The payoff of working for free.

“What we do in life echoes in eternity.” – Maximus, Gladiator


What would the world be like if everyone; every man, woman and child spent one hour a week dedicated to a worthy cause? A cause they felt passionate about? Whether assisting the elderly, aiding the homeless, making a sick child’s life happier, or preserving the environment, imagine the net benefit to the world.

We cannot hope to motivate the entire world; however, we can start here and now in our own lives. Do not underestimate the power of dedicating a small fraction of your time to a cause you support, like a stone thrown into a pond, simple actions create ripples in the lives around you.

But I just don’t have any time! I would rather spend the time with my family! I have my own problems! They don’t need my help! I’m too tired at the end of the day! These are all common rationalizations for not getting involved.

Believe me, everybody on the planet can relate to these sentiments at some time in their life. What we don’t realize is that making time to dedicate to a cause can actually help resolve these problems.

· Devoting time to a cause we care about gives us a time to focus on what we believe to be the important things in life. It can be this kind of push that helps us to realize our true priorities in life and adjust our schedules accordingly to more accurately reflect what is truly meaningful and fulfilling in life.
· Family is one of the most important influences in our lives, and duty to family is a high priority for many people. Why not make your volunteerism a family event? An hour spent together working toward a common goal strengthens bonds within the family and reinforces.
· It’s true we do all have our own problems. Volunteerism lets you get a glimpse at just what kind of problems life presents to the people and world in general around us opening our eyes to the fact that our personal issues may not be as troublesome as we feel them to be, enlighten us to options we may have overlooked, and help us to build a support network of caring friends.
· While an organization may appear to have plenty of volunteers, never assume that your help would be unwelcome. Perhaps that one crucial area they need assistance in is your specialty. Don’t feel that you have to over-commit. Don’t feel like something is beneath you, you may have 2 college degrees, but swinging a hammer, picking up garbage, or serving food can be amazingly therapeutic when you can see the immediate impact of your actions.
· We are all tired at the end of the day, it is called bedtime! What we sometimes do not realize is that how we spend our time tiring ourselves out is completely up to us! You may find that dedicating time to a cause actually improves your mood and uplifts your spirits. When you know that you have spent your time making the world a better place, you might just find that you rest better at night.

We are inescapably human. While our purpose here on Earth may be open for debate, it IS possible to make a difference in the world around us. If we as individuals strive toward a better world, together we may succeed.

A great place to find an exciting volunteer opportunity is at http://www.ecoteer.com/. Fun Luggage supports grassroot organizations, if you have a worthy cause please contact us through http://www.funluggage.com/

Random advice on how to be a better person.

Yes, I know, I know, I need to take this advice myself... but anyways, here it is....



Fundamental Techniques in Handling People
1. Don’t criticize, condemn, or complain.
2. Give honest and sincere appreciation.
3. Arouse in the other person an eager want.











Six Ways to Make People Like You
1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
2. Smile.
3. Remember that a person's name to that person is the sweetest and most important sound in the English language.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5. Talk in terms of the other person's interest.
6. Make other people feel important-- and do it sincerely.



How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking
1. The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
2. Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, “You’re wrong”.
3. If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
4. Begin in a friendly way.
5. Get people saying, "Yes, yes" immediately.
6. Let other people do a great deal of the talking.
7. Let other people feel that the idea is his and hers.
8. Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
9. Be sympathetic with other person's ideas and desires.
10. Appeal to the nobler motives.
11. Dramatize your ideas.
12. Throw down a challenge.

How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment
1. Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
2. Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
3. Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
4. Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
5. Let the other person save face.
6. Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement.
7. Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
8. Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
9. Make other people happy about doing the thing you suggest.

And the Number 1 way to make people think you are cool is to BUY FUN LUGGAGE TRAVEL ACCESSORIES!! http://www.funluggage.com/

What inspiration may be gleaned from laziness.

Happy New Year. May 2010 be filled with wonder and peace for all. Since I am at the present moment to lazy to write my own words; I hope that you may find some inspiration in the following words.

A Psalm of Life:

Tell me not in mournful numbers,

"Life is but an empty dream!"

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;

"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"

Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

Find us further than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,

In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act -- act in the living Present!

Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o'er life's solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

Learn to labour and to wait,

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882).

By the way; buy fun luggage accessories: www.funluggage.com

Boxing Day: What is it, and why is it on my calendar?

So apparently (once again) residents of the United States are the last ones to reap the benefits of "Boxing Day." Celebrated in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ghana, Switzerland, Germany, Greenland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and countries in the Commonwealth of Nations with a mainly Christian population. It is presumably a day when we finally take a break from our (and by "we" meaning U.S. residents, I hesitate to use the word "Americans" as that could be anyone from Canada, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Chile, etc; etc as those are all countries located on the the aptly named Americas (after the late great explorer Amerigo Vespucci), which include both northern and southern hemispheres. Yes, I hate to break it to all us denizens of the most gluttonous country on the planet that when we refer to ourselves as "Americans" people in Suriname simply shake their heads in misunderstanding, because of course they are "Americans" too, but I digress...) over-exuberant consumerism and "box up" our wrappings and festive trimmings until the next joyous celebration of Jesus' birthday rolls around. (You almost forgot about that part didn't you?) Well, regardless of whether we remember it is presumably a Christian birthday of sorts(oddly a Google searh for "Christmas" returned only one website with a reference to Jesus; Charlie Sheen's arrest was the first result), or a rough approximation of the end of the "Festival of Lights" a.k.a Chanukah, or the celebration of african american heritage Kwanzaa (the only truly "American" holiday of the bunch,) or even a recognition of the Pagan rituals surrounding the observance of the winter solstice. The 26th is almost universally accepted as boxing (except by U.S. citizens) and everyone (except U.S. citizens) knows without doubt that it is the single best day to shop, because after all, everyone (read blatant consumers) paid top dollar for the stuff they felt they just had to buy for Jesus' birthday (or whatever) and now any rational being would immediately recognize that any remaining merchandise on store shelves must be liquidated as soon as possible, or risk becoming auction fodder in a bankruptcy auction. So that is where I finally have come full circle pointing out that much like the benefits of the metric system (but not without further digressing and mentioning that we are in good company in not adopting the metric system along with Myanmar and Liberia) we U.S. based americans are wasting our time camping out at Best Buy stores on Thanksgiving (a completely useless holiday where we presumably befriended the natives of this great land before handing out small pox infected blankets) evening to get deals on crap that we really don't need in the first place on "Black Friday" and completely missing out on the super sweet deals on all the chinese made merchandise we weren't able to cart off in the weeks leading up to the joyous celebration of J.C.'s birth where I am quite certain candy canes were passed out by the three wise men, and animals spake, and a Eastern Orthodox saint from what is now modern day Turkey indubitably started dressing in red fur and inexplicably started shouting "Ho Ho Ho" everywhere he went probably showed up as well to give baby Jesus a Zhu Zhu Hamster and maybe fill his stocking with chocolates... Anyways, I do hope your holidays were as gluttonous and blessing filled as mine, oh and happy boxing day!

By the way, buy my wifes luggage wraps! They are the best luggage accessory that money can buy! http://www.funluggage.com/

To blog or not to blog? That IS the question...

As defined by http://www.urbandictionary.com/ a blog is: a place where people bitch about their daily activities which nobody is interested in. topics like why they argue with boyfriend and how they end up together at last, daily aneroxic activities like drinking blended organic fruits and vegetable for breakfast, lunch and dinner, talking about cutting themselves with a razor blade and how good they felt, bitch about their shopping activities and what they got.




















My intent is to intersperse that exact type of above described self absorbtion with slightly more meaty and meaningful offerings, including but not limited to: plugging my wife's luggage accessory business http://www.funluggage.com/ incessantly, ranting about various hot button political issues such as abortion, gun control (or lack thereof), regulation of industries ranging from agriculture to banking, debating the pros and cons of various religions, and debating what is truly "good" for the planet. I may aslo thow in an occasional dash of eastern mysticism sprinkled with just a hint of commercialism.



Have I mentioned my wife's luggage accessories at http://www.funluggage.com/? They rock harder than a Eagles reunion tour!


Anyways, as it is Christmas, or Kwanzaa eve depending upon your preferences, (sorry the eight day festival of light Chanukah is over) I will take it easy for a change and begin blogging in earnest in the near future. Bet on it.