis on maintaining focus by "Staying on task," remarkable.  How fortunate to be learning this kind of focus in elementary school as a primary ideal.    

Concentration magnifying glass
My presentation, "Tips on Being an Effective Human" has a popular slide
entitled, Harness the Sun – like burning Ants with a magnifying glass. 
The idea is concentrating your efforts like the rays of a sun through a
magnifying glass.  Not so pleasant I guess, if you're an ant fan, but
you get the idea, right?

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Generosity – Give and Give Some More

Being generous is a form of art.  A generous gesture
can take most any shape. Getting ready for a visit with my brother's family I
find myself thinking of some black duffle bags. 
That’s right!  When my son was
born my sister-in-law, Amanda, showed up with three big bags of clothes.  Now, this may happen every day.  In this case, they traveled a coupla thousand
miles, with toddlers in tow.  Amanda, as
it happens, had gathered clothes my nephew had grown out of AND she petitioned
neighbors and friends to do the same. 
Imagine our surprise at the airport…all those bags!  Clothes for our son.

That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all,
and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing." Simone de Beauvoir
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