BRING THE HOPE

Enjoy Today

If you live to be 80, you'll face more than 4,100 Mondays in your lifetime. So, instead of wishing your Mondays away, you might as well start living.

Start by being happy that you have another week to chase your dreams.

If you spent the weekend with family and friends, be happy that you have others to share your life with.

If you have a few bucks in your pocket, be thankful for it.

Maybe you're facing challenges, but at least you have another day to work on overcoming them.

You are the one who is responsible for your happiness everyday.

Make it a great week.

"Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think." - D. Carnegie

The Power of Hope

Yesterday, a columnist with the Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette credited Bring The Hope with the surge in the stock market. Of course, this was absolutely the case and we're just glad that it's finally being recognized. Yes, you can believe everything you read in the newspaper. Trust us...and read on.

http://bit.ly/2Kp9UI

Carving Pumpkins

It's time to carve the pumpkins. You can go with the same old scary face that everyone goes with. Or, you can carve out some messages of hope and optimism. Here are a few cool ideas some others came up with. Happy carving.

 
 

  
 
 
 

The World Needs to Believe in America Again

As we come out of our global recession and think about what's next, what would you say if I told you that an objective has been set to halve extreme poverty by 2015? Some might call it crazy, but that goal (part of the millennium goals) was actually established nine years back as part of a global compact.

But as Bono (of U2) points out, this global compact will need America and President Obama to lead if we expect to achieve success. Bono says, "The world wants to believe in America again because the world needs to believe in America again. We need your ideas — your idea — at a time when the rest of the world is running out of them."

Click here to read everything that Bono had to say on this important topic in Saturday's edition of The New York Times.

"These new steps...remind the world that America is not just a country but an idea, a great idea about opportunity for all and responsibility to your fellow man."

Never Forget

This is the sixth in a series of posts written by Bring The Hope Intern Matt Rodgers. We hope you enjoy them. Cheers to Matt for bringing the hope.

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." - Abraham Lincoln

 

The words that President Lincoln so eloquently crafted to summarize the Battle of Gettysburg also apply to the tragedy that occurred here on September 11, 2001. On that Tuesday morning, more than 3,000 people were killed and at least an additional 6,000 were injured.

Let us neither forget the tragic deaths of the innocent people simply going about their business, nor the blood sweat and tears poured out by the men and women of the United States military, police forces and firefighters on that day and every day since. It is because of them that we have hope for a better future that is free from terror.

  

The Month of the Intern

This is the first in a series of posts written by Bring The Hope Intern Matt Rodgers. We hope you enjoy them. Cheers to Matt for bringing the hope.

Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “Easy reading is damn hard writing.” Mike’s been hard at work writing this blog every weekday since February 2008 and the guy deserves a break.

This is the kind of task interns are made for.

For the next 20 posts I’ll be here highlighting stories of hope, humor and optimism. To start us off, I thought it would be good to revisit a video Mike embedded here on the first Bring the Hope blog post.

Hopefully it’ll brighten your day.

 

Writer's Block Brings the Hope (Maybe)

Okay...it's time for me to admit that I've had some major writer's block for the past few weeks. Sometimes sitting down and writing posts comes easy. But, that hasn't been my story lately. So, I need your help. If you have something that has brought you hope in recent weeks (or months), please comment and/or send me a direct message and let me know about it. I'm in search of content and I'm looking to live vicariously through your stories.

"There's nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein."  ~Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith

"The wastebasket is a writer's best friend."  ~Isaac Bashevis Singer

"Easy reading is damn hard writing."  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Happy Left Hander's Day

Today is International Left Hander's Day. So, cheers to all you lefties. Check out the official web site for some interesting facts about being left handed.

FACT:    There is a high tendency in twins for one to be left-handed.

FACT:    No-one has come up with a definitive reason for WHY some people are left-handed, but about 13% of the population around the world are, and it is thought to be genetic - it definitely runs in families.

FACT:    When a lefty sits on my right at dinner, I don't get much elbow room to eat. It's true. 

 

Recession 101 Brings The Hope

Did you see the story about the anonymous donor that has put together a campaign to put messages of hope and optimism on billboards around the country? According to the Associated Press, the donor is concerned about how people are handling the recession.

So, he has partnered with members of the Outdoor Advertising Agency of America on a Recession 101 Campaign. Here are a few of the messages you might see on billboards in your community.

"Interesting fact about recessions...they end."

"This will end long before those who caused it are paroled."

"Stop obsessing about the economy, you're scaring the children."

And my personal favorite..."Self worth is greater than net worth."

Cheers to the anonymous donor and the ad partners who are donating billboard space. We need more words of hope and optimism in our lives to remind us to focus on the positives.

CHALKBOT BRINGS HOPE TO THE ALPS

The Tour de France made its way into the Swiss Alps over the weekend and with its arrival came a really cool ChalkBot effort. The initiative is part of Nike Livestrong and it allows all of us to submit message of hope, courage and action for sharing along the Tour de France course.

I submitted a message of hope and I'm planning to watch the race to see if we make it. This is a great idea and I've attached a video for you to learn more about it. I hope that you have a great start to your week. Peace.