Even though (at least in the Northern Hemisphere) it’s technically the “lazy days of Summer”, it seems like most people I know are using August for business and life planning mode.  I’ve had an unusually high number of discussions with friends and colleagues about goals, planning and what’s important to them this year and beyond, and I seem to be  in the same mode myself.

So, maybe some of you are in planning mode too? Whether you’re remodeling the house, deciding on the trip of a lifetime,  or going after your dream career,  the first step is figuring out what you want to do and to make a plan , and the then, as we all know, the most important step is to “work the plan”. ( darn, if only this was the easy part… hmm).  With that in mind, here’s a post we found that will get you thinking about tactics to keep moving forward with  those dreams and goals, whatever they may be.   Go for it!

From ZenHabits.net

Top 20 Motivation Hacks – An Overview

For the last two weeks I’ve been posting the Top 20 Motivation Hacks, one by one. These are the tips and tricks that, if used in combination, are a nearly sure way to achieve your goals.
Achieving goals is not a matter of having “discipline”. It’s a matter of motivating yourself, and keeping your focus on your goal. Follow these hacks, or any combination of them that works for you, and you should have the motivation and focus you need.

Here they are, in reverse order:

#20: Chart Your Progress. Recently I posted about how I created a chart to track my progress with each of my goals. This chart is not just for information purposes, for me to look back and see how I’m doing. It’s to motivate me to keep up with my goals. If I’m diligent about checking my chart every day, and marking dots or “x”s, then I will want to make sure I fill it with dots. I will think to myself, “I better do this today if I want to mark a dot.” Well, that’s a small motivation, but it helps, trust me. Some people prefer to use gold stars. Others have a training log, which works just as well. Or try Joe’s Goals. However you do it, track your progress, and allow yourself a bit of pride each time you give yourself a good mark.

Now, you will have some bad marks on your chart. That’s OK. Don’t let a few bad marks stop you from continuing. Strive instead to get the good marks next time.

#19: Hold Yourself Back. When I start with a new exercise program, or any new goal really, I am rarin’ to go. I am full of excitement, and my enthusiasm knows no boundaries. Nor does my sense of self-limitation. I think I can do anything. It’s not long before I learn that I do have limitations, and my enthusiasm begins to wane.

Well, a great motivator that I’ve learned is that when you have so much energy at the beginning of a program, and want to go all out — HOLD BACK. Don’t let yourself do everything you want to do. Only let yourself do 50-75 percent of what you want to do. And plan out a course of action where you slowly increase over time. For example, if I want to go running, I might think I can run 3 miles at first. But instead of letting myself do that, I start by only running a mile. When I’m doing that mile, I’ll be telling myself that I can do more! But I don’t let myself. After that workout, I’ll be looking forward to the next workout, when I’ll let myself do 1.5 miles. I keep that energy reined in, harness it, so that I can ride it even further.

#18: Join an online (or off-line) group to help keep you focused and motivated. When I started to run, more than a year ago, I joined a few different forums, at different times, on different sites, such as Men’s Health (the Belly-Off Runner’s Club), Runner’s World, Cool Running, and the running group at About.com. I did the same when I was quitting smoking.

Each time I joined a forum, it helped keep me on track. Not only did I meet a bunch of other people who were either going through what I was going through or who had already been through it, I would report my progress (and failures) as I went along. They were there for great advice, for moral support, to help keep me going when I wanted to stop.

#17: Post a picture of your goal someplace visible — near your desk or on your refrigerator, for example. Visualizing your goal, exactly how you think it will be when you’ve achieved it, whether it’s financial goals like traveling to Rome or building a dream house, or physical goals like finishing a marathon or getting a flat stomach, is a great motivator and one of the best ways of actualizing your goals.
Find a magazine photo or a picture online and post it somewhere where you can see it not only daily, but hourly if possible. Put it as your desktop photo, or your home page. Use the power of your visual sense to keep you focused on your goal. Because that focus is what will keep you motivated over the long term — once you lose focus, you lose motivation, so having something to keep bringing your focus back to your goal will help keep that motivation.

#16: Get a workout partner or goal buddy. Staying motivated on your own is tough. But if you find someone with similar goals (running, dieting, finances, etc.), see if they’d like to partner with you. Or partner with your spouse, sibling or best friend on whatever goals they’re trying to achieve. You don’t have to be going after the same goals — as long as you are both pushing and encouraging each other to succeed.

#15: Just get started. There are some days when you don’t feel like heading out the door for a run, or figuring out your budget, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do that day for your goal. Well, instead of thinking about how hard it is, and how long it will take, tell yourself that you just have to start.
I have a rule (not an original one) that I just have to put on my running shoes and close the door behind me. After that, it all flows naturally. It’s when you’re sitting in your house, thinking about running and feeling tired, that it seems hard. Once you start, it is never as hard as you thought it would be. This tip works for me every time.

#14: Make it a pleasure. One reason we might put off something that will help us achieve our goal, such as exercise for example, is because it seems like hard work. Well, this might be true, but the key is to find a way to make it fun or pleasurable. If your goal activity becomes a treat, you actually look forward to it. And that’s a good thing.

#13: Give it time, be patient. I know, this is easier said than done. But the problem with many of us is that we expect quick results. When you think about your goals, think long term. If you want to lose weight, you may see some quick initial losses, but it will take a long time to lose the rest. If you want to run a marathon, you won’t be able to do it overnight. If you don’t see the results you want soon, don’t give up … give it time. In the meantime, be happy with your progress so far, and with your ability to stick with your goals. The results will come if you give it time.

#12: Break it into smaller, mini goals. Sometimes large or longer-term goals can be overwhelming. After a couple weeks, we may lose motivation, because we still have several months or a year or more left to accomplish the goal. It’s hard to maintain motivation for a single goal for such a long time. Solution: have smaller goals along the way.

#11: Reward yourself. Often. And not just for longer-term goals, either. In Hack #12, I talked about breaking larger goals into smaller, mini goals. Well, each of those mini goals should have a reward attached to it. Make a list of your goals, with mini goals, and next to each, write down an appropriate reward. By appropriate, I mean 1) it’s proportionate to the size of the goal (don’t reward going on a 1-mile run with a luxury cruise in the Bahamas); and 2) it doesn’t ruin your goal — if you are trying to lose weight, don’t reward a day of healthy eating with a dessert binge. It’s self-defeating.

#10: Find inspiration, on a daily basis. Inspiration is one of the best motivators, and it can be found everywhere. Every day, seek inspiration, and it will help sustain motivation over the long term. Sources of inspiration can include: blogs, online success stories, forums, friends and family, magazines, books, quotes, music, photos, people you meet.

#9: Get a coach or take a class. These will motivate you to at least show up, and to take action. It can be applied to any goal. This might be one of the more expensive ways of motivating yourself, but it works. And if you do some research, you might find some cheap classes in your area, or you might know a friend who will provide coaching or counseling for free.

#8: Have powerful reasons. Write them down. Know your reasons. Give them some thought … and write them down. If you have loved ones, and you are doing it for them, that is more powerful than just doing it for self-interest. Doing it for yourself is good too, but you should do it for something that you REALLY REALLY want to happen, for really good reasons.

#7: Become aware of your urges to quit, and be prepared for them. We all have urges to stop, but they are mostly unconscious. One of the most powerful things you can do is to start being more conscious of those urges. A good exercise is to go through the day with a little piece of paper and put a tally mark for each time you get an urge. It simply makes you aware of the urges. Then have a plan for when those urges hit, and plan for it beforehand, and write down your plan, because once those urges hit, you will not feel like coming up with a plan.

#6: Make it a rule never to skip two days in a row.This rule takes into account our natural tendency to miss days now and then. We are not perfect. So, you missed one day … now the second day is upon you and you are feeling lazy … tell yourself NO! You will not miss two days in a row! Zen Habits says so! And just get started. You’ll thank yourself later.

#5: Visualize your goal clearly, on a daily basis, for at least 5-10 minutes. Visualize your successful outcome in great detail. Close your eyes, and think about exactly how your successful outcome will look, will feel, will smell and taste and sound like. Where are you when you become successful? How do you look? What are you wearing? Form as clear a mental picture as possible. Now here’s the next key: do it every day. For at least a few minutes each day. This is the only way to keep that motivation going over a long period of time.

#4: Keep a daily journal of your goal. If you are consistent about keeping a journal, it can be a great motivator. A journal should have not only what you did for the day, but your thoughts about how it went, how you felt, what mistakes you made, what you could do to improve. To be consistent about keeping a journal, do it right after you do your goal task each day. Make keeping a journal a sensory pleasure.

#3: Create a friendly, mutually-supportive competition.We are all competitive in nature, at least a little. Some more than others. Take advantage of this part of our human nature by using it to fuel your goals. If you have a workout partner or goal buddy, you’ve got all you need for a friendly competition. See who can log more miles, or save more dollars, each week or month. See who can do more pushups or pullups. See who can lose the most weight or have the best abs or lose the most inches on their waist. Make sure the goals are weighted so that the competition is fairly equal. And mutually support each other in your goals.

#2: Make a big public commitment. Be fully committed. This will do the trick every time. Create a blog and announce to the world that you are going to achieve a certain goal by a certain date. Commit yourself to the hilt.

#1: Always think positive. Squash all negative thoughts. Monitor your thoughts. Be aware of your self-talk. We all talk to ourselves, a lot, but we are not always aware of these thoughts. Start listening. If you hear negative thoughts, stop them, push them out, and replace them with positive thoughts. Positive thinking can be amazingly powerful.

At DreamBank we love anything about stretching out of the confines of  “the box” and trying something that is said to be “impossible”- a word we don’t really believe in around here.  Here’s a great post & video from one of our favorite blogs that definitely qualifies. Enjoy!

From IdeaDrunk..

Every once and while, a group of people attempt the impossible. They reject the laws of their environment and change it. Such thinking has overthrown governments, cured diseases and put humans on the moon. All because they decided to question what was possible. And reject the restrictions that society had put on their minds.

Here’s another group that’s doing that. They are a group of “Liquid Mountaineers”. Basically, they’re trying to walk on water. This isn’t a joke and it isn’t an illusion. Check it out:

If you can’t view the video, click here.

If these guys are out there trying to run on water, what are we doing inside?

Hi Everyone,

You should now be able to contribute on IE 7.  It was a very elusive bug but our clever Technical Director figured it out in the end! Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience.

Dawn and the DreamBank Team

Hi Everyone,

We’ve just found out there is a problem contributing  for people using Internet Explorer.

It’s working fine from Firefox so if that’s an option for you, try access the site from another browser and you should be able to make the contribution. Otherwise, please bear with us while we find out what the problem is and fix it!

We’ll modify the post “fixed” when it is.  Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for your patience.

Happy Friday.

Dawn and the DreamBank Team

Some hints on simplifying your world from one of our favorite blogs…

From DumbLittleMan

Take a look in your closets, garage, junk drawer and even your day planner. Are your valuable spaces uncomplicated and organized or cluttered and cramped? If your answer is the latter, it may be time tosimplify your life by getting down to the bare essentials.

For many people, a good number of items which currently clutter up your home are redundant, useless, in need or repair, or just taking up space. We simply do not need all of the possessions we have accumulated. These superfluous items can cost you valuable time and money as you sort through them on a daily basis.Simplification and getting down to the bare essentials will save time and money while reducing stress as well. Although there are many areas of our lives we could simplify, here are a few examples to give you a good start.

1. Simplify your wardrobe.
   Most people wear less than 20% of the items in their closet on a regular basis. A simplified wardrobe can relieve a great deal of stress. Fewer options will expedite your outfit selection each morning. Stick to mix and match clothing pieces that are classic and timeless. Eliminate items that our outdated, waiting more than 6 months for repair or alterations, or worn less than twice a year. The increased space in your closet will also make it easier to view the remaining clothing you have.
2. Simplify your garage and storage area.
   As the seasons change, swap snow shovels and ice picks for rakes and garden shovels. Store the unused items above in the rafters. If you have multiples of outdoor tools, garden tools, or sporting equipment, select the one in the best condition, and eliminate the others. Most importantly, if you have boxes in your storage area or garage that have been unopened for over two years, consider discarding it. If it’s been stored that long, you likely don’t need it.
3. Simplify your children’s toys.
   Some toys, such as building blocks, are a staple in a child’s toy repertoire and should be kept. Classic games and toys should be retained so long as they are regularly played with. Others like board games or puzzles which are missing pieces, trendy toys (remember Tickle Me Elmo?) that now sit on the shelf collecting dust, or gifted items that your children never had any real interest in should be discarded or donated. More than likely, your child will never miss those items and their playroom shelves will look considerably less cluttered.
4. Simplify your kitchen.
   Keep your cupboards organized by eliminating dishes and appliances you rarely use. You only need enough dishes to serve your family and a reasonable number of guests. Donate any extras. A single set of mixing bowls and cooking utensils is all that is necessary. While decluttering the kitchen, take a look under the sink and combine or discard multiples of cleaning supplies as well. Then find time to take a look through your pantry and donate any non-perishables you will not eat in the next month to a food bank.
5. Simplify your finances.
   Multiple credit cards make it easy to accumulate debt and easy to miss a payment as well. If you have debt, consolidate it into one loan or credit card. An even better option is to become debt-free. If you are married and still have separate accounts, merge them into one. If you have money in the stock market, buy and hold rather than playing the ups and downs. Package services such as insurance (car, home, life) and technology Internet, cable, phone) whenever possible. One bill is easier to keep track of than three. In addition to simplification, you may find that packaged services at a discounted rate as well.
6. Simplify your schedule.
   Avoid taking on too many social engagements. Carefully consider your availability before joining any groups, committees, or clubs. Limiting your social commitments will allow you do give each its due attention. Additionally, simplify your family obligations by grouping appointments together whenever possible. Take one trip to the dentist instead of 5 separate trips. If your children are involved in after-school activities, find another family that will carpool with you. Life is much simpler when you only need to drive the kids to soccer once a week instead of 3 times.

Getting down to the bare essentials is a straightforward way to simplify your life. By taking the time to whittle things down to the fundamentals, you will save both time and money. You will spend less time making decisions when there are fewer options and save money by reducing unnecessary purchases. In the process, you may find some unexpected
benefits along the way such as reduced stress, increased personal satisfaction, and more free time.

With Earth Day on the 22^nd, and wedding season starting to kick off, we thought we’d focus on the ways couples are planning eco-friendly weddings. Becoming more popular and more mainstream – “Green Weddings” are the latest trend in wedding planning. Here are some tips for planning an environmentally friendly union:

Reduce
With the economic down-turn, many couples are reconsidering that ice-sculpture or the 10 white doves being released at the ceremony. If budget isn’t enough of a reason to trim your wedding, hopefully the environment is. Consider whether or not you really need all the pomp & circumstance – often it’s the small touches that are remembered.

Alternative Venues
Getting married in an unconventional setting like the beach or at the entranceway to your favorite hiking trail is a great idea. It is a perfect opportunity to draw attention to the beauty of the great outdoors and strengthen your environmental commitment.

The logistics of an outdoor wedding without the basics can be a nightmare, so plan carefully. Also, remember to look into permitting from your local municipality.

Also, having your wedding and reception at the same venue will save time and money while reducing the carbon footprint of your wedding. Being able to move outside while the space is being made over from ceremony to soiree is a great help, and your caterer will thank you too.

Invitations
Now more than ever people are finding that their friends are scattered all over the globe. Rather than sending invitations via snail-mail, why not send out an e-vite instead? Without the costs of embossing, envelope addressing, stamps and of course the carbon footprint of mail, you’re going easy on your wallet while also going easy on the earth.  There are many websites tailored specifically for wedding invitations, check out Wedding Tracker, Wedding Window and EWedding.

The Menu
Food is a hot topic – how do you plan for an eco-friendly meal? The best bet is to try to use local food whenever possible. Encourage your caterer to shop at farmer’s markets and local grocers. If you aren’t a complete carnivore – consider a vegetarian or fish-based meal. Not only will it be lighter, meaning your guests won’t be feeling sluggish when it’s time to hit the dance floor; but you won’t have to navigate through the meat debates (Organic? Free range? Grass fed?). Consider serving organic wine at your table too.

Flowers
Some people have made beautiful arrangements with wild flowers. If you haven’t got the time to go flower picking, the next best option is to look for locally grown, fairly traded, organic or Veriflora flowers. Veriflora is a sustainability certification program for flowers that are grown in an environmentally and socially responsible manner and meet the highest standards for freshness and quality.

Bridal Registry
We’re a little biased here, but we think DreamBank is the best option when it comes to an eco-friendly alternative in the world of gift registries. Not only does posting your dream gift ensure that you get what you want – but it also means that no unwanted ‘stuff’ is going into landfills. Check out some of the great wedding ideas other dreamers have posted: here, here and here.

Other interesting options are gifts in kind. Consider creating a list of duties that guests can volunteer for. You may know a graphic designer who might agree to design your e-vite and there are always friends that will help decorate your venue.

Keep it Casual
Keeping it casual works well for weddings where green is the theme. If you are married to the idea of a traditional wedding with all the trimmings, then going green can be prohibitively expensive. Renting as much of what already exists in the world is your best course of action.

The Honeymoon
According to a Wedding Bells Magazine survey, a typical honeymoon lasts 8.8 nights; 67 percent plan to spend their honeymoon outside of the country, and 56 percent plan to stay at an all-inclusive resort, spending $3,735 on average. This involves flying and that means more carbon emissions. What can you do? Consider purchasing carbon offsets (carbon offsets are where you trade off one activity that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions with a financial contribution to an activity or cause that saves emissions).

You may look at offsetting the CO2 generated by the air travel of guests attending your wedding by buying credits in a green technology. Visit a site like Carbon Fund where you can use a handy calculator to tally up your entire carbon footprint for the wedding. You can then buy credits in anything from renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects.

For more resources on how to plan the perfect green wedding, check out:

Suite101’s Green Wedding Article

GreenWeddings.net

GreenEleganceWeddings.com

And check out some of the more popular wedding sites like bride.ca and theknot.com, as they have “green” sections. Just type in ” green” in their search area and you’ll find some more ideas.

Sometimes you feel like you’ve hit a roadblock, and the obstacle you’re facing is insurmountable. When that happens, think of the people who achieved great things despite being faced with difficulties that you’re fortunate enough to not have.  Helen Keller, for example, was blind, deaf and dumb, and yet became an award winning author. There’s a great post on dumblittleman.com about the lessons to be learned from her.

7 Great Lessons You Can Learn from Helen Keller

Helen Keller was an amazing woman. She was blind, deaf, and dumb, yet that didn’t stop her from achieving her dreams. Helen was not a person who made excuses, she made things happen. She is a constant reminder that anything is possible.

Despite her circumstances, Helen Keller became a world famous author, activist, and speaker. One of her many accomplishments includes being the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. I believe we can learn a lot from Helen.

Below are 7 Life Lessons from Helen Keller:

1. Go After Your Dreams
   

   “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure.”

   I often tell people to go after their dreams and turn them into a reality. My skeptics would say, “That’s unrealistic,” …but what’s the point of being “realistic.” Nothing great has ever been achieved by a “realist.”

   Albert Einstein was not a realist, the Wright Brothers were not realists, Thomas Edison was not a realist, and Alexander Graham Bell was certainly not a realist.

   What is “realistic,” but the self-imposed limitations adopted from society? Take the limits off; go after your dreams. In the infamous words of Paris Hilton, “life is too short to blend in.” Chase after your dream like it’s the last bus of the night.

   
   

2. You Must Have a Vision
   

   “It’s a terrible thing to see, and have no vision!”

   Do you have a vision, a goal, a plan, a mission for your life? Isaiah wrote, without a vision the people perish. Great leaders are always great visionaries, they have an internal picture of where their going; their fixated on their vision. What’s your vision?

3. Nothing’s Impossible
   

   “We can do anything we want to do, if we stick to it long enough”

   The beauty of “time” is that you can accomplish just about anything if you keep at it long enough. Set your mind on what you want to accomplish, and don’t stop until you get there. They say the usefulness of the postage stamp consists in its ability to stick to something until it gets there. Learn from the postage stamp; stay committed to your dream until you get there.

4. Experience is Priceless
   

   “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.”

   Knowledge is nice, but experience is priceless. Learn from all of life’s lessons! Never be afraid to get your hands dirty by getting some first-hand experience. Only experience can bring full understanding.

5. Focus on the Positive
   

   “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”

   
   Although we could focus on the negative things around us, it doesn’t do us much good. Helen Keller said, “Keep your face to the sunshine and you will never see the shadow.” I think this is good advice. Decide to see glass as “half-full,” things are not getting worse, they’re getting better!

   
   

6. Hang-out with Winners
   

   “While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.”

   Winners hang-out with winners. Don’t be caught hanging-out with negative people. Negative people are like “vampires,” they suck the life from everything around them. They’re always saying “how you can’t, why you can’t, and how you’re going to fail when you try.” If you hang with these “chickens” for too long, you’ll forget that you have the ability to soar like an eagle. Decide to spend your time with those who believe the impossible is possible.

   
   

7. Your Destiny is in Your Hands
   

   “What I am looking for is not “out there,” it is in me”

   
   Everything you need to succeed, you already have on the inside of you. Shakespeare wrote, the fault dear Brutus, lies not in our stars that we are underlings, but in ourselves. Success is yours for the taking, but you have to believe it, and you have to be convinced that you deserve it.

   “One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.” – Helen Keller

Thank you for reading, and the next time you think something can’t be done, remember Helen Keller.

A great post from www.dumblittleman.com with a moving story and some tips on bringing Joy into your life everyday. Here at DreamBank we’re more about giving “hand-ups” rather than “hand-outs”, and while the author does talk about giving money to the homeless, what’s particularly interesting is his mention of the abundance mentality versus the scarcity mentality. I think it’s that abundance mentality that motivates those who actively want to bring about social change. .

At any rate, enjoy the post and see how many of his tips you incorporate into your daily life.

How to Bring More Joy Into Your Daily Life

It would be hard to imagine two more contrasting worlds. Above me, stretching up into the heavy rain clouds, the opulence of the Trump Tower, sleek and black. Behind me, on a busy Fifth Avenue sidewalk, a charity worker soliciting for cash donations from the passing throng.

Lucky enough to have been able to organize a Saturday in Manhattan, following a week’s business trip to Connecticut from the UK, I was intent on soaking up the sights and sounds of one of the world’s great cities, New York.

I walked away from the charity worker, initially mistaking him for a salesman of some kind (there are plenty of people trying to sell to you in New York City!). Then his words began to penetrate my consciousness, and I realized that he was collecting to provide meals for the homeless. This being one of the charitable causes that I tend to support, I turned back and grabbed a small handful of change from my pocket (probably a couple of dollars) and poured it into his collecting jar. We exchanged pleasantries and he told me that there are fifty thousand homeless people in the city and that the cash will help to feed them. Then I was on my way again. I stopped once more, reflected, and went back with another five dollars for him. I was doing quick values calculations, of how badly I needed the money, compared with someone who lives on the street, what I would use the five dollars for, compared with the street person, and so on.

It struck me that fifty thousand was a big number of people to be on the streets. I wondered momentarily how many people were giving donations on the street today and how many donations it would take to feed all fifty thousand. I watched, for one minute, and counted around one hundred people passing the charity worker on the sidewalk. And the vast majority made no donation at all. I made a quick calculation that if each and every person passing gave two dollars to this one charity worker, we’d probably collect enough in a day to feed the lot. By the way, it’s hard to know how many of those passing were Americans; a large proportion of that crowd, on a Saturday, I would guess would be tourists.

Now, all this talk of fancy business trips, New York City, and giving away hard earned cash might give the false impression that I am one of those lucky ones with plenty of cash in the bank and can well afford to spread a little around. So, in case you think this story is only for the well-heeled, I have to confess that my financial liquidity right now is less than great. I earn a decent salary, but like many, have maintenance (alimony) payments, mortgage payments, household bills, and (frankly) I’m not the world’s best at managing money. So I have a hefty overdraft, loan interest payments, you get the picture. I did stop and think before donating, asking myself whether I could afford it.

What I want to share with you is that the amount of joy I feel in my life has increased hugely since I changed the way I think about other people over the last few years. And here’s the mindset change; we human beings are all one big family on this little blue planet.

Stephen Covey (‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’) talks about an abundance mentality, versus a scarcity mentality. In a scarcity mentality, we believe that there is not enough to go around. Resources are limited, we live in a competitive world, anything you get represents a little bit less available for me, a zero-sum game (all your gains are to my detriment). (By the way, for a hilarious exposition on this attitude, get yourself a copy on DVD of the original 1960 movie ‘School for Scoundrels’, in which the brilliant Alastair Sim, playing Dr. Stephen Potter, teaches ‘one-upmanship’ to the hapless Henry Palfrey, in his bid to win the girl from my all time favorite movie cad, Terry-Thomas… “The world was divided into winners and losers… in a word, the ‘one-up’ and the ‘one-down’. “

An abundance mentality takes the view that there is enough for everyone. We can find a way to share the cake so that we all get a slice. If we work together, maybe we can even discover ways to create a bigger cake, so that we all get to have a little more.

Now, just think for a moment, which of these worldviews leads to advancement of the human race? Which approach would more likely succeed in getting a crew of astronauts to the moon and back, safely (remember the movie of ‘Apollo 13’?). Which approach most contributed to New York being the fabulous city it is today, with its vastly improved crime statistics and lively, diverse population? In a scarcity mentality, would immigrants be allowed to enter that great port at all, for fear of draining the resources and wealth of the city’s citizens? Well, you know, that’s how the city was built and thrived, fueled by the queues of wide-eyed hopefuls landing at Ellis Island, with hearts full of possibility.

And isn’t that really what the American dream is all about; the art of the possible, the hope of a new and better beginning? Scarcity thinking, or abundance thinking?

Now, when it comes to doing the right thing, generally in life I have learned (by my 48th year) to listen to my inner guidance system. This system is a combination of intuition, listening to your heart, gut feeling. I think it’s no coincidence that these phrases relate to the visceral, they are about what our body is telling us, rather than our intellect and our logic.

And, simply, it works like this; go with whatever puts a feeling of joy into your heart, and a spring into your step. This is almost certainly an indication that you have made a good choice and are doing the best thing for all concerned, including yourself!

You do, however, need to distinguish between joy and pleasure. Joy is a natural high without the chemicals a feeling you get when your spirit soars, the world becomes an open and friendly place and the feeling is a lasting, growing experience. Pleasure, on the other hand, can be artificially induced using chemicals, by spending money (‘retail therapy’) or by scoring a victory over others (e.g. by jumping a queue or getting away without paying for something). You momentarily feel ahead of the game, up on the deal, a winner! (Dr Stephen Potter smiles down!). This momentary pleasurable effect may last anywhere between ninety seconds to an hour. And then it’s gone. Not only that, you didn’t contribute to the net joy in the world!

Here are a few tips for how to feel more joyful, for I believe that is one of the prime reasons we are here. Come on now, let’s get creative, and add to the human joy pool!

1. Donate something to a charity, one that you empathize with.
   There are thousands to choose from, get excited about being one of the people who made a difference, however modest.
2. Give some of your time to doing something worthwhile
   Do something simply for the benefit of your fellow humans, for no other reason than contributing service makes you feel more joyful! My favorites are Samaritans (telephone support to the emotionally distressed) and Crisis (volunteer services for the homeless). Doing something for kids and neighborhoods is always worthwhile.




3. Smile at somebody and exchange friendly greetings when they serve you.
   Think of the guy that takes your railway ticket or drives your taxi, especially when they got out of the wrong side of the bed and are grumpy.
4. Appreciate, and show more gratitude in your life.
   Look around you; this is a stunningly beautiful planet, if you have the eyes to see it. Be thankful for the senses you have been endowed with, that allow you to experience it.
5. Be wildly curious.
   Find out why things are the way they are, and what you can learn from that. Adopt the attitude of a lifelong learner.
6. Be creative.
   We are here to create ourselves, in every moment, in every decision we make, in all our choices, in how we act, communicate, show up in the world. Come out of your shell and show the world what you are truly capable of!

I’d love to hear suggestions from you on what it is that makes you feel more joyful and how we can spread more joy around. Please don’t wait for everyone else to do it first. As Gandhi said: ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’

We’re lucky enough to call Vancouver, Canada “home”. These past couple weeks Vancouver has seen a flurry of activity thanks to us being the host of the 2010 Olympic Games.

Today is the kickoff – the opening ceremonies of the Games.
All of us at DreamBank want to congratulate the athletes of the Olympic Games for chasing their dreams! Good luck to all the Olympians!

Hi Everyone,

As per our earlier post we rolled out Facebook Connect on the site to make it easier for our Dreamers to sign in, and share their dreams and activity with their Facebook Friends. Unfortunately,  there are some bugs  that are inhibiting the full functionality of the site.  The biggest problem being that Dreamers are being stopped from posting a Dream, which is kind of an important feature here on DreamBank:)

We’ve taken the Facebook functionality off the site and will roll it back out once we’ve determined the issue and we’re sure it won’t get in the way of your Dreaming.

Apologies to our Dreamers for the bugs/problems and we’ll let you know when the Facebook Functionality is back and working properly.  Until then, happy Dreaming!

Hello to the DreamBank Community,

Just a quick heads up that over the next few days we are testing out Facebook Connect on the DreamBank site. We do our best to test everything thoroughly before we bring new functionality to the live site but it’s never foolproof. If you experience any problems signing in, setting up dreams, contributing or doing anything at all, please please let us know. We’re trying to make DreamBank better but sometimes that mean’s it’s worse first. If you do happen to experience a little problem please bear with us. Well make it bug free as quickly as we can.

A big thanks from the DreamBank Team!
Dawn