Link: The Untapped Power Of Smiling

Recently I made an interesting discovery while running – a simple act that made a dramatic difference and helped carry me through the most challenging segments of long distance runs: smiling. This inspired me to embark on a journey that took me through neuroscience, anthropology, sociality and psychology to uncover the untapped powers of the smile.

I started my exploratory journey in California, with an intriguing UC Berkeley 30-year longitudinal study that examined the smiles of students in an old yearbook, and measured their well-being and success throughout their lives. By measuring the smiles in the photographs the researchers were able to predict: how fulfilling and long lasting their marriages would be, how highly they would score on standardized tests of well-being and general happiness, and how inspiring they would be to others. The widest smilers consistently ranked highest in all of the above.

Read the full article here...
http://blogs.forbes.com/ericsavitz/2011/03/22/the-untapped-power-of-smiling

Link: Evolutionary Pioneers

If you are trying to do something genuinely new, you have to be a pioneer, you have to be a change-agent. In order to contribute to creating the future, you need to be aligned with the very edge of evolution. Otherwise, you are going to be following the beaten path, living out the patterns that have been formed by countless others. Most human beings are born and die within a preexistent cultural context that we don't necessarily feel is up to us to define. Without even knowing it, we tend to do what everyone else is doing. But at this particular time in history, for new evolutionary stages, structures, and potentials to emerge requires rare and heroic men and women who have awakened to the conviction that this next step needs to happen and that we’re the ones who have to take it.

Andrew Cohen
http://pages.s4.exacttarget.com/Share.aspx?i=f7346b4b949df1492434c6bb19ca40c0d98803eb71adcf2d

Link: John Cleese WCF

Link: Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four

Link: Human Planet - Web exclusive series trailer - BBC One

Link: Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of awesome

Link: The Power of Vulnerability

Link: Nigel Marsh: How to make work-life balance work

Link: The Wisdom of Old Ted

I placed Ted's ashes in the ocean and watched as they made a rainbow before dissolving into the sea. In my hand was an envelope with my name on it. I reflected on my friendship with Old Ted, over the past two years prior to his death.

It was a sunny mid-day in Tucson. I had been attending a teaching and we were on lunch break. I was the first to arrive at the Furrs restaurant. I was getting out of my car when I saw him. An elderly man in his eighties, thin, tall, and walked with the gait of someone who knew how to put many miles behind them in a day. He came up to me and said, "I'm hungry can you feed me?" "Of course." I said.

Read the full story here... http://www.helpothers.org/story.php?sid=11243

Link: Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus