Tree of Life

Picture for the blog post "Tree of Life"

The Tree of Life.

Yesterday I’ve watched the movie The Tree of Life. Maybe I wouldn’t call it a movie – it’s more like a journey. It might even unlock some unconscious stress in you. It’s a voyage through your hopes and dreams in slow motion.

Besides some stunning visuals there’s one quote engraved into my brain:

“You make yourself what you are and you have control of your own destiny. You can”™t say I can”™t. You say, ”˜I”™m havin”™ trouble, but I”™m not done yet. You can”™t say I can”™t.” Mr. O’Brien

Go, plant a tree! Even if it’s only your very personal one inside your mind.

What the Plus by Guy Kawasaki

book cover of What the Plus! by Guy KawasakiWhat the Plus by Guy Kawasaki

What the Plus! is the new book by Guy Kawasaki about the social network Google+. Why?

“I hate when people don”™t use the best tool. [”¦] My goals are to help you to derive as much joy and value from Google+ as I do and that we can make Google+ tip.” Guy Kawasaki

Do you still drive your first car or live in your very first own room? Once in a while it”™s time to move on or at least shift your focus. When Google+ was unveiled in summer 2011 I got an early beta invitation. I logged in, looked around and logged out. TMI, too much information – the days still only have 24h a day.

In the last few months I was looking around for a new way to handle my social media activities. Yes I know Tweetdeck and have a Hootsuite premium account ”“ but still”¦ I don”™t know how Guy picks the release dates for his books, but What the Plus! came just in time for me.

After reading What the Plus! I decided to move over to Google+ and cross post from there to Facebook and Twitter. Hop to page #131 to see how to do that the Guy-Kawasaki-way. See you on G+!

Get the ebook at Amazon or iTunes

Sitting On A Spring

Sitting On A Spring is a short meditation by ZEN-MEN.

It was a great surprise to find this lovely dashboard monk in my hardware mail, thanks Theo!

How do I meditate? Its still a question people ask me from time to time. There are many ways – find the one, which suits you best. One easy way would be to watch this video for a while, even in FULL-HD if you like!

Try to relax, sit still and listen to the music if you like. For the music I picked a track, I wrote back then for Florent; “Le Petit Fleur” from the ZEN-MEN album “Rue Lepic”.
Chill-out, dude! 🙂

Back Home

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Back Home.

Do you remember the feeling when you come back home from a business workshop, from holidays or some lovely days camping? Five thoughts about our perception:

  1. The size of your room, flat, house feels different. Is it still too small?
  2. What do you really need for living?
  3. Surrounding sounds; is your home too loud or too silent for you?
  4. Minimize; treat your home with some Feng Shui. Do you really need all this?
  5. TV; have a break. Consciously create new elements in your life to destroy your daily routine.

You are home. (Yes, that’s a tiny house made of wood in that tree…)

Happy 2012

Picture for the blog post "Happy 2012" by Chris Remspecher.Happy 2012!

Sometimes you have no idea which direction you should take. Gravity tries to pulls you down but still your thoughts shoot through the roof top.

No matter through what kinda mud you have to crawl, smile – and carry on.

Help your friends, love your family (… I know…) and maybe one day you get a package via royal mail, undefined, wet – mysterious.

The manual just said: keep in a warm place, water every 2-3 days, germination in 7-10 days. Be a living smiley 🙂 Thanks, Mikel!

Shell Magic

Picture for the blog post "Shell Magic"Do you remember your very first visit at a beach? Even the tiniest shell was an amazing treasure!

The years go by and tiny shells don”™t catch your attention anymore. These days they have to be big, beautiful ”“ perfect.

It”™s okay to be picky unless it extinguishes your flames of joy. The good and the bad news are: you are the boss of your break-even point of happiness!

Global Help

Picture fot the blog post "Global Help".Merci to Ester for some Global Help!

“One day a monk fell down in the snow and cried out for help. Another monk came along and lay down beside him. The first monk got up and walked away.” Zen Koan

Be a Candle

Be a Candle by Chris Remspecher“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Buddha

Jaron Lanier – Gadget

You are not a Gadget. A Manifesto by Jaron LanierYou are not a Gadget. A book by Jaron Lanier. Maybe it’s even a medical pill.

If you wonder why 500+ million people use facebook, why cloud computing (or even klout) is such a hype and why we still need intelligent individuals, then this pill is for you.

You have to be someone, before you can share something relevant.

Jaron made me think a lot about the “login effects” of life. The amount of data and information is increasing everyday. New network ports formerly known as human beings have to handle the fragmentation of _flat_ relationships; it’s never been easier to friend/ unfriend with a single mouse click.

You are not a Gadget. A Manifesto makes you reflect and re-think the patterns and networks around you. Be a real person, with your real character because your content is still king!

Thanks for the journey, Jaron!

Amazon.com You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto (Vintage)

Amazon.de Gadget: Warum die Zukunft uns noch braucht