Thursday, January 22, 2015

Change the world with Castles in the Sky, and an ask for you to help build

About this post: The world changes because people build castles in the sky - dream impossible dreams, and then take action to make them happen.  Marilyn Winter-Tamkin, Meryl Lefkoff and the group at Emergent Diplomacy have been laying the foundation to build the a castle in the sky to change our economic paradigm and our world. I met Meryl in 2012 at the UN's Happiness & Well-being high level meeting, and Marilyn shortly after.  Both are phenomenal people who are doing phenomenal things.  This post is for all of you systems thinkers who believe a better future is possible (like me!), and an ask that you contribute to this world-changing castle in the sky. Laura 

A guest post from Marilyn Winter-Tamkin
People around the world are suffering and growing angry about increasing inequality,poverty, global
climate change, and endless war. Political leaders are not changing the situation.

Bretton Woods 3.0 is about changing things. Bretton Woods 3.0 is an unprecedented global summit to be held in May, 2016 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It will bring together grassroots activists who understand how to successfully mobilize large communities with leaders who focus on innovative perspectives and solutions to the overwhelming problems we face. This is a gathering where magic will happen.

After 10 days of working sessions, participants will emerge with a collaborative global strategy and action plans to ignite and maintain long term coordinated mass action. These ongoing actions will be designed to keep pressure on policy makers to change the way we measure human progress; to make our current economic policies more compassionate; and to create a new economic system that protects our children's future and the planet's resources.





Interested? Participate with Indiegogo campaign site.

We hope you will contribute generously, and ask you friends and colleagues to consider doing so, too.

Yes, we really can change the world!

Many thanks,

Marilyn, Board Director of Emergent Diplomacy

Friday, January 16, 2015

Play Matchmaker for Valentine's day this year

A guest post from social monsters:
Play Matchmaker This Valentine's Day

Studies published in the Social Psychology and Personality Science journal show chronic
matchmaking is associated with higher well being. Other studies show matching people on how well they get along increases happiness and is more intrinsically rewarding.
Do you have friends that you want to get together but it seems like they could be an unlikely match? Another study shows the more unlikely the match, the more rewarding it is when it proves successful. So if you’re down in the dumps this Valentines Day, play Cupid to make yourself feel fantastic while helping someone else discover love.
Here are some ideas to get started:

Be a Good Listener

Listen to your friends and try to decipher what they’re really trying to tell you. When shesays, “I just want a good guy” press to find out what that means to her. Does she want someone loyal and hardworking? Or is she looking for a guy who is thoughtful and spontaneous with a history of great relationships?
Remember not every match is going to be a good fit. If you’re hearing your friend say she’s just not ready to date, then respect that. Offer to set her up on a casual date with someone fun that will take her mind off a past relationship or whatever is troubling her. Instead, match her up with a few great friends and help plan an evening out.

Offer a Personality Test

It can be tricky to tell if a couple is going to spark or not. Give yourself an advantage by sending them both a personality test. The idea is to look for traits the other finds attractive, not to necessarily match a couple up based on having a similar personality. While a test can’t determine personality, it can help determine the odds that a pair will hit it off or share an appreciation for each other. Couple the personality test with what you already know from this couple to make an educated guess about their chances for a love match.

Help Take the Edge Off

It’s okay to share a little inside knowledge about the couple without disclosing everything. Tell him about how she loves volunteering with animals and going on long walks through the city. Tell her about his appreciation for architecture and to look at which buildings are going up around town next. But don't interfere unless there's confusion after the date.
For example, she might think he's just not interested while he's crazy about her. And if the guy takes the traditional approach and asks out the woman, make a suggestion to get him a gift. Consider suggesting heartfelt gifts like chocolate dipped strawberries or a collection of his favorite teas to inspire fun and help give the evening a spark.

Make It Easy to Say Yes

Matching up the perfect couple may offer the matchmaker a thrill, but can be stressful for the couple involved. Make it easy for them to say yes. Make suggestions about the date you know they would both enjoy or offer to organize it yourself. Look for interesting and fun events in your city where they can get to know each other like a jazz night at a local museum. Avoid plans where they have to make awkward conversation on their own with no reprieve of entertainment or distraction in sight.

Friday, January 2, 2015

What was your new year's resolution? A post by coach Andrea Taylor

Set a Goal to Make It a Happy New Year

The New Year naturally invites you to start something new.  Don’t resist the urge to make a resolution. Having a goal is a powerful way to become happier. 

For the moment, don’t worry about being able to keep your resolution. Simply going after a goal will increase your happiness. And when you feel happier, that mood spreads to others.

Imagine your resolution as a way to make the world happier. That thought will help motivate you. And the research about happiness and goals is encouraging as well.

D. Niven in his book, 100 Simple Secrets of the Best Half of Life, reported that people who had a specific goal were 26 percent more likely to have high self esteem. And they were 19 percent more likely to be satisfied with life.

Your happiness increases because goals give you purpose and optimism. Your positive mood will attract good things into your life. A study in Psychological Science by Seligman and colleagues found that optimistic people had more success than pessimistic people.

The power of your goal goes beyond you. Our biology helps us spread happiness to others. Scientists who study the brain say that we’re hardwired to exchange emotions. Our mirror neurons pick up on Goleman. When you’re happy, this built-in feedback loop helps other people feel happy too.
the social cues and emotions of others and mimic them, according to

This means that your New Year’s resolution for 2015 can create a ripple effect. You can even design your goal to specifically boost happiness.

For example one of the goals on the Happiness Goals Countdown at Life Coach Hub is to compliment someone every day. You gain happiness by making another person’s day better. And the feeling builds as you stick with it day after day.


You can learn the research about happiness goals by joining the Countdown. You’ll get 10 suggestions for happiness goals. With these insights you’ll choose resolutions for 2015 you can really feel enthusiastic about.