Perspective
Travel can give us perspective. Our brains are wired over decades of studies, interactions, TV, parents and so on. It is difficult to rewire or unwire them. I have found that even just reading about or watching a video of a different life perspective can help change how I perceive situations and react to them. Lets work on our perspectives.
Perspective
National Service, Part 3: Austria, Rwanda, and the American Potential
Part 3: National Service – American Potential If you read Part 1 and Part 2 of my series on national service, you know I believe it can heal the open wounds of divisiveness that are tearing our country apart. Just as military service is a great equalizer, bringing together individuals from disparate backgrounds on a common…
Read MoreNational Service: Instilling Pride, Purpose and Proficiency
National Service: Cultivating Unity, Meaning, and Skills I have been giving a lot of thought lately to the concept of national service. I realized that national service was a great way to cultivate unity and belonging (pride), finding a sense of meaning (purpose), and getting trained in useful skills (proficiency.) The rifts that have formed…
Read MorePolitics and Happiness: Don’t Let Politics Derail Your Happiness
Don’t Let Politics Derail Your Happiness The intersection of politics and happiness can affect your well-being. Don’t let it. You’re enjoying some much-needed social interaction after a long quarantine. Everything’s going great until somebody brings up politics—blame or praise of a certain elected official, perhaps, or a brazen view on sensitive issues. Suddenly your blood…
Read MoreThe Science of Spirituality and Spiritual Well-Being
The Science of Spirituality KDAlive preaches spirituality as a core tenet of Ultimate Well-Being. “How can I believe something I can’t prove? you ask yourself. “How can I quell my fears and anxieties?” You are up late at night. You can’t sleep with life’s big questions floating through your head. Unlike measuring nutrition or tracking…
Read MoreThe Pursuit of Happiness, Together
The Pursuit of Happiness The pursuit of happiness, together, for yourself and those around you, is what America’s independence means to me. The pursuit of happiness isn’t created in solitude; it’s created together. That should be the basis for our communities. It also impacts the social component of your Ultimate Well-Being. Many think that his/her…
Read MoreEmplasticity: Layers of Empathy
Emplasticity: Three Layers of Empathy Empathy, we’ve all heard, “Put yourself in another’s shoes.” But do we ever really do this? I know I haven’t. For many years I was a tourist, just looking out the window as the car drives by impoverished places, taking pictures of the situation only to go back to the…
Read MoreBangladesh: An Unexplored Country of Cuisine, Commerce, and Cricket
Bangladesh: An Unexplored Country of Cuisine, Commerce, and Cricket Being hosted by E-generation was an amazing experience and taught us much about the local culture. Most Exciting Experience: Playing cricket with the team! Other meaningful experiences: – Celebrating the Day of Language – Experiencing the Muslim prayer time as a calming and meditative action…
Read MoreBhutan and Gross National Happiness in Action
Bhutan and Gross National Happiness Learn about how the Bhutanese government measures progress through Gross National Happiness (GNH) The real reason I wanted to go to Bhutan was to investigate the “Land of Happiness” after reading about the government policies that try to maximize this for their people. I thought this was intriguing…
Read MoreEnlightenment in the Kathmandu Valley
Wellbeing insights from Kathmandu, Nepal: • Understanding Nepalese Culture: Meeting truly genuine and humble people who do their best and stay happy on the journey. • Entrepreneurship: Focusing on the environment and betterment for all. • Perspective: Hearing about the caste system and realizing how lucky we are in the USA to have an equal…
Read MoreA Zimbabwean Student’s Journey to Silicon Valley
A Zimbabwean Student’s Journey to Silicon Valley An amazing story of how a young driven entrepreneur, Mthabais Ndlovu, made his way to Silicon Valley Sometime last year I (Mthabais) was watching videos from the SingularityU South Africa Summit 2018. One of the speakers said, “A mind once stretched by a new idea never returns to…
Read More10 Things I Realized On Re-Entry Back Home From Traveling Africa
10 Things I Realized On Re-Entry Back from Africa. Travel changes you and Africa Makes You do a 180 Most Meaningful Experience: Understanding How Little One Really Needs In Life Travel always changes you. You never return home the same person you were when you left. This was particularly striking for me when I returned…
Read More10 things I learned by observing Ramadan as a non-Muslim
The 10 Things I Learned by Observing Ramadan As a non-Muslim, I learned a lot by obsevering Ramadan. Anyone else can too. Every year in the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims around the world celebrate the holy month of Ramadan. While it’s commonly known as a month of fasting, with devotees abstaining from…
Read MoreVolunteering in Kenya
Kenya Offers Many Volunteering Opportunities. The West Side of the Country is beautiful, relaxed, and his more laid back. Most Meaningful Experience: Visiting all of these non-profits was meaningful. Kenya West Side/Volunteer Having finished my Nairobi adventure, it was now time to meet Toto and move on to my second agenda – volunteering. During my…
Read MoreA Glimpse into the History of Johannesburg and Legacy of Mandela
A Glimpse Into the History of Johannesburg and Legacy of Nelson Mandela and Gandhi Learning about the history of South African Apartheid and somewhat experiencing it. Travel Tips: Roaming around Johannesburg while gaining an insight into its racist issues and divide. Being approached for “selfies” with my Kaiser Chiefs jersey and confronting racism as…
Read MoreLesotho: Blood Diamond Profits for Cheap Labor
Lesotho is home to many ‘blood’ diamond mines These mines from Letseng and De Beers extract resources and the lives of the locals for immense profits. This is a short post for the diamond lovers out there. Here is a factory owned by Gem Diamonds and supplies much of the diamonds to major distributors like…
Read MoreReligion, Business, and History in Egypt
The Religion, History, and Business of Egypt Being in Egypt at the time of Ramadan taught me to respect a lot of the Mulsim religion. I spent 5 days in Egypt, on an impromptu vacation, during Ramadan. I even attempted to participate in Ramadan. I also explored the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, the…
Read MoreTop Ten Reasons Why San Franciscans Would Love Tokyo
Top Ten Reasons Why San Franciscans Would Love Tokyo And they are… 1. Foodies! – Everyone knows I don’t like super expensive tasting menus and would always prefer a burrito or Yoshinoya. That said, I’ve always said SF has the best restaurants whether a cheap burrito or expensive Michelin rated; Tokyo has cheaper, better restaurants…
Read MoreA Day Mountain Biking
I went mountaing biking yesterday at Saint Teresa Park in San Jose, CA, just before a round of golf. Upon arriving, I noticed a group in the distance but didn’t think much of it. So I grabbed my two wheeled terrain hopper and took off. In the middle of my ride, I hear a gunshot…
Read MoreThat’s Fresh
I recently went to a web2.0 conference where I was searching out deals to do mobile bling. There, I stopped by the Adobe Photoexpress exhibit where I spoke to a product manager. While giving my pitch to her, I exuberantly told her we could bling photos and send to the phone as they did on…
Read MoreRain
Now that I’ve lived in San Francisco during the rainy season, I have learned about a new type of rain. Most of you aren’t familiar with Carolina Rain, which is a great song by Carolina Rain. Some of the quotes are “rain feels like heaven when the water hits my skin” and “nothing washes my…
Read MoreBYO Chopstix
Did you know that China produces 68Bn disposable chopstix per year? That is roughly 60/person. Most of these are sold to small restaurants implying that the average chinese eat out once out of every 6 days. Hmm, I don’t think KFC uses chopstix nor does McDonalds so that would even increase the number of times…
Read More