Matt Younger | Winnipeg Manitoba

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.

Please watch the video above and think twice the next time you decide to drink and drive (Graphic Scenes).

Early Sunday morning (October 31st 2010) a Chevrolet Cavalier sped through a red light of an 80km/h intersection colliding directly with a Pontiac Sunfire. The seventeen year old driver of Cavalier was drunk. At the time of writing this post, two passengers of the Sunfire are dead and one has yet to be stabilized two days later.

While I was not personally acquainted with any of the involved parties, this is still a story that hits home pretty hard. All five passengers of the Sunfire were alumni of my high school and in their late teens. Having seen the wreck only fifteen minutes after the collision, the mental image of twisted metal, flashing lights and frantic screams serve as a sobering reminder of the dangers associated with driving under the influence.

Winnipeg Free Press Article: Link Winnipeg Sun Article: Link