SOWPub Small Business Forums  
 

Click Here to see the latest posts!

Ask any questions related to business / entrepreneurship / money-making / life
or share your success stories (and educational "failures")...

Sign up for the Hidden Business Ideas Letter Free edition, and receive a free report straight to your inbox: "Idea that works in a pandemic: Ordinary housewife makes $50,000 a month in her spare time, using a simple idea - and her driveway..."

NO BLATANT ADS PLEASE
Also, please no insults or personal attacks.
Feel free to link to your web site though at the end of your posts.

Stay up to date! Get email notifications or
get "new thread" feeds here

 

Go Back   SOWPub Small Business Forums > Main Category > Original SOWPub Forum Archive
Register FAQ Members List Calendar Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Poll: jmYNZ
Poll Options
jmYNZ

 
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old September 11, 2003, 09:36 AM
Dien Rice
 
Posts: n/a
Default Two years ago, September 11 caused us to think a lot about the purpose of our lives...

I know I was in shock, and so were many others. Here on Sowpub, many were in shock - it took many of us many months to start to recover. We searched into what the purpose of our lives was - are we truly living our lives for a fulfilling purpose?

When you live a fulfilling life, it means that when you have something, you give something back to others. The community around you played a part in your success - you can help pay back society by giving something back.

There are many ways to give something back to society. The easiest way is just to give money. You can donate your money to local charities or to international organizations - whichever you feel most comfortable with.

Another way is to help others who are in need. You can also teach others, by sharing your knowledge to help others to better their own lives. Giving a gift to someone in need is the best kind of gift there is - sometimes the best gifts are non-material gifts, such as giving your knowledge or just giving your support. It can mean a lot to many people.

Do what you feel is best. One person I know works regularly in a free soup kitchen. Another person I know does regular work with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program. And others I know are simply generous with their time and knowledge to those who are not doing as well as they are.

I'm going to start working harder to help others as well. There's no reason to delay taking action. I hope these words spur many of us into action too.

Dien Rice
  #2  
Old September 11, 2003, 12:19 PM
Boyd Stone
 
Posts: n/a
Default Yeah, why do most live like they get a 2nd chance?

Hi,

Everyone in my family other than myself lives like their present life is just a "warmup" or "practice" life--they don't act like this is their one and only chance in the trillion year pageant to have some fun or do some good.

Time is all we have, and not a lot of it at that. Yet almost everyone just wastes it, just flushes it down the tubes like used buttwipe.

Including me.

Oh, well ... What can ya do?

Best,

- Boyd
  #3  
Old September 11, 2003, 12:38 PM
Dien Rice
 
Posts: n/a
Default Living balanced lives...

Hi Boyd,

I like to make money, but I want my life to contribute something too. I believe in giving something back.

Of course, you have to make something to give something back. So - being successful can be a stage towards helping others too. You can't give unless you have something to give - and having something to give means being successful.

One way to be successful is to make effective use of your time. I heard an amazing interview with Alex Mandossian recently. I recommend you listen to it. He talks about his approach to "action management"...

He talks about how to spend your time effectively in your business by setting aside a certain amount of time every day for "revenue raising" activities only. His advice gets results!

You can listen to it at the link below (it's free)...

The "interview" (which is more of a monologue) takes a little over an hour. His method of "action management" can actually be applied to any important activity - though how he applies it to "revenue raising" is like a revelation! You can adapt it to other activities too - such as to helping others. Strike a balance.

We are meant to live balanced lives - at least that's what I've always believed.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox for now. :)

- Dien Rice


Interview with Alex Mandossian (free)
  #4  
Old September 11, 2003, 12:59 PM
Jesse Horowitz
 
Posts: n/a
Default May I Suggest Mentoring?

Dien,

Thanks for sharing these important and highly appropriate words and thoughts. I could not agree more.

I've given money before, done volunteer work, and participated in some other philanthropic endeavors, but one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever been blessed with is the mentoring of a student and adolescent. I started with him in 8th grade and have made a 5 year commitment to him through his high school graduation (though I'm sure we'll stay in touch after that). We're currently in our second year together.

This is in conjunction with a great program here in southern California that seeks to help kids who do not have the best life at home or financially speaking. In most cases, no one in their family has ever attended college, or even thought about it.

Did you know that in California alone, there are *75,000* kids on the waiting list for a mentor? So when you extend that figure to the rest of the USA and the rest of the world, we're literally talking MILLIONS of kids who could use a mentor.

By spending one on one time with an impressionable teenager...encouraging him...motivating him...inspiring him...exposing him to cultural events and opportunities...and most of all, just listening and being there...you can make an unbelievable impact.

And as much of an impact as I've been told I've made on this boy's life, I feel like it's been every bit as rewarding for me, if not more. There's just something magical about seeing life through the eyes of a wide eyed kid who's got 80% of his life still ahead of him.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now :). I just thought that in light of Dien's important comments and the circumstances of this day, that I'd share a great experience that's become a big part of my life...and encourage others to consider mentoring as well.

Thanks for the opportunity to share.

All the best,

Jesse

> I know I was in shock, and so were many
> others. Here on Sowpub, many were in shock -
> it took many of us many months to start to
> recover. We searched into what the purpose
> of our lives was - are we truly living our
> lives for a fulfilling purpose?

> When you live a fulfilling life, it means
> that when you have something, you give
> something back to others. The community
> around you played a part in your success -
> you can help pay back society by giving
> something back.

> There are many ways to give something back
> to society. The easiest way is just to give
> money. You can donate your money to local
> charities or to international organizations
> - whichever you feel most comfortable with.

> Another way is to help others who are in
> need. You can also teach others, by sharing
> your knowledge to help others to better
> their own lives. Giving a gift to someone in
> need is the best kind of gift there is -
> sometimes the best gifts are non-material
> gifts, such as giving your knowledge or just
> giving your support. It can mean a lot to
> many people.

> Do what you feel is best. One person I know
> works regularly in a free soup kitchen.
> Another person I know does regular work with
> the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
> program. And others I know are simply
> generous with their time and knowledge to
> those who are not doing as well as they are.

> I'm going to start working harder to help
> others as well. There's no reason to delay
> taking action. I hope these words spur many
> of us into action too.

> Dien Rice
  #5  
Old September 11, 2003, 07:36 PM
Dien Rice
 
Posts: n/a
Default Thanks Jesse, those are some good ideas....

There's always plenty we can do, despite how busy we might be. Of course, the more successful you are, the more you can do.

It's always good to keep every part of your life in balance!

Thanks Jesse for posting. :)

- Dien
  #6  
Old September 12, 2003, 09:53 AM
Joe Makowski
 
Posts: n/a
Default I blame it on religion....

Every religion that I know of promises that you'll
live forever in pair of dice. If you're a good (insert name of favorite coven here). In moslem, you
get 72 virgins. In Christianity, you get your dead spouse back.
There was a great book a couple of years that the
title said it all: Life is not a dress rehearsal!
  #7  
Old September 12, 2003, 08:29 PM
Michael Ross (Aust, Qld)
 
Posts: n/a
Default Religion Is Fine... In Moderation

> Every religion that I know of promises that
> you'll
> live forever in pair of dice. If you're a
> good (insert name of favorite coven here).

Buddhism takes a slightly different tact... instead of promising eternal life for being good, it promises enlightenment (and thus no more rebirth into this hellish world of pain).

For those who lived in the birthplace of Buddhism - India - it would have been very appealing.

Nothing in their life - due to the class system in that country - and no hope for anything better. A retched life ofpoverty.

What better belief system to instill in these people than to convince them: The EGO is bad. Remove the ego to help attain enlightenment. Thus, do NOT want anything better than you already have because that is an ego thing. And letting your ego take ahold will not see you achieve enlightenment. Without enlightenment you will be reborn - over and over again - into your pathetic poverty stricken life of Pain and yuckiness.

So Buddhism is basically... live a good life without wanting anything more than you already have, and you will escape your poverty and painful existence.

And to counter all of these there is Satanism (not to be confused with Devil worship). The Satanist does NOT believe in any diety whatsoever (no God or Devil). And thinks when you die, that is it. There is nothing more. No rebirth. No pair of dice. Just nothing. The big undreaming sleep. Of course, they also believe you are responsible for yourself so it's not something the socialist left would find appealing :o)

As for the 72 virgins awaiting you being something in Is-lam. I must have missed that bit in my copy of the Quaran. I believe that is just media BS. Something to help the Christians think odd things about Moslems. To generate support for any actions taken against Moslems.

Further to this line...

The media oft sites "Moslem Extremists" or "Moslem Fundamentalists" as causing chaos and death.

How come they NEVER call the IRA "Christian Terrorists"? Hmmm.

Yes. Religion is fine... in moderation. It's an interesting subject to study too.

Study them all. Then take what you can use from each one and discard the rest.

Michael Ross


The Gospel The Church Removed From The Bible- The Gospel According To Thomas
  #8  
Old September 13, 2003, 01:15 AM
Ankesh Kothari
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Religion Is Fine... In Moderation

> For those who lived in the birthplace of
> Buddhism - India - it would have been very
> appealing.

> Nothing in their life - due to the class
> system in that country - and no hope for
> anything better. A retched life ofpoverty.

Actually Buddhism spread because KING Ashoka converted and became a Buddhist. And then he sent his children and his ministers to far away places - as far away as Japan and Africa to teach about Buddhism.

Buddhism is deeper than class system.

And actually Indians were the richest during that period. India was called the golden bird. Everyone from Alexander to the British were attracted to India due to its wealth.

It had classes and it had poor people - but during those days - people were comparitively happy and richer than they are now.

And even the founder of Buddhism - Gautam Buddha was the son of a king.

People didnt convert to Buddhism to get rid of the caste system. Atleast not till the 1930s. When Dr. Ambedkar - the person who wrote the Indian constitution - told all the dalit poor people to convert to Buddhism from Hinduism - so that they could be free of the class system.

But before 1930s - people converted to Buddhism to get rid of their wants - not to get rid of their poverty. It was completely opposite.
  #9  
Old September 13, 2003, 04:38 AM
Michael Ross (Aust, Qld)
 
Posts: n/a
Default No Idols (Sound familiar?)

> And even the founder of Buddhism - Gautam
> Buddha was the son of a king.

My personal preference is to call him Siddhartha. But whatever floats your boat.

Some things I find interesting about Buddhism are

The "no worshiping idols" thing. And then we see loads of Buddha statues all over the place.

The assassins sent to kill Siddhartha (Buddha) only to end up converting to Buddhism instead.

And - no-one has been killed in the name of Buddhism.

Also, people who don't follow the Buddhism path don't walk around calling themselve's Buddhists. (Unlike some Christians for example only - priests for instance - who do the most UNChristian things while still calling themselves Christian.)

Is-lam is also an interesting religion, when you bother taking the time to look into it instead of buying the media hype.

Judaism... and they even argue amongst themselves about the nature of God. (Imagine the hierarchy of the Christian churches not agreeing on the nature of God ;o) Yet the Jews are prepared to discuss it.)

And, of course, let's not forget the religion of Jedi. Which, I believe, 300,000 Britons claimed to be in the last UK census.

Michael Ross
  #10  
Old September 13, 2003, 04:56 AM
Ankesh Kothari
 
Posts: n/a
Default You might want to lookup Jainism too

Some people believe that Siddhartha was influenced by Jain monks.

But Jainism in itself is a wonderful study. Unfortunately not much is written about it in English. Mostly everything is written in Gujarati (Indian language)

But Vardhaman Mahavir was the one who came up with Ahimsa (non violence). Atleast thats what many Indian historians believe.

But Jainism didn't spread much outside India. Buddhism did. Buddhism is a very small minority now in India though. Ironically there are more Buddhists in SriLanka or Tibet or Japan than in India.
 


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are Off
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Forum Jump

Other recent posts on the forum...


Seeds of Wisdom Publishing (front page) | Seeds of Wisdom Business forum | Seeds of Wisdom Original Business Forum (Archive) | Hidden Unusual Business Ideas Newsletter | Hotsheet Profits | Persuade via Remote Influence | Affia Band | The Entrepreneur's Hotsheet | The SeedZine (Entrepreneurial Ezine)

Get the report on Harvey Brody's Answers to a Question-Oriented-Person


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:22 AM.


Powered by vBulletin Version 3.6.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.