Adam Gopnik has become one of my favourite storytellers after having listened to one of his talks through The Moth podcast via iTunes. It was entitled “LOL”. It is a narrative between a father and son and the dialogue they have online via instant messaging. I hope you have a chance to listen and enjoy it.

This brings me to my second Golden Thought – Laughing.

If you’ve ever read Reader’s Digest, you know they have a section called Laughter is the Best Medicine. And according to doctors this truth is no laughing matter!

Today’s economic climate of uncertainty has put a damper on many people’s faces. From cancelled office Christmas parties to paychecks that have been cutback, there has been little for many people to smile about. And yet tomorrow, many of my American friends will celebrate U.S. Thanksgiving.

And many will smile. Why?

Good food. Good friends. Good times. It is true, especially today, to remember that we have many things to be thankful for.

Not only that, but I beleive that a heart and mind that is light, joyful, and focused on success and solutions enable both to receive thoughts and vibrations of the same. Read and study Think & Grow Rich by Napolean Hill for more on this.

So that’s my Golden Thought. Laugh. Out Loud.

Have you ever had so much in your head, that just getting them down in words is the hardest part?

I have lots of thoughts from over this past week. Everything from planning stages, event execution, experience, etc. However, I will limit my online writing to what I call Golden Thoughts.

Golden Thoughts are images and thoughts inspired by the wisdom and guidance from the man the West calls The Aga Khan. My son calls him Mowla Bapa. So do I.

Civil Society.

It always sounded a bit academic to me. Then I heard it in plain English. People helping people. That’s it! In today’s uncertain economic climate where the West struggles and the East waits to see what happens, what we all need to do is lend a helping hand.

And not just because we are in an economic storm. But because it’s the right thing to do.

Always.

(Picture from Vancouver Sun)

It was quiet yesterday. Lots of volunteers at the Direct Energy Centre and the SkyDome. Lots of people doing work. Many more just hoping to do work.

The SkyDome is looking more and more like a place of worship and reflection. Can’t imagine that ACDC is playing here in December!

There are many international visitors still to come to Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

I’ll be at the DEC lending a helping hand this afternoon. Drop on by. We need all the help we can get.

If you build it they will come. So he did. A baseball field in the middle of nowhere. No money to pay for it. No money for food or the mortgage. But he did build it. And, if you watched the movie it had a happy ending. Field of Dreams is widely accepted as the best sports/baseball movie of all time.

There is another Field of Dreams being constructed in Toronto at the SkyDome (some people refer to it as the Rogers Centre.).

I had a chance to drop by the site of 2 World Series championships and a few CFL titles as well last night. I wish I could figure out how to download the pictures and video I shot with my antique cell phone.

The stage is MASSIVE yet simple. I’ll be there again over the next 2 days lending a helping hand wherever they need me, so I’m sure to have a few more thoughts and observations. And maybe pictures. Keep your fingers crossed….

Field of Dreams. I am glad I’ve had the opportunity to play a very, very small part in helping to “build it.” He will come. This weekend. I can hear the voices already….

My mom calls – or at least used to call – me prince.

Then there is His Highness The Aga Khan.

He’s dropping by Ottawa today to begin his Canadian stop on his Golden Jubilee worldwide tour. It’s been 30 years since he first arrived in Canada in 1978. It was November 18th 1978. I turned 6 years old that day.

So, this begins a daily posting here at INSPIRation for the duration of the Aga Khan’s Canadian trip.

Who is the Aga Khan?

For starters, he’s not a rockstar, although his tour would make the Rolling Stones jealous. He’s not a philanthropist, although his development network (www.akdn.org) is the largest non-denominational NGO in the world.

There is a wonderful informational website that describes who the Aga Khan is, who the Ismaili Muslims are, and what things they are up to. I hope you check it out. If you live in Canada and live in an urban centre, chances are you know an Ismaili.

Disclaimer: I am an Ismaili and today is my birthday.

“It’s the economy, stupid.” This statement has been used many times recently. For example, elections on both sides of the border heard this.

I don’t disagree. However, I think it is more than that.

“It’s about likeability.” Now that’s more like it.

Think about it. Being likeable is more important today than at any other time in recent memory. Especially given today’s economic climate.

If you represent a company, more likely than not, you are looking at ways of lowering your expenses. You are looking for your service providers to understand the dynamics of your company and it’s place in today’s economy. One of the characteristics of being likeable is that you can empathize with people. You understand that we all have choices on who we give or take business from.

On Tuesday a real estate magazine called me. The publisher was wondering if the company I work for would be paying a bill and continuing to advertise with them. This call, however, was different. The caller was rude. He did not want to listen. He hung up the phone before I could tell him that I just finished a conversation with my boss and we had decided to advertise with them in 2009. I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth before he hung up on me.

Our decision: As long as I’m working here I won’t agree to advertise with his paper. Why? Because I don’t want to give money to someone who is not likeable. I’d rather save my company $1700 a month and figure out more innovative ways to market the company.

So, what’s the big take-away? Understand that we are under the microscope more now than ever before. Be likeable and you’ll generate more business. Be likeable and you’ll retain customers. Be likeable and you’ll have more freinds. Be likeable.

Want more on this “concept” of likeability? Check out Tim Sander’s best selling book, The Likeability Factor.

A Soldier Died Today

By Lawrence Vaincourt, RCAF Veteran, Second World War
(c) 1985 A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast.
He sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of the war that he had fought and the deeds that he had done,
Of the exploits with his buddies, they are heroes, every one.

Tho’ sometimes to his neighbours his tales became a joke,
His Legion buddies listened; they knew whereof he spoke.
But we’ll hear his tales no longer; he has passed away.
The world is much poorer now; A SOLDIER DIED TODAY.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary, uneventful, quiet life,
Held a job, raised a family and quietly went his way;
The world won’t note his passing, Tho’ A SOLDIER DIED TODAY.

When Statesmen leave this earth, their bodies lie in state.
Thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their stories, from the time that they were young.
The passing of a soldier tho’, goes unnoticed and unsung.

It’s so easy to forget them, it was so long ago,
When our young men left for battle, but this we should know.
It was not the politicians with their promises and ploys
Who won for us the freedom that our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with enemies at hand,
Would you want a diplomat with his every shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn we will defend;
His home, his kin, his country; he’ll fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us; we may need his likes again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldiers part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the bureaucrats did start.

If we cannot do him honour while he’s here to hear our praise;
At least let us pay him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say:
Our country is in mourning “A Soldier Died Today”.

I’ve stopped using Technorati to post interesting articles. It’s just too complicated to use and search for articles I’ve bookmarked.

So, I’m back on del.icio.us. It’s easier for me to use and easier for someone to search articles I’ve bookmarked.

Sorry to those of you who have followed my stuff. I hope this “new” bookmarker will make it easier.

Heads up techie people: Make tools simple and easy to use. Then u will become popular. If you want.

Do you bookmark interesting sites and articles on the web? Thoughts?

I was trying to come up with an interesting title for this post. Seeing that it’s my 61st contribution, I thought, “Why not?”

What I really want to get out there to you today relates to what happened last night. No, not the Leafs losing in overtime (Yeah, there was a hockey game on!).

Barak Obama is President-Elect of the USA. A black man. A Democrat. A populist. An idealist.

There are lots of things one could call the “leader of the free world.” We tend to label people based on the groups they belong to. Just once I’d like to see a person judged or viewed through the prism of their decisions and actions.

Statements like, “I’d never vote for THAT party.” or “I always vote THIS way.” are ignorant and short-sighted in my opinion.

Partisanship is dogma. It’s dead. Or at least it should be.

Whether you are a Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative, American or not – Today Barak Obama has the most intense job in world for at least the next 4 years. You want things to change for the better? It’s time to work together for the good of all. To create oppotunities. To foster entreprenuership. To ensure that no one gets left behind. To protect the world’s resources for our future generations.

America: I dare you to put aside political differences. I dare you to make yourself good again.

We’re watching.

And hoping.