Livestrong: the rise of such a powerful organization was inevitable and necessary in a world where cancer is rampant. The influence Livestrong has had on making lives better is undeniable, with the cancer community forever indebted to them for their contributions. However, what Lance Armstrong has taught us is that it's important not to glamorize caused based initiatives without further consideration of motives.

Employees of non-profits do make a living on their salary and to many it is simply a job. Working for a charity doesn't make you a philanthropist. Some people are in it for the cause and some a paycheck. Most for both. It doesn't quite matter as long as everyone performs the work, which leads to fulfilling a worthwhile mission. In fact, there is only one person that needs to be 100% in it for the cause. That is, the founder. The head of any charitable organization should firmly stand for the advancement of humanity over self.

Sadly, Lance Armstrong has always been in it for himself. Contrary to those more hopeful, I fully believe that founding the Livestrong organization was just another masked tool for feeding his ego and hiding his ugliness. The mess he created with cowardly lies is worse than a pair of stained bike shorts. READ MORE
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An essay by: Jeff Tomczek

The hype of a predicted weather event drives eeriness through the streets with the swiftness of a Northeaster wind. In an age of media hyperbole gone rampant it has become nearly too humorous to parody the embellishment of a strong storm- yet social media squatters do their best, often with hilarious results through hash tags, falsified images and pop culture memes.

New York City has heard this song before. The same rhythms of ‘stay’, ‘flee’ or ‘hide’ beating upon the drums as they did a year ago. The trees still stand on this Manhattan street lined with high rises lit up by tenants tightly tucked into their over-priced boxes. Each adhering to the tweeted orders of barely bi-lingual Bloomberg while Chris Christie bellows government duties to protect & preserve through precautionary measures on supersized TV sets.

Text messages fill the air; weaving an invisible web amongst the feigned concerned and the bored… all wondering if this extra day off work is a gift or a jail sentence. Tubs are filled with water. Candle sales sky rocket. Weed, condoms and alcohol are openly procured with higher importance than both the former. READ MORE...

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Here is a powerful excerpt from the 70-minute rant given by screenwriter Charlie Kauffman at the 2011 BAFTA awards and made available recently in full length audio. The full audio version can be found here. This speech was shared by @FastCompany in this article. Certainly a think piece worthy of the time & reflection.

By: Jeff Tomczek

Your relationships are about to change. All of them. Some will get stronger. They will probably not be with the people you would expect. The people you want to handle this well might not be able to for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons will be selfish. Some of them will be entirely innocent & circumstantial. All of them will be forgivable because no one plans for cancer. Carrying bitterness or anger won’t help your recovery. Fighting for anyone to stick with you won’t cure you. Those that can will.

You will be determined to have more energy than you do. You will convince yourself that you are thinking straight, are able to handle all of this and do not need anyone. You will run out fuel. Your body will change first and your mind will follow. You won’t lose your mind, memories or sensibility. It will all come back. But, you will be different. You will never have the same sense of self. You should embrace this. Your old self was probably really great. Your transformed self will be even better. Give into what is happening and trust it. READ MORE

This story was recently picked up by The Huffington Post. You can read the published version HERE

The 'Busy Trap' - via NYTimes.com

Enough with the Fluff: Meaningless updates on Facebook, Twitter obscure social networks' potential
-via NY Daily News

How Literary Agents Find Talent on Twitter - via Mashable.com

10 Life Lessons From Albert Einstein
- via FitLIfe

21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity -via BuzzFeed

From Teacher to Writer: Why I'm Proud to be Part of Generation Job-Hop
-via Good

Tim's Place: Restaurant Run by 26 Year-old with Downs Syndrome, Serves Hugs with Lunch -via Huffington Post

Why Are American Kids So Spoiled?
-via The Atlantic

Free E-books Worth Sharing

The Bootstrapper's Bible by Seth Godin

As a Man Thinketh by James Allen