Matt Younger | Winnipeg Manitoba

“Everybody does it; it’s just that nobody talks about it.”

~Kathryn Merteuil (Cruel Intentions)

TyDi – The Camera Doesn’t Lie, But You Do (Original Mix)

Play Or Download (Right Click – “Save Link As”)

While listening to the above track by TyDi (one of my favorite new Trance producers) I was hypnotized by the sample quote that drops at 2:36. I found myself repeatedly looping the 5 second clip while thinking of all the possible interpretations. It seemed so open ended, sinister and enticing that I couldn’t help but investigate where the sample had been taken from. After some quick Googling, I discovered that the sample and quote was from the movie Cruel Intentions.

Cruel Intentions is a 1999 film adaptation of the classic French novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”. For those unfamiliar with the story, it is one of the purest examples of seduction, manipulation, revenge and betrayal. If you watch the movie with a critical mind and are able to push aside some of the teen drama clichés, you can gain insight to one of the darker and most interesting aspects of human nature.

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.

~ John Lennon

An amazing video summary of the year that Google started putting together last year. To me the biggest story of the year is the collective protesting that we have seen take place around the world. Whether protesting for political reform (Egypt & Sudan) or equality (Occupy), it seems that citizens around the world feel more empowered than ever before. With the proliferation of information access through social media, this is not a trend I think will fade away anytime soon.

To only further solidify this ongoing trend, TIME Magazine named it’s coveted Person of the Year to simply be “The Protestor”.

“The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.”

— Dr. Ralph Nichols

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, including yourself”. Celestine Chua

One of the best and most practical quotes I have heard in a while. To me it can be broken down to mean:

• Associate yourself with people who portray an image that reflects how you personally would like to be viewed.
• Seek out the positive traits in others and adapt them to fit your own personality.
• Find and spend time with people who are smarter, better and more efficient than you are.
• Never forget that your actions will affect the identity (for good or bad) of those who surround you.
• Your environment (something predominantly in your control) plays an integral part in your character.

For the past couple of months I have been reading Celestine’s “The Personal Excellence Blog“. She is a talented writer who writes about 4 posts per week covering a variety of topics related to self improvement. Many of her articles I have read multiple times and often refer back to when I need a “pick me up” or direction with whatever I have on my plate.