Day 82 - Kid President for President - Part 2

Day 82 - Kid President for President - Part 2

"Thank you."

"Excuse me."

"I'm sorry."

"I've got barbecue sauce on my shirt too."

We're all wrapped up in technology, busy schedules, and competition.  We're so caught up in these things that we've forgotten the very basic principles of treating one another with kindness.  Take Kid President's thoughts to heart.  Start making these 20 things part of your regular vocabulary and let's spark a revolution of respect, kindness, and compassion.  That ought to make the world a better place.  Or in the words of Kid President, that ought to make the world awesome.  

"Just tell people they're awesome and mean it."

"Nothing.  Sometimes that's the best thing you can say."

"Something nice!  Anything.  If you can't think of anything nice to say, 

you're not thinking hard enough."

Kid President for President

Day 81 - Kid President for President - Part 1

Day 81 - Kid President for President - Part 1

"The world needs to stop being boring.  Yeah, you!"

I can't tell you the number of times I've watched this video in the last month or so.  It really is incredible.  It's inspiring.  Kids have it all together.  If you've never seen him before, Kid President's got some excellent messages out there.  You should check them out on YouTube.  

"And if life is a game, aren't we all on the same team?  

I mean really, right?  I'm on your team, be on my team."

I wish adults would think like this.  Think how much more productive we all would be if we worked together.  Think how much more kindness, patience, and gratitude would be present.  Seriously...we are all on the same team; the team that's striving to make this world a better place for all of us.

"This is life people, you've go air coming through your nose!  You've got a heartbeat!  

That means it's time to do somethin'!

"What if Michael Jordan would've quit... he would have never made Space Jam...

will be your Space Jam?"

"What will you create to make the world awesome?"

One...excellent...question.  What will you do?  Kid President for President.

Day 80 - Hope

Day 80 - Hope

Professor X: "Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn't mean they're lost forever.  Sometimes, we all need a little help."

Charles Xavier: "I'm not the man I was."

Professor X: "You're afraid.  I remember."

Charles Xavier: "All those voices...so much pain."

Professor X: "It's not their pain you're afraid of.  It's yours, Charles.  And as frightening as it can be, that pain will make you stronger.  If you allow yourself to feel it, embrace it, it will make you more powerful than you ever imagined.  It's the greatest gift we have: to bear their pain without breaking.  And it comes from the most human part of us: hope.  Charles, we need you to hope again."

The excerpt above comes from a scene in the most recent X-Men film, X-Men: Days of Future Past.  In this scene, Professor X is able to communicate to his younger self, encouraging him to make a choice that greatly impacts the future of mankind.  If you haven't seen this one, it's a good one.  

But where do I want to go with this quote.  Well, I've been meaning to post this quote on my blog for quite sometime, and tonight it resonated well with an event I attended this evening that was put on by Wartburg's SAFE (Suicide Awareness For Everyone) organization.  Tonight, I witnessed three brave students open about their experiences facing depression, anxiety, thoughts of suicide, and a variety of other aspects in their lives that most people would consider elements of brokenness.  I'm incredibly proud of these students and I am reminded of what it means to hope.  

Hope is a powerful thing.  It can carry you through tough times, it can make something miserable bearable.  It can bring you peace.  In times of struggle and challenge, don't lose hope, for there might be a day when you look back on your life and you'll want to encourage yourself to keep pressing forward.  And when you feel like you're losing hope (a very dark place to be), do not hesitate to ask for help.  Even the world's finest need help once in awhile (Superman, Wonder Woman, & Batman).  

Be kind to one another, look out for each other, and never lose hope.  Always remember, you won't be "...lost forever."

Day 79 - A Movie You've Watched Recently

Day 79 - A Movie You've Watched Recently

I have had the pleasure of seeing the movie Big Hero Six in theaters recently.  I gotta say, I loved it!  I loved it so much I saw it twice: the night it came out and back in my hometown dollar theater.  It's a great movie and I highly recommend it.  

Big Hero Six is about an intelligent young boy named Hiro, who's trying to find his way in the world.  He develops a special bond with an inflatable robot named Baymax.  Hiro in inherits Baymax shortly after his brother is killed in a tragic university fire.  Hiro soon discovers there's something a little mysterious about the fire and partners up with a group of friends and Baymax to discover what exactly happened.  

You might think this is a pretty deep movie to be an animated family film, and yes, you are right. The emotion and thoughts behind the story itself can tug at the heart (sort of like the movie "Up," if you've ever seen it).  However, the film counteracts the emotion and delivers an action-packed message we can all take to heart.  Again, I highly recommend it.  There are lots of laughs, especially from Baymax.

In closing, I just want to share the quote that has really stood out to me after seeing the film twice.  This is a quote Hiro narrates right at the end of the film.

"We didn't set out to be superheroes.  But sometimes life doesn't go the way you planned."

He goes on to say that he and his friends are going to go on and help a lot of people, just like his brother set out to do when he was creating Baymax; a medical robot.

Wonderful words worth considering as we head into a new year.  You may not set out to be a superhero in 2015, but sometimes life encourages us to take that step.  Saving the day means impacting the people around you and the world beneath your feet.  

I just gotta ask, how might you set out to do that?  What will you do in 2015 to make the world a better place and make a difference?  And who will you do it for?  Go BIG!  :)