Thoughts About Innovation

"An innovation is one of those things that society looks at and says, if we make this part of the way we live and work, it will change the way we live and work." ~Dean Kamen

I actually love the thought of innovation and how it can change our lives. But I also love the way that the good people over at Despair.com make us step back and think about what we are doing or saying.

Years ago, there were many more people employed delivering milk to your doorstep, building cars, typing up stock purchase orders, and cleaning your windshield at the gas pump. But innovation has pretty much done away with these and many other types of jobs.

With most certainty, I am not saying we should go back in time to the horse and carriage days with crank phones on the kitchen wall. There is something to be said for moving ourselves, humans, forward in life.

What we should accept is quite a bit of innovation begins to make much of what we get paid to do, irrelevant. And what that means is that you need to be aware of it and to make changes in your life and careeer to remain relevant. With eBooks, Smartphones, more and more automation along with advances in artificial intelligence, we as humans have to find other purposeful ways to stay engaged.

Of course new innovations will create new types of opportunities for jobs. You simply have to be will to adapt and change in order to take advantage of those opportunities. so one day you might be shaking the hand of an android, and not the smartphone kind...but then again, maybe it will be.

Update on Gracyn Rhodes

“To overcome difficulties is to experience the full delight of existence.”
~Arthur Schopenhauer

Back in August of 2009, I wrote an article about a little girl named Gracyn Rhodes. As described, she was a miracle child right from the beginning. Born in 2005, she was only 2 lbs., 6 oz. and no bigger than her father's hand.

Soon though, Gracyn was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia Cerebral Palsy. It was in September of 2009, at the age of four the possibility of corrective surgery to give Gracyn a chance at a more normal life. In an article I wrote that month, it spoke of the money ($40,000) being raised to help pay for that surgery.

Well here we are three years later and I am happy to say that Gracyn is doing pretty darn well. Her mother Brandi sent me an email and in it she reports that Gracyn is now seven years old and full of sass and spunk! She doesn't let anything slow her down or keep her from trying new things.

This past spring, she danced and sang as a Munchkin in the Walnut Grove High School play, Wizard of Oz. She has been swimming this summer and recently learned to dive. Additionally, Gracyn is excited about cheering at her school, West Walton this fall.

Gracyn's surgery three years ago released much of her spasticity, making it possible for her to do all of those things noted above. During a recent doctor's visit with her orthopedic surgeon, he said she looks great and there is no immediate need for any further surgeries. That is great news.

The doctor reported that Gracyn is high functioning, strong, and has good balance, tone, and range. That in itself is a huge milestone for Gracyn and as Brandi indicated, "It was such a blessing to walk out of there with good news instead of a list of things we need to do."

Gracyn still struggles with the habit of toe walking, but she is fully capable of walking with her heels down. Both the doctor and her therapist agree that she will be motivated to break the habit as she matures over the next few years.

I tell you folks, these are the things that inspire me and keep me motivated to keep writing. There are so many things that people overcome each and every day. If a young and vibrant seven-year old girl can overcome her own challenges, so can you.

Stay inspired my friends!

Here is a short video of Gracyn walking provided to me by her mother Brandi.



NOTE: I do recognize that it may seem a bit odd to have such an optimistic quote from such a pessimistic philosopher such as Arthur Schopenhauer.

And one last thing; check out Brandi Cakes by clicking on the link or going to www.cakesbybrandi.blogspot.com - you will be amazed.

July 4th - Celebrate

"I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man." -George Washington

Our celebration of Independence Day (not the movie) is described in Wikipedia as;

During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia declaring the United States independent from Great Britain.

After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the wording of the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4.

A day earlier, John Adams had written to his wife Abigail:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

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Yes, John Adams was two days off but it is never too early to have a celebration. And it is never too early to live a life of an honest man or woman. History and others will judge each of us in due course.

Celebrate this holiday and remain inspired my friends.

Change Your Thinking

"Feel now how you would feel then."

Generate a vibe today, tomorrow, or the next day; generate some good feelings with people around you. It can be a day that starts a whole new way of life for you. Take a positive approach to dealing with people and believe in the goodness each of us have inside.

So many times we only see the negative, the complaining or the thought that all of life is against us. It is very much like the everyday news, always dwelling on the bad news. The daily grind of political back biting, criminal activity, cheating, accidents, deaths and just about anything that has greater sensation.

Our nature is to be drawn to "the accident" scene as opposed to the nice person handing out flowers on the street corner. Yet a daily grind of the negative tends to place us in a negative mood. We do know that living this way can eventually drag us down.

So do something about it. Make a change in your life and those around you. It can start with a smile, it can be opening a door, but it all begins with you. It begins by simply deciding to live in a more positive way.

Generate a new vibe today or tomorrow, generate a positive one. And stay inspired my friends.