Posts Tagged ‘change’

Short Video, Great Advice: Think Different

Posted on: November 30th, 2009 by Lori Deschene - 8 Comments

I realize this video is a little old, but I never saw it before and I feel compelled to share it here.

So often in life we limit ourselves to the confines of what’s reasonable. People who change the world aren’t always reasonable.

They imagine possibilities other people wouldn’t think to consider. They let themselves dream, and then take action, fully convinced they can create that reality. They hope, and believe, and persevere, inspiring others to get outside their comfort zones, too.

It all starts with a simple thought.

I’m committed to being crazy, a rebel, a round peg in a square hole. Someone who sees things differently. Someone who changes things. Are you?

Why Bad Things Happen to Positive People

Posted on: September 27th, 2009 by Lori Deschene - 20 Comments

rose-colored-glassesI was 24 years old. Young enough to think just moving to New York was enough to make my dreams come true. Old enough to know that’s not quite the way it works.

I’d spent my first 18 years clawing my way to the top of everything that interested me, and the next 6 slowly learning the art of failure and humility. At 24 I knew I had to become someone important, but I was desperate to find the elevator to success. I didn’t think I had the energy to make up it up the stairs.

When I arrived at my interview for marketing job—as it was so descriptively advertised on Craigslist—I was shocked to see 25 other eager faces, all waiting in the same room. The whiteboard read, Who wants to work smarter, not harder and earn six figures?

Sign me up, I thought. This looked promising.

A 22-year old Hispanic girl named Wakia led us through a 45-minute presentation. She never once asked for the resume I carried in my second-hand briefcase. She didn’t ask a single person for their name. Instead she exuded an infectious energy and explained how she recently bought her own home while helping other people do the same.

If you were born yesterday—as I clearly had been—please forgive me for spoiling the surprise ending to this story. She hadn’t bought a house. She didn’t make six figures. And no one else did, either.

Of course I didn’t see that then. I hadn’t yet honed my whole “seeing good” philosophy.

(more…)

Why I’m Thrilled I Could Have Been Eaten by a Bear

Posted on: July 13th, 2009 by Lori Deschene - 20 Comments

bearThis weekend I went camping, an activity I generally enjoy. As I packed my bikini, camouflage skirt, and a few colorful bandanas, I remembered some highlights from camping trips past: lounging by the lake, drinking beer while playing volleyball, sharing way too much information during fireside Truth or Dare after overindulging in vodka drinks and smores. Yes, I fantasized about sloth and excess. No, the past did not repeat itself.

Unbeknownst to me, I’d gone camping with true outdoorsmen. Men who pee around the tent to keep bears at bay, and are prepared to use bear mace if that doesn’t work. Men who fish for dinner, and hit the sack well before midnight anticipating an early-morning 11-mile hike—the day after trekking 3,000 feet up an inactive volcano. Though I wasn’t expecting such strenuous activity, I knew I had to rise to the challenges. I had three powerful motivators: (more…)