Every day there are new things to learn. It's exciting, especially when I read about groundbreaking ideas and new ways to make a difference in this world. I was familiar with the advocacy and fundraising campaign from Plan International called Because I Am A Girl, and have been donating to this fund for years now. I believe this is a very important cause. Because I Am A Girl is a very smart and engaging idea that has helped change the face and focus of charities around the world. Over the years, I wondered where such a smart idea came from.…

I think so and here is why. Less than 1 percent of charities have received a 4-star rating for 12 years from Charity Navigator. Room to Read is one of these top 1 percent charities. Now this is no guarantee, but it is a pretty good start. Actually way more than a good start. Room to Read has achieved these 4-star ratings for over 12 years, since 2007. Charity Navigator is a good place to find out and compare the track record of charities that may interest you. Charity Navigator is America's largest, independent, and most utilized evaluator of charities…

I am still learning about all of the incredible work that is being done to educate children around the world. This is so important. And it is one of the best ways to give children, their families and their communities a lift out of poverty. A real future. This is why Room to Read has chosen the following message to summarize their goals and mission: WORLD CHANGE STARTS WITH EDUCATED CHILDREN. With just a few words, this simple message says a lot. Their new video also says a lot. In just 1 minute you can learn why their work is…

I have been a big fan of Alicia Keys for a long time now. I have almost all of her music and have recently read her new book, Alicia Keys: A Journey (with Michelle Burford). In her book, Alicia opens ups about her struggle to become a person true to herself - the kind of person she wants to become. One might naively think think that someone so talented and so successful would be exempt from such struggles. But, you would be wrong, as I was before reading and learning about her and her life. You would not be alone…

Peter Singer starts his well-known TED Talk with an alarming video of a two year old Chinese girl, Wang Yue, being run over by a van and then again by another van. Several people walked by the child lying in the street and did nothing to help. Eventually a street cleaner called for help. She was taken by ambulance, but it was too late for her, she died in the hospital. Singer asked the audience to raise their hands if, in a similar situation, they would have done everything they could to assist this injured child. As expected, almost everyone…

What is the best way to help someone who is suffering? This could be someone who is suffering a little or a lot. The fastest and simplest way is is to listen and make a heartfelt connection with them. This is empathy in a nutshell. But empathy is sometimes very hard to do. It is hard because we all have a strong temptation to say the wrong thing. We are tempted to jump in and try to say something that we think will make the suffering lessen. We don't mean to add to the person's suffering, but this is exactly…

My wife used to make fun of me. She said I was “A man on a mission”. I wasn’t offended – I kind of agreed with her. I was driven to create a psychology business and help as many people as I could. I am sure I wasn’t the easiest person to live with. I was sent down memory lane, recently, when I came across a TED talk by John Wood, the very driven founder of a global children’s literacy charity called Room To Read.  His talk featured some amazing facts about his organization, but mostly it was about GSD. He…

I was watching an interesting video from Room to Read called "What's Your Superpower". It had a lot of great ideas. Attainable and inspiring superpowers to help young girls and women build their confidence and power in a difficult world. Here is how some of the superpowers are described. I have a superpower. But it is not what you might think.   It’s not flying.  It’s not time travelling. I’m talking about the life skills that every girl and every woman need. Superpowers that can be taught My superpower is curiosity. My superpower is confidence, because I can motivate others.…