“Thank you for saving 3 lives today.” That was the goodbye greeting I got as I was leaving the Red Cross Mobile Unit after I donated blood today.

I started donating blood after 9/11. It was my own personal way to deal with the events of that day. However, I never really saw the personal impact this small act had until today. Amazing that something as simple as giving a pint of blood can have such a huge impact!

Also, my donating blood today allowed me to complete the assignment from a “QuoteAction” delivered earlier this year:“You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” College Basketball Coach, John Wooden. Your action for today is: to make an anonymous donation or do something nice for someone without them finding out you did it.

Life is good! Not only did I save 3 lives but I also lived a perfect day!

Technorati Tags: Red Cross, Blood Donations, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

This will be my last post for the next three weeks. I’m on my way to South America where my partner Lindon and I will be conducting two Learning Vacations. The first one will be to the Galapagos Islands and the second one will be to Machu Pichu. In between those two incredible locations, we will spend several days in the Amazon Rainforest.

I’ll be back at the end of June and look forward to sharing some of my experiences with you.

Earlier this year I was fortunate to meet Azim Khamisa, founder of the Tariq Khamisa Foundation. He shared a remarkable story in Podcast # 29 on how he made the journey from murder to forgiveness.

My wife Jessica and I subsequently attended one of the TKF assemblies at the Dana Middle School in San Diego. It was an incredible experience to witness how a group of 6th graders responded to the message of non-violence that Azim and his co-founder Ples Felix brought to them.

The more I get to know this man the more impressed I am by him. The following is an article he recently wrote that I wanted to share with you. In it he talks about the power of choice.

A very good friend of mine graced me with an insight from his Holiness the Dalai Lama: “True compassion is not just an emotional response but also a firm commitment founded on reason. Therefore, a truly compassionate attitude towards others does not change even if they behave negatively.”

In my journey over the last 12 years since my son Tariq was so tragically taken away from us, I have learned in a very deep way the truth contained in the above insight. I talk about this in more detail in my upcoming book “From Forgiveness to Fulfillment – A Father’s Journey” scheduled to come out this fall. In writing my second book (a sequel to “From Murder to Forgiveness – a Father’s Journey”), I have looked deeply in my heart and have learned that the work that I have done with forgiveness in Tariq’s name has shifted me to become a person who – for the most part – is now able to live at the higher vibratory frequencies of love, unity, compassion, forgiveness and peace.

This is particularly true in the work I do with the youth. In April of this year I spoke before 60 wards at the San Leandro Juvenile Prison, and was later asked if I would do the same for 20 more kids who were held in a maximum-security unit. I said that I would love to do that and – after going through a half a dozen locked doors – I interacted with the kids for about an hour and a half.

It was one of the most powerful experiences in my life. One young man, probably about 19 years old, told me towards the end of the presentation:

“You don’t look at us as if we are criminals.”

I walked up to him; we locked eyes, and from deep down in my heart I said, “When I look in your eyes what I see is another soul just like me.”

There was a huge connection as both our eyes moistened with tears. I felt like a lightning bolt spark exchanged between our two souls as he responded, “That is what I am talking about.” This lightning bolt energy also seemed to connect everyone in the room. At the end of my talk, the young man asked if he could offer a closing prayer, and I told him I would love for him to do that and suggested we hold hands and form a circle. In his closing prayer he mostly prayed for Tariq, which brought tears of healing to my eyes and joy to my heart. This work is such a gift, and I know that he and the others transformed in their own ways that day. I have held this young man and others I met that day in my prayers.

The quote from the Dalai Lama noted how compassion is a commitment, a choice. And when we choose to live in that space we are then able to create transformation in our lives and the lives of others. If we live in resentment, anger, hatred, avarice, jealousy and judgment, we vibrate at a very low frequency and attract more of the same. Now is the time to make a firm commitment to continually live in love, compassion and unity, and vibrate at the higher frequencies where we can experience fulfillment in our lives and create transformation for not only ourselves but for others. The choice is ours.

Technorati Tags: Choice, Azim Khamisa, TKF, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

The following article was attributed to Jay Leno. While I am not sure that Jay Leno wrote this nor do I agree with EVERYTHING he wrote, I do think he makes some excellent points – especially the last paragraph. Would love to hear what you think?

“The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the president. In essence two thirds of the citizenry just ain’t happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ”What we are so unhappy about?”

Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?
Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more
food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. This all in he backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don’t have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn’t take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it……are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the “Media” told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn’t have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ”general” discharge, an ”other than honorable” discharge or, worst case scenario, a ”dishonorable” discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by “justifying” them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about how he didn’t kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way……Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.”

Technorati Tags: Jay Leno, Apreciation, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

I’m fascinated by how individuals and businesses are often obsessed with minimizing expenses. They use terms like “streamlining”, “simplifying” or “eliminating waste.” .” However, in the end it seems to be about minimizing the expenditure of resources – time, money or people

While this is not inherently bad, I often find that people do this out of reaction and “throw the baby out with the bath-water.” I believe their mindset is certainly a contributing factor. By focusing on minimizing resources exclusively, they simultaneously minimize benefits. In the long run, this is approach ends up being far more costly.

Seth Godin shares an example of this in his article Even governments market.

As an example, I received a call from one of our clients who had been participating in the “QuoteActions” daily call program for six weeks and wanted to cancel. Their reason was: “Even though I really like the program and have really benefited from it, I am not using the ‘QuoteActions’ like I thought I would.”

I was really interested in what they meant. The client explained that they had only been doing an average of two actions per week (instead of five.) Because of this, they felt they were wasting money by not taking full advantage of the program.

I then asked them how they had benefited from the program. They gave me three different examples where the “QuoteActions” had prompted them to take an action that had really made a difference in their day. As a matter of fact, one of those actions had a profitable direct result. An action led to a conversation with someone, which then led to earning an additional $250. Money they wouldn’t otherwise have earned.

So here is a program that requires an investment of less than 1 minute a day and $10/month. The program had already proven it’s value and had paid for itself for the next two years. And yet they wanted to cancel.

The concern I have with this reactionary approach is that they were only looking at what they were “wasting” and not at what they were “gaining.” An incomplete picture for sure. Once they viewed the entire picture – cost vs. benefit – the decision to cancel didn’t look quite so good!

The next time you’re thinking about minimizing expenses, be sure you look at the “big picture.”

Technorati Tags: Minimizing Expenses, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

In his article Marketing Time, author Seth Godin talks about the message we communicate based on how we treat other people’s time. I wholeheartedly agree with this. Time is the most valuable resource we have – yes I believe it is even more valuable than $, because there is a limit on the time we have. Therefore, acting in a way that takes into account other people’s time sends a very powerful message that WE CARE.

Yesterday I had an appointment for my yearly check-up with my optometrist. I waited for 45 minutes. During this time, not once did anyone come to me and apologize or told me how long it would be before the Dr. saw me. When I finally saw the doctor, all he said was a quick “sorry to keep you waiting”. I definitely didn’t feel that he was sorry at all. All it did was reinforce the feeling that I had that he felt his time was more important than mine.

Another area where people don’t take into account other people’s time is in how they respond to email or voice mail messages. What people don’t realize, is that the way they respond to others sends a very powerful message as to how they feel about other’s time.

Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a personal policy of responding to email and voice mail messages within 24 hrs anytime I’m not traveling. And I’ve been very good about doing this. The reason I do this is because I care. I care enough about communicating to people that they are important to me. I care more about them than I do about my reasons for not doing it.

What is interesting is how often people remark how surprised – and appreciative – they are that I got back to them so promptly.

What are you communicating?

Technorati Tags: Time, Seth Godin, Communication, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

For those of you who know PL&L’s staff member Phil Black, you’d be pleased to know that his wife Vanessa delivered a baby boy a few weeks ago. Cole Michael Black was born on March 22. He weighed 5 lbs & 14 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches long. You can see some additional pictures here.

Type rest of the post here

About a year ago I wrote a post called Funning where I talked about one of my hobbies – listening to music. I do most of my listening when I’m in my office to two Internet radio stations that are now in jeopardy of becoming extinct thanks to some legislation. If you are an Internet music listener this is something that will affect you directly.

Please read the following post and be sure to fill out the petition. In my opinion, one of the best aspects of blogs and other social media, is that it allows us to exercise our freedom of choice. If this is something that matters to you, be sure to take 5 minutes and do this.

Technorati Tags: Internet Radio, Pandora, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

As I was mounting my bike I noticed that I had a flat tire. On an earlier post I wrote about the lesson I learned from getting my first flat on the road. Having learned that lesson, I was ready to embark on this adventure. You see, I’m not the most mechanical person and changing a flat tire IS an adventure.

After a good number of tries, I finally was able to figure out what I needed to do, had the new tube in place and was ready to pump air into it. Unfortunately no matter how much air I was pumping in, it was all going out. I figured that I had either done something wrong or else I had a defective tube. It was time to go to the bike shop!

At the bike shop, as I handed my bike to the attendant and was explaining that this was my first attempt at changing a flat tire he asked me: “did you find what had punctured the first tube before you installed the spare?” I responded that it never occurred to me to do this. He then said that if I didn’t do this, there was a good chance that the same thing would happen to the next tube.

Sure enough that turned out to be the problem. There was a piece of glass inside the tire that had punctured the 1st tube. In my ignorance, I hadn’t removed the glass before installing the second tube, once I pumped air into it, the new tube came in contact with the glass and also got punctured. Of course this was also validation of my “I’m not a mechanical person” belief!

As I reflected on this episode, I remembered a quote by Derek Bok a former president of Harvard University:“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance”. Yes gaining experience and education is often costly, but it sure beats the alternative.

Besides getting educated to prevent something like this from happening again, I also need to continue working on my belief that I’m not mechanical. Until I do, no amount of education will help me. This is a key ingredient that people often miss – the fact that our beliefs prevent us from making changes even when we have the necessary knowledge and/or information to do so.

In my case, I can start re-framing my “I’m not mechanical” belief with a new one that goes something like this: “I’m not very mechanical but I’m learning how to change that” This new belief opens up possibilities that are not available with the old one.

Learning how to change our beliefs will allow us to make better use of the education we receive.

Technorati Tags: beliefs, education, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich

Most of us are constantly looking for bigger, better, “more bang for our buck,” etc. And yet we often underestimate the power of doing the little things. Because doing the little things seldom results in immediate visible results, we tend to ignore them. And yet over time, these little things add up to results that are BIG!

Here are a couple of examples. Last year at the suggestion of one of my clients, I started using the Mozilla Firefox browser. No big deal in and of itself. However, one of the things that I really like about this browser is that it supports multiple add-ons that make my computing life easier and more productive. One of those add-ons is a word translator that once installed, allows you to see the meaning of the word in a foreign language as your mouse hovers of any word on a given page (see Spanish example on the image below)

Since I installed this nifty little program I’ve been learning 2-5 new words a week in French. Since I already have a pretty good foundation in this language, these additional words are building my vocabulary quite effortlessly. At the end of 1 year, this could mean anywhere from 100-250 new words. Not bad for very little effort.

Another example has to do with riding my bike around town. While I haven’t been doing any long rides lately, I pretty much ride all over La Jolla. This means that I ride my bike anywhere from 1-3 times/day – to grab lunch, work out, run errands, etc. These rides range from 1.5 to 5 miles round trip.

The result is that I typically end up riding some 30-50 miles every week this way. While it isn’t much, it still adds up. Not only do I get some exercise that I wouldn’t otherwise get, but I also get to save money on gas, help the environment (those short trips are very polluting) and I even save time – that’s because if you’ve been to La Jolla you know what parking can be like.

Mao Tse Tung once said “A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step”. If you embrace this concept, you will notice your productivity will soar (thought it probably won’t be easily visible right away.)

Technorati Tags: Productivity, Xtraordinary Living, www.productivelearning.com, Rick Itzkowich