The Man Who Created Ted Conferences

What a great story I got from this: extraordinarypeopleonline.tumblr.com/

He is feisty and isn’t afraid to ask for privileges. He knows how to ask good questions, finds answers, and presents them in a way that saves tons of copious paper and won’t give the reader a headache. He is one of the creators of TED and was the one who saw to it that it takes off. Yes, Richard Saul Wurman is extraordinary even though most find him ridiculously shameless.

AUTHOR OF “INFORMATION ANXIETY” AND MORE THAN 80 OTHER BOOKS

Not wanting to be called an author, Richard headed his competent writing staff to release maps, graphs, and books that pique his interest. He wrote about taking care of grandchildren and healthcare. A genius in organizing events, Richard has been awarded for his achievement as a convener.

In 1992, he received Stars of Design lifetime achievement Award and became Chairman of Graphic Design & Product/Industrial Design of the Presidential Design Awards in 1995. The following year, he received the Chrysler Design Award and was twice named one of the 100 elite of the technology industry by Upside magazine. He is also a Hall of Famer at the Art Director’s Club. Just recently, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt’s National Design Awards and Awarded the Arthur Spayed Brooks Gold Medal.

He is responsible for the creation of the following conferences that he also chaired: California 101, TEDSELL, TEDNYC, TED4Kobe in Japan and TEDCity in Toronto.

Richard Saul Wurman

Thanks to www.thextraordinary.org/richard-saul-wurman

WHY RICHARD SAUL WURMAN IS EXTRAORDINARY

He is feisty and isn’t afraid to ask for privileges. He knows how to ask good questions, finds answers, and presents them in a way that saves tons of copious paper and won’t give the reader a headache. He is one of the creators of TED and was the one who saw to it that it takes off. Yes, Richard Saul Wurman is extraordinary even though most find him ridiculously shameless.

AUTHOR OF “INFORMATION ANXIETY” AND MORE THAN 80 OTHER BOOKS

Not wanting to be called an author, Richard headed his competent writing staff to release maps, graphs, and books that pique his interest. He wrote about taking care of grandchildren and healthcare. A genius in organizing events, Richard has been awarded for his achievement as a convener.

In 1992, he received Stars of Design lifetime achievement Award and became Chairman of Graphic Design & Product/Industrial Design of the Presidential Design Awards in 1995. The following year, he received the Chrysler Design Award and was twice named one of the 100 elite of the technology industry by Upside magazine. He is also a Hall of Famer at the Art Director’s Club. Just recently, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt's National Design Awards and Awarded the Arthur Spayed Brooks Gold Medal.

He is responsible for the creation of the following conferences that he also chaired: California 101, TEDSELL, TEDNYC, TED4Kobe in Japan and TEDCity in Toronto.

10 REASONS WHY RICHARD SAUL WURMAN IS EXTRAORDINARY

1. He is the creator of the prestigious TED Conferences and chaired it for more than a decade. Other conferences he created and chaired are California 101, TEDSELL, TEDNYC, TED4Kobe in Japan, TEDMED and TEDCity in Toronto.
2. He founded and chaired TEDMED which was eventually sold for millions of dollars.
3. He is a gifted painter and has won first prize in watercolor painting at the University of Pennsylvania for 3 consecutive years while in college.
4. He co-authored the first comparative statistical atlas of major American cities.
5. He once chaired the International Design Conference in Aspen, the annual AIA Conference, and the First Federal Design assembly.
6. He coined the term "Information Architecture"
7. He founded Access Press in Los Angeles and created a series of travel guides. He also wrote more than 80 books.
8. He is inducted into the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 2003.
9. He has 3 Honorary degrees.
10. He is now busy with www.www conference, 555, and 19.20.21 since he let TEDMED go.

Barbara Van Dahlen, PHD

Founder & President
Give an Hour

Barbara Van Dahlen, named to TIME magazine’s 2012 list of the 100 most influential people in the world, is the founder and president of Give an Hour. A licensed clinical psychologist who has been practicing in the Washington, D.C., area for 20 years, she specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of children. Dr. Van Dahlen has spent her career interacting with and coordinating services within large systems, including school districts and mental health clinics. In addition, for many years, she served as an adjunct faculty member at George Washington University, where she trained and supervised developing clinicians. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland in 1991.

Concerned about the mental health implications of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Dr. Van Dahlen founded Give an Hour in 2005. The organization has created a national network of mental health professionals who are providing free services to U.S. troops, veterans, their loved ones, and their communities. Currently, the network has over 6,100 providers, who have collectively given nearly $5 million worth of services.

Dr. Van Dahlen and Give an Hour have received numerous awards. In addition to her selection in the 2012 TIME 100, in April 2012 Give an Hour was chosen as one of the five winners of the White House’s Joining Forces Community Challenge, sponsored by First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden. Dr. Van Dahlen received a citation as one of Woman’s Day magazine’s 50 Women Who Are Changing the World, the Maryland Governor’s Volunteer Service Award, the WJLA 2010 Working Woman of the Year, and the American Psychiatric Association’s 2009 Rosalee Weiss Distinguished Public Service award. In 2010 she was selected as a featured speaker at the annual Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy.

She has become a notable source and expert on the psychological impact of war on troops and families and a thought leader in mobilizing civilian constituencies in support of active duty service members, veterans, and their families. She has been interviewed by major media outlets such as AP, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Newsweek, Time, USA Today, CNN, NPR, Good Morning America, NBC Nightly News, Newshour, and such military media outlets as Stars & Stripes, AUSA Magazine, and the Pentagon Channel.

The Founder of Native Seeds/SEARCH

An amazing story I got from: www.extraordinarypeopleonline.tumblr.com

Gary Paul Nabhan is an ethnobotanist, agricultural ecologist and writer who is most known for his work in preserving the native plants and cultures of the Southwest regions of America, as well as his establishment of Native Seeds/SEARCH, a research organization focused on the local food movement. Once called the “lyrical scholar of genetic diversity,” Gary has been significant in the success of the local food industry because of his advocacy on preserving traditional food and culture.

TAKING A “HANDS-ON” APPROACH TO SOLVE THE ISSUE

An advocate for cultural preservation since his early teens, Gary has spent his career going from place to place, encouraging the locals to maintain the ‘uniqueness’ of their food culture. He believes that the only way that we can save the perilous situation of the American agricultural and food economy is by ‘re-localizing’ the food systems and promoting the local farmers.

As Gary says in an interview:

“My great joy lately has been moving from one foodshed to the next, from Alaska to Texas, helping to reinforce existing efforts that will conserve the unique flavors, fragrances and textures of each region on the continent. By re-localizing food systems, revitalizing historic foodways and providing producers with high-value niche markets that truly pay them what they’re worth, we can rescue America’s imperiled agriculture and food economy. There’s incredible momentum to democratize and rediversify our food system.”

CONNECTIONS: THE BRIDGE BETWEEN BUYER AND SELLER

Gary places an emphasis on building relationships, and that is why he loves to travel to different places and speak with farmers personally than supporting them from afar. For Gary, the best way that you can help innovate the local food industry is by building a relationship with the shops where you buy your food from and encourage them to use sustainable methods in producing the food they sell.

Gary elaborates this in an interview:

“It’s about relationship building. If we want to go back to that pork producer and say, ‘I’d feel a lot more comfortable with buying your pork if you had some perennial forages rather than a dry lot with open mud there. I’d really help promote your products to my neighbors if you could improve your practices.’ And then I hear, ‘I’ve always wanted to do that, but I’ve never had the incentive for it.’ We built a relationship that’s positively reinforcing—he’s challenging the way I eat and I’m challenging the way he farms in a positive way.”

In the process of building connections between the food producers and consumers, both parties get a better understanding of the needs of each other and can thus work together for their benefit. As Gary explains in an interview:

“Agricultural science and agricultural activism have become too distant from the needs of farmers and other food producers. The only way to heal the urban/rural divide that we have in this country is for more interplay, more inner-city people to be growing food on rooftops and patios, going out to work on farms during the weekend, and to have farmers in dialogue with consumers so that farmers understand why people want animal-welfare beef, or grass-fed lamb, or free-range turkeys. We’ve broken that dialogue. Very few urban people regularly have access to knowing what farmers and ranchers are struggling with.”

Gary Paul Nabhan - Extraordinary People Changing the Game

Thanks to www.thextraordinary.org/gary-paul-nabhan

WHY GARY PAUL NABHAN IS EXTRAORDINARY


Gary Paul Nabhan is an ethnobotanist, agricultural ecologist and writer who is most known for his work in preserving the native plants and cultures of the Southwest regions of America, as well as his establishment of Native Seeds/SEARCH, a research organization focused on the local food movement. Once called the “lyrical scholar of genetic diversity,” Gary has been significant in the success of the local food industry because of his advocacy on preserving traditional food and culture.

TAKING A “HANDS-ON” APPROACH TO SOLVE THE ISSUE

An advocate for cultural preservation since his early teens, Gary has spent his career going from place to place, encouraging the locals to maintain the ‘uniqueness’ of their food culture. He believes that the only way that we can save the perilous situation of the American agricultural and food economy is by ‘re-localizing’ the food systems and promoting the local farmers.

As Gary says in an interview:

“My great joy lately has been moving from one foodshed to the next, from Alaska to Texas, helping to reinforce existing efforts that will conserve the unique flavors, fragrances and textures of each region on the continent. By re-localizing food systems, revitalizing historic foodways and providing producers with high-value niche markets that truly pay them what they're worth, we can rescue America's imperiled agriculture and food economy. There's incredible momentum to democratize and rediversify our food system.”

CONNECTIONS: THE BRIDGE BETWEEN BUYER AND SELLER

Gary places an emphasis on building relationships, and that is why he loves to travel to different places and speak with farmers personally than supporting them from afar. For Gary, the best way that you can help innovate the local food industry is by building a relationship with the shops where you buy your food from and encourage them to use sustainable methods in producing the food they sell.

Gary elaborates this in an interview:

“It’s about relationship building. If we want to go back to that pork producer and say, 'I’d feel a lot more comfortable with buying your pork if you had some perennial forages rather than a dry lot with open mud there. I’d really help promote your products to my neighbors if you could improve your practices.' And then I hear, 'I’ve always wanted to do that, but I’ve never had the incentive for it.' We built a relationship that’s positively reinforcing—he’s challenging the way I eat and I’m challenging the way he farms in a positive way.”

In the process of building connections between the food producers and consumers, both parties get a better understanding of the needs of each other and can thus work together for their benefit. As Gary explains in an interview:

“Agricultural science and agricultural activism have become too distant from the needs of farmers and other food producers. The only way to heal the urban/rural divide that we have in this country is for more interplay, more inner-city people to be growing food on rooftops and patios, going out to work on farms during the weekend, and to have farmers in dialogue with consumers so that farmers understand why people want animal-welfare beef, or grass-fed lamb, or free-range turkeys. We've broken that dialogue. Very few urban people regularly have access to knowing what farmers and ranchers are struggling with.”

10 REASONS WHY GARY PAUL NABHAN IS EXTRAORDINARY

1. Gary Paul Nabhan is a pioneer in the field of cultural and agricultural preservation, as well as the local food movement.
2. He is a co-founder of Native Seeds/SEARCH, an organization dedicated to preserving the cultural diversity in the food industry as well as the native plants of the Southwest region of the United States.
3. He is a MacArthur Foundation fellow.
4. His work with the local food movement has significantly helped in the popularization of “re-localizing” the food system, helping local farmers.
5. He has often been named as the “father of the local food movement” for his work in the field.
6. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology.
7. He was awarded the John Burroughs Medal for Nature Writing in 1987 for his articles on the area of nature preservation.
8. He received the Emil Haury Award from the Western Parks and Monuments Association.
9. He has written critically acclaimed and bestselling books such as “Where Our Food Comes From: Retracing Nikolay Vavilov's Quest to End Famine” and “Gathering the Desert”.
10. He is widely considered as a pioneer in the local food movement and the agricultural preservation movement.

Oscar Pistorious

Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius (born 22 November 1986) is a South African Paralympic runner. Known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs", Pistorius is the double amputee world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400 metres (sport class T44) events and runs with the aid of Cheetah Flex-Foot carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs by Ossur.

In 2007 Pistorius took part in his first international able-bodied competitions. However, his artificial lower legs, while enabling him to compete, generated claims that he has an unfair advantage over able-bodied runners. The same year, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) amended its competition rules to ban the use of "any technical device that incorporates springs, wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device". It claimed that the amendment was not specifically aimed at Pistorius.

After monitoring his track performances and carrying out tests, scientists took the view that Pistorius enjoyed considerable advantages over athletes without prosthetic limbs. On the strength of these findings, on 14 January 2008 the IAAF ruled him ineligible for competitions conducted under its rules, including the 2008 Summer Olympics. This decision was reversed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 16 May 2008, the Court ruling that the IAAF had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that Pistorius's prostheses give him an advantage over able-bodied athletes.

Although eligible to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, Pistorius did not qualify for the South African team. Despite achieving third place and a personal best time of 46.25 seconds in the 400 metres in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 16 July 2008, this was short of the Olympic qualification time of 45.55 seconds. He was also not selected by the South African Olympic Committee for the 4 x 400 metres relay team as there were four other runners who had achieved better times. At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, he took the gold medals in the 100, 200 and 400 metres (T44) sprints.

The Man Behind Earthship Biotecture

Nice and  inspiring story from: www.pageeasy.com/MikeReynolds

Stress is one of the most serious problems in the world today, causing the deaths of millions of people through various auto-immune disorders (diseases that the body itself generates due to intense stress). If this is the case, would it not be better if we can find all the ways we can to relieve it by, say, living in a house where the ambiance is right and the overall environment helps in alleviating stress? Fortunately, there are people in this world who have devoted their entire life and efforts to this cause, people like Mike Reynolds.

Michael “Mike” Reynolds is an environmentalist and architect who is most famous for the “Earthship Biotecture”, an architectural building design that aims to create sustainable and eco-friendly homes to reduce stress and make living more comfortable and at the same time benefiting the environment. Mike’s work with these eco-friendly houses or “Earthships” have earned him great respect in the scientific community, especially now that the world has become more aware on protecting and preserving the environment.

MIKE’S SIGNIFICANCE IN THE WORK OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM

Everyone who has been involved in environmental activism knows just how significant Mike’s life and career has been in popularizing the industry. Back in the seventies, Mike was among the few people who promoted sustainable living but now, because of people like Mike, more and more people are now becoming aware of how important it is that one’s home can affect the environment. Mike’s significance in the environmental activism world is proven by being featured in the documentary film “Garbage Warrior”, showing just how influential he has become all these years.

For his work in introducing eco-friendly homes and sustainable living, Mike has received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his significance to the work being done by many environmental activists today. A good example of these awards are the UK Innovation Award, the Spirit of Activism Award, and the VIBES Award for Small Businesses. His documentary film Garbage Warrior has also won several awards, thereby proving that Mike’s work has indeed contributed greatly to the popularization of environmental protection and preservation.

BETTER HOUSES, LESSER STRESS, GREAT LIFE

Mike became xionate in building his Earthships not just because of his desire to help preserve the environment, but also because having sustainable homes helps in alleviating stress that causes a lot of sickness and disease in people. For Mike, an efficient home is a healthy place to live in, and does wonders for the lives of the people who live in it.

Mike says in an interview:

“If you took stress out of people’s lives and made them happy in terms of the way they live – if you made it easy for them to be at peace on this planet – they would bloom. And I think humanity could go to a whole different level.”

It is because of people like Mike Reynolds that we have a chance of saving our planet from total destruction. His efforts in encouraging people to contribute to preserving the environment through sustainable living ensure that our future generations will have a world to enjoy. Years later, when all our children and grandchildren are grown up, they will tell their kids and grandkids: “You know why we have lasted this long? It’s because of people like Mike Reynolds who took the time to remind us that we are the stewards of our planet and it is our responsibility to take care of it.”

“Inspiration, imagination and intuition are squashed in our world... We have the potential to enhance the planet. Trees enhance the planet. People could go further. We could make the Earth sing.”

Mike Reynolds

Thanks to www.thextraordinary.org/mike-reynolds

WHY MIKE REYNOLDS IS EXTRAORDINARY

Stress is one of the most serious problems in the world today, causing the deaths of millions of people through various auto-immune disorders (diseases that the body itself generates due to intense stress). If this is the case, would it not be better if we can find all the ways we can to relieve it by, say, living in a house where the ambiance is right and the overall environment helps in alleviating stress? Fortunately, there are people in this world who have devoted their entire life and efforts to this cause, people like Mike Reynolds.

Michael “Mike” Reynolds is an environmentalist and architect who is most famous for the “Earthship Biotecture”, an architectural building design that aims to create sustainable and eco-friendly homes to reduce stress and make living more comfortable and at the same time benefiting the environment. Mike’s work with these eco-friendly houses or “Earthships” have earned him great respect in the scientific community, especially now that the world has become more aware on protecting and preserving the environment.

MIKE’S SIGNIFICANCE IN THE WORK OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM

Everyone who has been involved in environmental activism knows just how significant Mike’s life and career has been in popularizing the industry. Back in the seventies, Mike was among the few people who promoted sustainable living but now, because of people like Mike, more and more people are now becoming aware of how important it is that one’s home can affect the environment. Mike’s significance in the environmental activism world is proven by being featured in the documentary film “Garbage Warrior”, showing just how influential he has become all these years.

For his work in introducing eco-friendly homes and sustainable living, Mike has received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his significance to the work being done by many environmental activists today. A good example of these awards are the UK Innovation Award, the Spirit of Activism Award, and the VIBES Award for Small Businesses. His documentary film Garbage Warrior has also won several awards, thereby proving that Mike’s work has indeed contributed greatly to the popularization of environmental protection and preservation.

BETTER HOUSES, LESSER STRESS, GREAT LIFE

Mike became passionate in building his Earthships not just because of his desire to help preserve the environment, but also because having sustainable homes helps in alleviating stress that causes a lot of sickness and disease in people. For Mike, an efficient home is a healthy place to live in, and does wonders for the lives of the people who live in it.

Mike says in an interview:

“If you took stress out of people’s lives and made them happy in terms of the way they live – if you made it easy for them to be at peace on this planet – they would bloom. And I think humanity could go to a whole different level.”

It is because of people like Mike Reynolds that we have a chance of saving our planet from total destruction. His efforts in encouraging people to contribute to preserving the environment through sustainable living ensure that our future generations will have a world to enjoy. Years later, when all our children and grandchildren are grown up, they will tell their kids and grandkids: “You know why we have lasted this long? It’s because of people like Mike Reynolds who took the time to remind us that we are the stewards of our planet and it is our responsibility to take care of it.”

“Inspiration, imagination and intuition are squashed in our world... We have the potential to enhance the planet. Trees enhance the planet. People could go further. We could make the Earth sing.”

10 REASONS WHY MIKE REYNOLDS IS EXTRAORDINARY

1. Mike Reynolds is the founder and creator of the Earthships, sustainable and eco-friendly houses that use recyclable items as construction materials.
2. His “Earthship Biotecture” project has greatly revolutionized the way people view sustainable living.
3. He is one of the pioneers of promoting eco-friendly houses.
4. His Earthship Biotecture has won the Burlington House Award for Interiors in 1975.
5. He has built Earthships for many famous celebrities such as Keith Carradine and Dennis Weaver.
6. He is often referred to as the “prophet of the green movement”.
7. His life and career was featured in the 2007 film documentary, “Garbage Warrior”, which won many awards.
8. He was given the Spirit of Activism Award at the Wild and Scenic Environmental Film event.
9. His Earthships are not only eco-friendly and sustainable, but can run itself outside the reach of common utilities companies.
10. He is cited as one of the greatest environmental achievers in history.

Julian Assange Biography

Julian Assange (born 3 July 1971). He is an Australian journalist, publisher,  and Internet activist. He is the spokesperson  and editor in chief for WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website. Before working with the website, he was a computer programmer and hacker.  He has lived in several countries, and has made occasional public appearances to speak about freedom of the press, censorship, and investigative journalism.

Julian Assange founded the WikiLeaks website in 2006 and serves on its advisory board. He has been involved in publishing material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya, for which he won the 2009 Amnesty International Media Award. He has also published material about toxic waste dumping in Africa, Church of Scientology manuals, Guantanamo Bay procedures, and banks such as Kaupthing and Julius Baer.  In 2010, he published classified details about United States involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Then, on 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five media partners began publishing secret U.S. diplomatic cables. The White House calls Assange’s actions reckless and dangerous.

For his work with WikiLeaks, Assange received the 2008 Economist Freedom of Expression Award and the 2010 Sam Adams Award. Utne Reader named him as one of the “25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World”. In 2010, New Statesman ranked Assange number 23 among the “The World’s 50 Most Influential Figures”.

On 30 November 2010, at the request of the International Public Prosecution Office in Gothenburg, Sweden, Interpol placed Assange on its red notice list of wanted persons;  he was wanted for questioning about alleged sexual offenses, and voluntarily surrendered to the London Metropolitan Police Service on 7 December 2010. Assange denies the accusations made against him.

The Amazing Philanthropist

Got this amazing article story from: 

www.isextraordinary.blurpalicious.com/post/ami-dar--extraordinary-people-changing-the-game

WHY AMI DAR IS EXTRAORDINARY

Ami Dar is a website developer, internet entrepreneur and philanthropist who is most known for being the great mind behind idealist.org, one of the largest non-profit websites in the world. Connecting millions of people with thousands of charitable organizations worldwide, idealist.org has been significant in the popularity and success of the non-profit industry because it helped in getting more people in supporting the causes of these organizations, thus making them more effective in combatting the common enemies of the human race – poverty, disease and injustice.

- See more at: http://isextraordinary.blurpalicious.com/post/ami-dar--extraordinary-people-changing-the-game#sthash.bBMZNmBh.dpuf

Ami Dar - Extraordinary People Changing the Game

Thanks to www.thextraordinary.org/ami-dar

WHY AMI DAR IS EXTRAORDINARY


Ami Dar is a website developer, internet entrepreneur and philanthropist who is most known for being the great mind behind idealist.org, one of the largest non-profit websites in the world. Connecting millions of people with thousands of charitable organizations worldwide, idealist.org has been significant in the popularity and success of the non-profit industry because it helped in getting more people in supporting the causes of these organizations, thus making them more effective in combatting the common enemies of the human race – poverty, disease and injustice.

THE AMAZING STORY OF ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST PHILANTHROPISTS

Originally starting out as a volunteer for charitable organizations and going around the world helping people, Ami sought to use technology as a means of connecting the world together and enabling them to reach out to each other, no matter how far the distance between them may be. Now, many years later, he has come close to accomplishing that goal through idealist.org, and has become one of the most successful philanthropists in history.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Ami’s work and career has made a very significant impact, and the number of awards and recognitions that he has received all these years are just some of the proofs to that. For three times, Ami was named by the Non-Profit Times, a popular international publication, as one of the 50 Most Influential People in the Non-profit Sector for four consecutive years (2002-2005). He is an Ashoka fellow, and was named by TIME Magazine as a “Philanthropy Innovator”. His website, idealist.org, was named by Forbes Magazine as one of the Favorite Sites or 2002.
DOING GOOD IS ON EVERY PERSON’S HEART

One of the main reasons that drives Ami in his work as a philanthropist is his belief that every person has a desire on the inside of him to bring about positive change in this world, and the only problem preventing him from doing so is the fact that he does not know where to begin. This is why Ami began idealist.org. To be able to give people options and guide them into where they could really volunteer their time, effort and resources is something that Ami sees as a mission, and because of this he works tirelessly to build connections as much as he can.

He states this in an interview:

“I think that as the world has become increasingly interconnected, and it’s become clearer that we – all of us humans – are in this boat together, many more people want to play a role in shaping our common future. The challenge, still, is how do we channel all that energy, and tap all the knowledge we’ve accumulated together, to move faster toward a world that makes us a bit prouder when we get up in the morning.”

THE INTERNET: OPPORTUNITY FOR PROFIT FOR SOME, OPPORTUNITY FOR HELPING PEOPLE FOR AMI

The internet has opened great opportunities for businessmen and entrepreneurs, making their products available to people who are beyond their city or state borders. But for Ami, he saw something else; not a means to get profit, but a means of getting people know more non-profit organizations. He saw the internet as a way of spreading the innovations and inventions that would help make the world a better place. As he uses an example in an interview:

“This guy remembered from his youth that rats have a great sense of smell, so he created this insane project to train little rats to be mine sweepers. The beauty is that they’re cheap and they’re so light that even if they step on a mine, they won’t blow it up. It’s such an obviously great idea, so why has no one in a place like Cambodia heard about it? Everyone knows about iPhones, so why doesn’t everyone know about this new way of finding mines? Why don’t ideas scale?”

SEEING PEOPLE EQUALLY

Probably the greatest trait that Ami possesses and has enabled him to successfully do the work he has been doing all this time is his equal treatment and view of people, no matter what race, religion or culture they may be from. Often, we get so engrossed in our own culture that when we meet people from other countries and their behaviour contradicts what we are used to doing in our culture, we view them in a negative way and that inhibits our ability to help them – but not Ami. For him, it does not matter whether you are black or white, Jew or Arab, or American or Asian. The important thing is, we are all human beings, and instead of fighting over cultural or religious differences we should all unite and work on the things that truly matter – solving the problems of this world like poverty and injustice.
AN UNYIELDING RESOLVE AND PASSIONATE DESIRE

It is not easy to start a charitable organization. You give all your time, effort and resources, and you get no profit from it other than a “thank you” from someone you have helped or a pat on the back. There are a lot of obstacles to go through, and even more problems that you need to face in the long run. But for Ami, all these things do not compare to seeing change happen in the lives of people that you reach out to. This unwavering resilience and ability to bounce back from problems has helped Ami to pursue his dreams even though when all the odds seemed to be against him.

The non-profit sector owes great gratitude to Ami Dar, who in the midst of his struggling financial situations dreamt of a world where people were helping one another, and against all odds found a way to connect people with non-profit organizations to fuel that flaming desire of doing good to one another. And as more and more developments arise, Ami becomes more optimistic that we will find a way to make this world a better place.

“I'm very optimistic. I think that we are living in, honestly, in a very special moment. This is a special time, in the sense that all of these things that have been coming at us, in some cases for decades - radio, television, satellites, whatever - and now more recently, things like YouTube, Flickr, instant messaging, MySpace, all these things are really converging while at the same time we're more aware than ever of all these local and global problems that we face. I think that in some way we, all of us collectively, are going to find a way of truly making use of all this to create a better world for all of us.”

10 REASONS WHY AMI DAR IS EXTRAORDINARY

1. Ami Dar is the founder of the organization Action Without Borders and idealist.org, one of the largest websites in the world today (with more than one million registered users).
2. He is among the pioneers of using the internet as a means of propagating the non-profit sector.
3. He is a fellow of Ashoka, one of the most prestigious non-profit organizations in the world.
4. He was named by TIME Magazine as a “Philanthropy Innovator”.
5. His work with idealist.org is significant in the popularization of non-profit organizations around the world.
6. He was named by the Non-Profit Times as one of the 50 Most Influential People in the Non-Profit Sector for four consecutive years.
7. He has been named as one of the most influential and significant Jewish-Americans of this generation.
8. Through his website “idealist.org”, Ami is able to bring people from all over the world and encourage them to support a non-profit organization to their liking, bringing the world a lot closer than before.
9. He believes in the innate desire of every person to do good, and that has been proven through the success of idealist.org.
10. His website is a recipient of the Webby Award for Best Website in the Community Category.

Read The Story Of Nick Vujicic And Get Well Soon

We have loads of problems in life aren’t we? Issues of various types and if we start making a list of the various types of issues a man can face, we might run out of paper!

At times we tend to blame our parents, our partners, our colleagues or even God. “Why me?” is a frequent question we tend to ask the Almighty. But did we ever think of persons who are going through worse situations than us? May be yes or may be no.

Can you ever think of someone..

• Who has no arms or legs yet smiles and thanks God?
• Who although not mentally disabled, was debarred from attending mainstream school because of state laws?
• Who once planned to end his life because of getting bullied at his school, but went on to secure a double major degree in Accounts and Financial Planning?

I bet no one in his wildest dreams can ever think of what Nick has been through. Nick Vujicic has NO Arms, NO Legs But YES He Has Lots of Smiles. He has not only overcome his problems in life but is now traveling worldwide to make others smile. Friends this is a true story, the story of Nick Vujicic.

He is a motivational speaker (smile maker) and a preacher who has taken the responsibility to tell others the importance of hope, determination and strength.

Just watch this YouTube presentation from the person himself.

How on earth does Nick do “all those things”? Watch this video.

The Man Behind Foundations: Taproot and Imperative

Great article I got from this site: http://finestextraordinarypeople.weebly.com/1/post/2013/11/aaron-hurst.html

Aaron Hurst is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, speaker and non-profit consultant who is most known for his work in bringing together the non-profit and business sector through the organizations he established, the Taproot Foundation and Imperative. As one of the pioneers of non-profit consultants, Aaron has made a great impact in getting the for-profit and non-profit sectors to work together, yielding better results in the programs and campaigns that are designed to address the issues that the world is facing today.

BEING RECOGNIZED FOR HIS WORK

Throughout his career, Aaron has received quite a number of awards and recognitions that prove just how significant his life and work has been to the improvement of the non-profit sector. Aaron is a fellow of both the Draper Richards Foundation and Ashoka, two prestigious international organizations. He is also a recipient of the Humanitarian Service Award, the highest honor given by the University of Michigan to its alumni. Aside from this, Aaron has also received the Manhattan Institute Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Innovation Award from the Social Venture Network.

THE INNATE HUMAN DESIRE: SERVICE AND PHILANTHROPY

One of the reasons why Aaron is so passionate about what he does is because deep down, he knows and believes that every human being has a heart for serving others, most of them just do not know where to begin. This is why Aaron provided an avenue for people to get to use their skills in a fulfilling and significant way. This is especially true for the young professionals, who are very eager in looking for ways that they can make a significant impact in the world.

Aaron describes this in an interview:

“I believe that everyone likes to help but that’s only one part of it. Really good professionals just love what they do. Good designers love a great design challenge, engineers love solving a difficult technical problem and lawyers love winning a case. They just love being challenged and being able to use their craft to solve a problem. That goes beyond money. Also a lot of people also like meeting new people and networking. Then you also have professionals who are thinking about moving into the Non-Profit sector but they want to try it first.”

AARON HURST - Extraordinary People Changing the Game

Thanks to http://www.thextraordinary.org/aaron-hurst

WHY AARON HURST IS EXTRAORDINARY

Aaron Hurst is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, author, speaker and non-profit consultant who is most known for his work in bringing together the non-profit and business sector through the organizations he established, the Taproot Foundation and Imperative. As one of the pioneers of non-profit consultants, Aaron has made a great impact in getting the for-profit and non-profit sectors to work together, yielding better results in the programs and campaigns that are designed to address the issues that the world is facing today.

BEING RECOGNIZED FOR HIS WORK

Throughout his career, Aaron has received quite a number of awards and recognitions that prove just how significant his life and work has been to the improvement of the non-profit sector. Aaron is a fellow of both the Draper Richards Foundation and Ashoka, two prestigious international organizations. He is also a recipient of the Humanitarian Service Award, the highest honor given by the University of Michigan to its alumni. Aside from this, Aaron has also received the Manhattan Institute Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the Innovation Award from the Social Venture Network.

THE INNATE HUMAN DESIRE: SERVICE AND PHILANTHROPY

One of the reasons why Aaron is so passionate about what he does is because deep down, he knows and believes that every human being has a heart for serving others, most of them just do not know where to begin. This is why Aaron provided an avenue for people to get to use their skills in a fulfilling and significant way. This is especially true for the young professionals, who are very eager in looking for ways that they can make a significant impact in the world.

Aaron describes this in an interview:

“I believe that everyone likes to help but that’s only one part of it. Really good professionals just love what they do. Good designers love a great design challenge, engineers love solving a difficult technical problem and lawyers love winning a case. They just love being challenged and being able to use their craft to solve a problem. That goes beyond money. Also a lot of people also like meeting new people and networking. Then you also have professionals who are thinking about moving into the Non-Profit sector but they want to try it first.”

EMPATHY: THE SECRET OF COOPERATION

And with the knowledge of the human desire to be of service to his/her fellow human beings, Aaron also knows that it is through understanding that cooperation is built, thus making it possible for people to cooperate with each other. This is what made him very successful as a non-profit consultant. Aaron does not go around telling organizations and institutions what to do – instead, he takes time to listen to their needs, look at areas of opportunity, then draw a conclusion which would be for the better of the organization and their cause.

As Aaron states:

“The most important skill in business and in life is empathy. The ability to understand other people and to listen before you talk. That’s the number one challenge with pro bono and it’s the number one challenge for American or European or other companies going into either a non-profit in their own country or in another country. They start by giving advice, they start by trying to make a difference, instead of realizing the first step is to shut up and listen and understand first. I don’t think it’s really an issue of China or another country–just in general with any relationship, listen first. If you do that, you are fine.”

THE BOTTOMLINE: WORKING TOGETHER MAKES US STRONGER

Cooperation. This is the central theme of Aaron’s life and career, and the very reason why he decided to work in the non-profit sector in the first place. The idea is simple: when you bind sticks together, it is more difficult to break them and they produce better results. In an interview, Aaron says:

“The best way to build any kind of partnership is to have a shared vision. So for government, civil society and corporate partners to work together anywhere, the key is for the leaders to develop a common vision and know that they will fail many times along the way, but know that they are committed to that long-term vision and keep trying. That vision has to be something that they all get real value from, they all believe in and they are all willing to fail a little bit to get there. It really requires a single leader standing up and saying, ‘I have a vision for what could be’, and getting people who share that vision to come together and build that strategy.”

Ultimately, Aaron’s work has helped in making non-profit organizations successful all through these years. For him, it does not matter how much money you make for your talents and skills – it would never compare to the fulfilment that you will receive when you exercise those talents and share them with the people that really need it the most – those being served by the non-profits.

10 REASONS WHY AARON HURST IS EXTRAORDINARY

1. Aaron Hurst is the founder of successful non-profit consulting organizations such as Taproot Foundation and Imperative.
2. He is one of the leading non-profit consultants in the United States.
3. He was among the pioneers of promoting the idea of getting the for-profit and non-profit sectors working together.
4. He is among the geniuses behind the conception of the national Billion+Change initiative and the Service Enterprise Model.
5. He is a fellow of both Ashoka and the Draper Richards Foundation.
6. He is a recipient of the LSA Humanitarian Service Award, the highest award bestowed by the University of Michigan on its alumni.
7. His work on the cooperation between that non-profit and business sectors has greatly revolutionized the non-profit industry.
8. The Taproot Foundation, the organization he started, is the largest non-profit consulting organization in the United States.
9. He is a recipient of the Manhattan Institute Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
10. He is a recipient of the Innovation Award, given by the Social Venture Network.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born on July 6, 1935 to a peasant family in the small village of Taktser in northeastern Tibet and was recognized at the age of two as the reincarnation of His predecessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lamas are the manifestations of the Buddha of Compassion, who chose to take rebirth to serve humanity. Dalai Lama means Ocean of Wisdom; Tibetans normally refer to His Holiness as Yizhin Norbu, the Wish-Fulfilling Gem, or simply Kundun, the Presence.

When the Thirteenth Dalai Lama died in 1935, the Tibetan Government had not simply to appoint a successor, but to discover the child in whom the Buddha of Compassion would incarnate: the child need not have been born just at the death of His predecessor, or even very soon thereafter. As before, there would be signs of where to search. For example, when the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s body was laid in a shrine facing south, His head turned to the east twice, and to the east of his shrine a great fungus appeared on the east side of a pillar of well-seasoned wood. The Regent of Tibet went to the sacred lake of Lhamoe Lhatso, where Tibetans have seen visions of the future. There he saw, among other things, a monastery with roofs of green jade and gold and a house with turquoise tiles. A detailed description of the entire vision was written down and kept a strict secret.

In 1937 high lamas and dignitaries were sent throughout Tibet to search for the place seen in the vision. Those heading east were led by Lama Kewtsang Rinpoche of Sera Monastery. In Takster they found such a place and went to the house, with Kewtsang Rinpoche disguised as a servant and a junior monk posing as the leader. The Rinpoche was wearing a rosary of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and the little boy, recognizing it, demanded that it be given to him. This was promised, if the child could guess who the wearer was. The reply was Sera aga (in the local dialect, a monk of Sera). The boy was also able to tell who the real leader and servant were. After many further tests, the Dalai Lama was enthroned in 1940.

In 1950, at the age of sixteen and still facing nine more years of intensive religious education, His Holiness had to assume full political power when China invaded Tibet. In March of 1959, during the national uprising of the Tibetan people against Chinese military occupation, He went into exile. Since then He has lived in the Himalayan foothills in Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, a constitutional democracy since 1963. Dharamsala, aptly known as Little Lhasa, also has cultural and educational institutions and serves as a “capital-in-exile” for 130,000 Tibetan refugees living mainly in India; others are in Nepal, Switzerland, the UK, the United States, Canada and thirty other countries. In the past decade, the Dalai Lama has tried to open dialogue with the Chinese. He proposed a Five-Point Peace Plan in 1987-88, which would also stabilize the entire Asian region and which has drawn widespread praise from statesmen and legislative bodies around the world, but the Chinese have yet to enter into negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, unlike His predecessors who never came to the West, continues His world-wide travels, eloquently speaking in favor of ecumenical understanding, kindness and compassion, respect for the environment and, above all, world peace.

The King of Calypso

Check out this great article: http://pageeasy.com/HarryBelafonte/

Harry Belafonte is the reluctant King of Calypso. He’s been named by some as such because of the way he made Calypso music popular. His first album titled “Calypso” was number four on Billboard's "Top 100 Album" list “for having spent 31 weeks at number 1, 58 weeks in the top ten, and 99 weeks on the U.S. charts.” It became the first album of its kind to sell over a million copies. Harry is also the first Black to win an Emmy, with his first solo TV special Tonight with Belafonte. Currently known as a humanitarian and activist, Harry has maintained his popularity and used it to promote worthwhile issues.

THE FAMOUS BANANA BOAT SONG, MATILDA, AND JUMP IN THE LINE

Most of the songs that sold well in public are “The Banana Boat Song,” “Matilda,” and “Jump in the Line”—all calypso songs. The Banana Boat Song became famous for its Day O lyric and is still being associated with Harry up to now.

He won a Grammy award for the album “Swing Dat Hammer” in 1960 and in 1965 won another Grammy for “An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba.”

HUMANITARIAN WORK

Martin Luther King, Jr. became one of his closest friends. He shouldered the Kings’ lodging and other necessities because Martin only earned 8,000 dollars a year as a preacher. He was instrumental in ending the separatist culture in the United States and was among the first Black performers to pave the way for more colored and minority artists in Hollywood, theater, and music.

He became so esteemed by the public that John F. Kennedy approached him during the presidential elections to seek endorsement. That led to a closer relationship with the first family. Sidney Poitier is also his close friend and they once risked their lives when they brought aid to Martin Luther King, Jr. and face the Ku Klux Klan.

He supports initiatives that aims to promote racial equality and has once served as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994 and was also a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. But his work in the arts was never forgotten. In 2000, he was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Africare awarded him the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and Global Exchange gave him the Domestic Human Rights Award. In 2006, he became a recipient of the BET Humanitarian Award. He received his latest award in 2013: the NAACP's Spingarn Medal.

Before humanitarian work became the trend in Hollywood, Harry Belafonte is already a name associated with goodwill. It would have been impossible to do so much had he been insincere.