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Posts tagged with “Difference”

My Path to Purpose and an Unexpected Impact

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I wanted to be Mary Tyler Moore’s “Mary Richards” TV character from the 1970s. She had exactly what I wanted: independence and an exciting life! But growing up as the first girl in a traditional Italian family, I knew she was not the right role model.

Nonetheless, I ignored the expected path (much to my parents’ dismay) and spent twelve years in corporate America becoming Mary. That is, until two questions rocked my world. I dramatically left my job, career, and Mary for a more purposeful path that was mine, and I never looked back.

As a nine-year-old girl in …

The You Matter Marathon: A Simple, FREE Way to Change Someone’s Life (No Running Required)

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I care. I’m here. I’m sorry. You can.

Two simple words can make a huge difference. They can soothe, heal, connect, and inspire.

Perhaps the two most powerful words in the English language: You matter.

Far too many people don’t believe this is true. Especially since the start of the pandemic, many have felt isolated, purposeless, and some even hopeless, wondering if they’ll ever feel connected and valuable again—if they ever even have.

My new friend Cheryl Rice started this global kindness movement, the You Matter Marathon, for this very reason.

It all began back in 2016 when a …

6 Things to Remember When You Think You Don’t Matter

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In a world with billions of people, in a culture that promotes being special and making a big mark, it’s easy to feel like you don’t matter.

Maybe you’ve felt it all your life—like you have no purpose, no value, and nothing to contribute to anyone around you.

Maybe you feel it off and on, when you’re struggling to find love or direction and think you need to somehow prove your worth.

Or maybe you know that your life has value, but every now and then, when your head hits your pillow, you wonder if in the end, it …

Why My Chronic Illness Can’t Stop Me from Making a Difference in the World

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“We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.” ~Mary Dunbar

What is one eye-opening experience should everyone have?

I stumbled upon this question a few weeks ago and it got me into deep introspection.

The first thing that came to my mind made me feel both happy and sad. The smile faded as soon as it crossed my face.

Let me explain…

My Eye-Opening Experience

One eye-opening experience I had and believe everyone should have is spending time with poor kids.

I love children.

I’m …

7 Simple Ways to Give Back to the World When You Have Little Time or Money

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“I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.” ~Maya Angelou

Being charitable is often seen as a zero sum game, giving away our time or money for the benefit of others. As uplifting as it may be to give to a cause you care about, most of us feel we lack the authority to truly make things happen.

I discovered the transformative power of helping others when I was eight years old. My friends and I had imaginations like other children, but in the …

Are You Showing Up in the World as Your Best Self?

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“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” ~Robert Kennedy

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to take a yoga class at San Quentin State Prison in Northern California.

I had visited the prison before, attending other classes, with inmates, on anger management and a class based on …

To Make a Difference in Someone’s Life

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To Make a Difference in Someone’s Life

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Source: Positive Energy+

You Don’t Need to Do Big Things to Change the World

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“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” ~Mother Teresa

Life is complicated. The world’s problems are extremely complex. But what if you could help solve the world’s problems? What if you were a world changer?

Seems rather daunting, doesn’t it? Me? Change the world?! I used to feel like an ostrich, burying my head in the sand and trying to ignore all the hurt and evil in the world, because I felt helpless, like there wasn’t anything I could do.

I didn’t always feel that way though. There was a time when I felt I …

What You Do Makes a Difference

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Being Different Is a Good Thing

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Source: NotSalmon.com

Your Kindness Could Help Someone Find Hope in the Darkness

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“Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” ~Scott Adams

I was ten years old and growing up in a home that I can only describe as hellish. Among other things, our father forced us to stand against the wall for long periods of time until we shook from exhaustion. On one such day, he sent me to McDonald’s to buy him a cup of coffee.

I was happy to get out of the house and escape my punishment momentarily. As I headed to McDonald’s, I wondered what …

99-Year-Old Woman Makes a Dress Per Day for a Child in Need

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She’s almost 100 years old, but that hasn’t stopped Lillian Weber from making a massive difference in the world.

Every day she starts and finishes a unique dress for Little Dresses for Africa, a non-profit that distributes dresses to impoverished young girls in Africa and beyond. She’s made more than 840 so far, and hopes to keep going to reach her goal making 1,000.

What an amazing woman, and what an inspiring goal!

Life Lessons on What Really Matters from a Dying Man

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“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

You know how you can remember exactly when you found out that Michael Jackson died? I think it’s called flashbulb memory. It’s when something traumatic happens and because of that, you remember everything else that was occurring at the time. I was on a bus in Santorini after watching an amazing sunset in Oia.

The day I found out my boyfriend was dying was just like that, but worse. I remember everything.

Let me digress.

We spent the week leading up to …

How Pain from the Past Can Be a Gift in the Present

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“When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.” ~Unknown

Don’t hate your past. No matter what it contained or what it did to you, the past shapes who you are, not just for the things you felt damaged you but for the lessons you can take from it.

I love working with the people I call the world shakers. They’re the people who want to make a difference in the world so that they leave it in a slightly better way than they …

The 3 Most Important Questions to Ask Yourself Every Day

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“At the end of life, our questions are very simple: Did I live fully? Did I love well?” ~Jack Kornfield

When I was seven years old, I almost died.

My family and I were at Central Station in Sydney, Australia to celebrate the last steam train to ever depart the station.

It was about eight at night, and I remember it so clearly.

The train was stationary at the platform, about to depart. I heard the whistle from the engine as the wheels started to chug and move ever so slowly.

My older brother and I were excited, and we …

25 Ways to Make a Difference in the World Every Day

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“The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear.” ~Socrates

When I started Tiny Buddha, my main goal was to make a positive difference. I think that’s a goal many of us share.

I’ve stumbled upon countless blog and books written by people who say their purpose in life is to help people.

I suspect it’s how most of us infuse our lives with meaning: trying to somehow leave the world a better place than we found it.

I recently read a somewhat old blog post by ex-Microsoft employee Scott Berkun that …

You May Have a Super Power You Never Knew You Had

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Not sure you have a gift or anything special to offer humanity? After watching this you may have a whole new perspective on how you make a difference.

You Can Make a Difference: Just Open Your Eyes

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“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” ~William James

My mind wasn’t able to percieve the reality around me. It had been ten days since I’d woken up with a feeling of constant energy flowing through my whole body.

It was so intense that I didn’t want to let it go. But I wasn’t ready for it. It was way too much for my unprepared body and mind. I didn’t even know what it was back then.

Everything had happened so fast. I was on the way to Chicago with my friends after seeming to check …

Make the Difference: An Inspiring Video about Overcoming Obstacles

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This is the true story of a group of boys in Thailand who formed a football team in a small floating village without even a tiny bit of dry land. Even though they had nowhere to practice, they found a way to make it happen and became an inspiration to everyone around them.

What’s the dry land you’ve been looking for, and how can you make the difference you want to make now, whether you find it or not?