Inspiration Archives

Ask a Luminary

Am I Making a Difference in the World?

"I want to make a difference in the world, but I don't know how." ~ Kristin, Des Moines, IA Dear Kristin, You already are the difference in the world. Literally, you being here at this time, in this place, is making a difference. Embrace that about you and learn to love and appreciate everything about this wonderful life you experience. Doing so will open your mind and fill your life with so many opportunities and experiences that you won't be able to do it all! Stop worrying about making a difference and start embracing your existence. The world would not…

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Rise & Walk: New Hips, New Knees, New Hope

I graduated from Harvard College and Stanford Law School, and I declined several lucrative corporate law offers in order to dedicate myself full-time to saving and transforming lives in Africa. Now I lead The GEANCO Foundation, which organizes medical missions and maternal and infant health programs in Africa. GEANCO is also partnering with Stanford Hospital to build a world-class medical facility in Nigeria. On October 24, our team of twenty skilled and selfless medical professionals will travel to Nigeria to give new hips and knees to poor patients and train local surgeons on the latest orthopedic techniques. These missions are crazy difficult to pull off. Qualified medical professionals from…

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Ask a Luminary

How Can I Control My Kids’ Backtalk?

"I'm sick and tired of my kids' mouthing off at me. How can I control my kids’ backtalk?" ~ Michael, Nashville, TN Backtalk is certainly something you don’t want to hear from your kids. It’s a surefire way to push most parents’ buttons! But can you control your children’s backtalk? I don’t think so. They ultimately control what words come out of their mouths. However, you can control your reaction to whatever they say. How you react will increase or decrease the likelihood that they will use backtalk in the future. For example, when your child uses backtalk, you might…

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In The Underbelly Of Pain, Lick Your Wounds and Thrive

By Lisa Cypers Kamen. I was living the dream. I was floating through my days, moving between the multiple houses and the multiple cars without a care in the world. My husband loved me, my kids thought I was an awesome mom and loved that I could shower them with everything they needed. I had a rockin' wardrobe and one hell of a travel schedule.  My body was perfect, my lifestyle was perfect, my family was perfect. My everything was perfect. Until it wasn’t. The marriage dissolved. The cars, houses and flashy clothes were history. I couldn’t provide for my…

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Ask a Luminary

What Is Our Collective Purpose?

"I feel like most of the people I know are struggling to find their purpose in life. What do you think is our collective 'soul's mission' in our world right now?" ~ Arie, Toronto, ON I believe that as we come into this new era, we are all being called to truly live in our “real truths”, which is that we are all divine light here to be love, to unite and to help each other learn and grow in our soul’s progressions here on earth. We are being called to be peaceful warriors and to light the way so…

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Rough Break Ahead

By Gail Lynne Goodwin. Recently I was driving and came across this sign, informing me that there was a "Rough Break Ahead". I burst out laughing and thought, "Wouldn't it be nice if life gave us signs like this?" And the more I thought about it, I realized- it does! For most of us, we move along our path fairly obliviously, with a few bumps in the road and don't realize we've hit a rough break until we're there. Then, we look back and wonder what just happened. However, I believe our personal signs are there as well, IF we’re…

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Carter and Olivia Ries

Today’s Brilliance from Carter and Olivia Ries

We only have one shot at making our world the place we want it to be. To make it something we can be proud of and something we would proudly hand over to the next generation. It is time we all looked at our everyday life and asked ourselves, "What can I do today that will help the next generation so they can live the life I envision?" Each one of us has the ability to better our world and it is our responsibility to strive to find solutions to the problems we inherit. We see so many opportunities to…

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How to Truly Sparkle!

I am a Nature fanatic! I love all the ways she calls to me to notice her magnificence. The birds (my favorites are hummingbirds, hawks, and herons), flowers (orchids and roses), trees (the dogwood and Norfolk pine), and environments (the beach) are ever present for us to experience. The seasons signal with their own specific energies. There is always something to give loving energy to. It’s fabulous! It’s as if Nature is a fashion show and it’s constantly getting all dressed up. She sparkles! Like her, I feel extra sparkly when I dress up. Getting ready to go out for…

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Ask a Luminary

How Do I Find the Courage to Quit?

"I really need to quit my job but have a family to support. The biggest obstacle is money and time. Can you please provide any tips on courage and taking the business leap?" ~ Erick, Henderson, NV For starters, you could start a side business and keep working until the side business generates enough income to quit. That is what I did when I first quit my job. Fear often replaces courage when we become overwhelmed by the monumental nature of the task ahead, like "how am I going to build a business with enough income to support my family."…

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3.74 Degrees of Separation – Social Media and the Algorithm of the Human Heart

By Lisa Cypers Kamen. I'm no Kevin Bacon, but I just found a batch of research that says the degrees of separation between me and the rest of the world are decreasing. And it's no surprise that social media has a lot to do with it. Take Facebook, for instance: Mark Zuckerberg and co. say that I’m only 3.74 degrees away from any other user on the social network. That’s less than 4 connections separating me from President Barack Obama, Kim Kardashian, or even you. Small world, huh? And the numbers get even more mind-blowing the more you think about…

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Ask a Luminary

Why Am I See-Sawing Emotionally?

"Sometimes I feel so excited about the things I've got going on in my life, but then, that all goes away, and I just can't manage to get into any of it. I almost feel manic-depressive. Is that normal?" ~ Riley, Fayetteville, AR Everything goes in cycles. We see this everywhere in life, and we are generally happily accept it -- outside of our own selves. But we have to realize that we are not immune to the cycles of energy and growth. Daily life is like swinging: when we are flying forward it feels exhilarating, wholly empowering. We love…

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Enjoy Your Magical Moments to the Fullest

By Gail Lynne Goodwin. I believe that life is comprised of a string of magical moments, memories that are so strong, so inspiring that we tuck them away into the recesses of our brain, and play them back when we want to relive them again. Right now, I'm creating more of these moments. We’ve chartered a boat from Northwest Expeditions and we’re cruising the waters off the coast of British Columbia, north of the San Juan (US) and Gulf Islands (Canada), in an area called Desolation Sound. To say the area is stunning would be an understatement. Not only are…

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How Can I Manage My Teenagers?

"I used to think I was a great parent, before my 3 kids became teenagers. There are days when I don't know who these kids are, and I'm embarrassed to admit that some days I wish I'd never had children.... Suggestions?" ~ Marie, El Paso, TX Hey, I get it. I am a mom of two myself and there are days when I wish I was living alone again. But it is the resistance and the non-acceptance of the situation that makes it worse for us. We do have to accept that we are parents and we made this decision to do…

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Confessions of a Reformed Trophy Wife + 10 Lessons for Moving Forward

By Lisa Cypers Kamen. Once upon a time, in a not so far away land, there lived a wife. A trophy wife to be exact. She was living the "dream," with every single one of her "wants" more than fulfilled. Loving, affluent husband? Check. Two beautiful children? Check. Vacation homes? Double check. Travel, jewelry, fashion sprees? Check, check, check. Busy social calendar? Check to the nth degree. How do I know all this? Because that trophy wife was me, living my personal Disney fantasy. That is, until the music stopped. The façade fell down. My marriage failed. The economic recession…

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Sponsored: A Passionista’s Approach to Life

We all want to live a life filled with passion, right? What if YOU could live your passion and prosper within it? Wouldn't that be a wonderful way to live? Just for a moment consider approaching life from a Passionista's Perspective.... "Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping... waiting... it will stir... and open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us... guides us...passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments." - Joss Whedon Passionistas CHOOSE to discover life and live it filled with their heartfelt…

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