Happines Project and Inspirational videos

Here is a list of the 5 most inspirational videos on youtube, (2 of them are videos I had already posted, namely the last lecture, and steve jobs commencement speech). Another interesting site is called the happiness project "a memoir about the year I spent test-driving every principle, tip, theory, and scientific study I could find, whether from Aristotle or St. Therese or Martin Seligman or Oprah." The most recent post is called "Enjoy the process" The post states that as part of her family vacation they decided to treat the whole process whether it was waiting in lines or anything else to try and enjoy it. Thanks to Angie for the intersting links.

Speaking of travelling, some friends of mine went to Paris at ate at a restaurant, Dans le Noir, that translates to "In the dark." The waiters are all blind, and you have to put all light emitting objects, like cell phones in a locker before you enter. You are then served dinner in pitch dark. They said the food was great although, not surprisingly, someone spilled wine all over them.

The last lecture

This is the last lecture given by a Carnegie Mellon professor, Randy Pausch, who has terminal cancer. Technically, it's about achieving your childhood dreams... it's long, but contains a lot of the wisdom he has gained over his life. What's remarkable is what a good attitude he has in spite of the fact he is dying of cancer. Although it's inspirational, there another less inspiring subtext and that is people rarely change. He was a happy kid, he was happy and an overachiever in life, and he remains happy even when faced with cancer.

Steve Jobs commencement Speech

here is the transcript.

This is an inspirational speech. He tells three stories about being young and unsure of his direction in life, about being in the middle of his career and experiencing failure, and about facing death. In all three stories the message is largely the same, follow your heart, your intuition, your gut... to "stay hungry, stay foolish".

When I think of graduation speeches, I often think of Winston Churchhill's speech...

He walked up to the podium and said "Never give up." He paused and said "Never give up" again. Then he paused even longer and said "Never give up." And he sat down.