88 Ways To Make A Stranger Smile

1. Smile often.
2. Hold a door open for someone.
3. Pay for the person in line behind you.
4. Send a hand-written thank you card to someone who assisted you with something.
5. Clean out all your old clothes and donate them to someone in need.
6. Give a compliment about a waiter, waitress, sales clerk, etc. to his or her manager.
7. Compliment a stranger’s appearance.  Flatter them.
8. Leave encouraging post-it notes in a library books and other random places.  (Read Operation Beautiful.)
9. Help an elderly person carry something.
10. Send flowers to someone anonymously.
11. Be a courteous driver.  Let people merge in front of you.
12. Volunteer at a children’s hospital or nursing home.
13. Donate blood.
14. Buy house warming gifts for new neighbors.
15. Introduce yourself.  Make new colleagues, classmates, etc. feel welcome.
16. Inspire others online.  (Check out Makes Me Think.)
17. Send letters of appreciation to business owners/managers and other people who support you.
18. Treat everyone with the same level of respect you’d give to your grandfather.
19. Give everyone the same level of patience you’d have with your baby sister.
20. Appreciate people the way they are.
21. Share your lunch or a snack with someone who doesn’t have one.
22. Put some change in an expired parking meter.
23. Check up on someone who looks lonely.
24. Tell your boss, teacher or professor that he or she is doing a great job and that you appreciate what they’ve taught you.
25. Create places and things for others to enjoy.  Like decorating your house for the holidays or creating a piece of art.
26. If you overhear that it’s someone’s birthday, go out of your way to wish them a happy one.
27. Ask someone for their opinion or advice.
28. Bring cookies or bagels to work for everyone.
29. Tip waiters and waitresses well when they deserve it.
30. Be a part of something you believe in.  Those around you will notice your enthusiasm.  (Read The Alchemist.)
31. Leave a thank-you note for the office janitors.
32. Help bag your own groceries at the checkout counter.
33. Offer your seat to someone when there aren’t any left.
34. Let someone with only a few items cut you in line at the grocery store.
35. Wave to a kid in the car next to you.
36. Spread good news.
37. Repeat something nice you heard about someone else.
38. Remember people’s names and address them accordingly.
39. When you make eye contact with someone, smile.
40. Replace what you’ve used.  For example, fill up the copier or printer with paper after you’re done using it.
41. Share your umbrella on a rainy day.
42. Listen intently to people’s stories without trying to fix everything.
43. Dance with someone who hasn’t been asked.
44. Call a stranger’s attention to a beautiful sunset or full moon.  (Check out What Money Cannot Buy.)
45. Give words of encouragement toward someone’s dream, no matter how big or small it is.
46. Ask someone who enjoys cooking for a recipe.
47. Let someone else eat the last slice of pizza or cake.
48. Stop and buy a drink from a kid’s lemonade stand.
49. Help someone get your parking space in a crowded parking lot when you’re leaving.
50. Ask someone you see every now and then if they’ve lost weight.
51. Do a little something extra to make someone else’s life easier.
52. Use all the manners you learned in Kindergarten.
53. Listen to someone’s pain and help them find a path through it.
54. Give without expecting to get back.
55. Encourage others to do one unanticipated kind or helpful act at least once a week.
56. Observe everyone without judging.
57. Say “Please” and “Thank you.”
58. Forgive and let go of anger.  For instance, if somebody accidentally cuts you off in traffic, just let it go.
59. Believe in yourself with all of your heart.  People will notice.
60. Don’t be so serious all the time.  (Read The Happiness Project.)
61. Treat every small interaction with another person as an opportunity to make a positive impact in both your lives.
62. Greed, anger and ignorance.  Avoid all three.
63. Speak the truth.
64. Teach others how to make a difference by setting an example.
65. Help others be independent.
66. Give people the space they need.
67. Lend your shoulder to cry on.
68. Offer encouragement after a failure.
69. Acknowledge people for a job well done.
70. Tell a good joke.
71. Clean up after yourself.
72. Excel at what you do.  People appreciate professionals.
73. Create a care package and send it to an active duty military unit.
74. Redirect gifts.  Instead of having people give you birthday and holiday gifts, ask them to donate gifts or money to a good cause.
75. Stop to help.  The next time you see someone pulled over with a flat tire, or in need of assistance, stop and ask how you can help.
76. Put a small personal touch on everything you do.  People notice and appreciate individuality.
77. Take the time to teach someone a skill you know.
78. Help someone get active.  There’s a coworker or acquaintance in your life who wants to get healthy, but needs a helping hand.  Offer to go walking or running together, to join a gym together.
79. Send a nice email to a tech support representative who has assisted you.
80. Donate food to a charity.
81. Stand up for someone.  Lend your voice. Often the powerless, the homeless, the neglected in our world need someone to speak up for them.
82. If you see a couple taking a self-pic, offer to take the picture for them.
83. Help the weary shopper in front of you who needs that extra two or three cents to avoid breaking a 20-dollar bill.
84. Come to the rescue.  If you realize someone is sick, bring them some hot tea, etc.
85. Stand up for your beliefs without flaunting them.
86. Make yourself available and approachable.
87. Over-deliver on all of your promises and obligations.
88. Be positive and focus on what’s right.

And above all, live proudly.  Inspire people with who you are and how you live your life.

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/05/08/88-ways-to-make-a-stranger-smile/

30 Books Everyone Should Read Before Their 30th Birthday

The 30 books listed here are of unparalleled prose, packed with wisdom capable of igniting a new understanding of the world.  Everyone should read these books before their 30th birthday. 

1.     Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse – A powerful story about the importance of life experiences as they relate to approaching an understanding of reality and attaining enlightenment.

2.     1984 by George Orwell – 1984 still holds chief significance nearly 60 years after it was written in 1949.  It is widely acclaimed for its haunting vision of an all-knowing government which uses pervasive, 24/7 surveillance tactics to manipulate all citizens of the populace.

3.     To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – The story surveys the controversial issues of race and economic class in the 1930’s Deep South via a court case of a black man charged with the rape and abuse of a young white girl.  It’s a moving tale that delivers a profound message about fighting for justice and against prejudice.

4.     A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess – A nightmarish vision of insane youth culture that depicts heart wrenching insight into the life of a disturbed adolescent.  This novel will blow you away… leaving you breathless, livid, thrilled, and concerned.

5.     For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway – A short, powerful contemplation on death, ideology and the incredible brutality of war.

6.     War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – This masterpiece is so enormous even Tolstoy said it couldn’t be described as a standard novel.  The storyline takes place in Russian society during the Napoleonic Era, following the characters of Andrei, Pierre and Natasha… and the tragic and unanticipated way in which their lives interconnect.

7.     The Rights of Man by Tom Paine – Written during the era of the French Revolution, this book was one of the first to introduce the concept of human rights from the standpoint of democracy.

8.     The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau – A famous quote from the book states that “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.”  This accurately summarizes the book’s prime position on the importance of individual human rights within society.

9.     One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez – This novel does not have a plot in the  conventional sense, but instead uses various narratives to portray a clear message about the general importance of remembering our cultural history.

10. The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – Few books have had as significant an impact on the way society views the natural world and the genesis of humankind.

11. The Wisdom of the Desert by Thomas Merton – A collection of thoughts, meditations and reflections that give insight into what life is like to live simply and purely, dedicated to a greater power than ourselves.

12. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell – Gladwell looks at how a small idea, or product concept, can spread like a virus and spark global sociological changes.  Specifically, he analyzes “the levels at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”

13. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham – Arguably one of the best children’s books ever written; this short novel will help you appreciate the simple pleasures in life.  It’s most notable for its playful mixture of mysticism, adventure, morality, and camaraderie.

14. The Art of War by Sun Tzu – One of the oldest books on military strategy in the world.  It’s easily the most successful written work on the mechanics of general strategy and business tactics.

15. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien – One of the greatest fictional stories ever told, and by far one of the most popular and influential written works in 20th-century literature.  Once you pick up the first book, you’ll read them all.

16. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens – This is a tale that lingers on the topic of attaining and maintaining a disciplined heart as it relates to one’s emotional and moral life.  Dickens states that we must learn to go against “the first mistaken impulse of the undisciplined heart.”

17. Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot – Probably the wisest poetic prose of modern times.  It was written during World War II, and is still entirely relevant today… here’s an excerpt: “The dove descending breaks the air/With flame of incandescent terror/Of which the tongues declare/The only discharge from  sin and error/The only hope, or the despair/Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre–/To be redeemed from fire by fire./Who then devised this torment?/Love/Love is the unfamiliar Name/Behind the hands that wave/The intolerable shirt of flame/Which human power cannot remove./We only live, only suspire/Consumed by either fire or fire.”

18. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller – This book coined the self-titled term “catch-22” that is widely used in modern-day dialogue.  As for the story, its message is clear: What’s commonly held to be good, may be bad… what is sensible, is nonsense.  Its one of the greatest literary works of the 20th century.  Read it.

19. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Set in the Jazz Age of the roaring 20’s, this book unravels a cautionary tale of the American dream.  Specifically, the reader learns that a few good friends are far more important that a zillion acquaintances, and the drive created from the desire to have something is more valuable than actually having it.

20. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger – This novel firmly stands as an icon for accurately representing the ups and downs of teen angst, defiance and rebellion.  If nothing else, it serves as a reminder of the unpredictable teenage mindset.

21. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky – A smooth-flowing, captivating novel of a young man living in poverty who criminally succumbs to the desire for money, and the hefty phychological impact this has on him and the people closest to him.

22. The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli – This book does a great job at describing situations of power and statesmanship.  From political and corporate power struggles to attaining advancement, influence and authority over others, Machiavelli’s observations apply.

23. Walden by Henry David Thoreau – Thoreau spent two years, two months and two days writing this book in a secluded cabin near the banks of Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.  This is a story about being truly free from the pressures of society.  The book can speak for itself:  “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”

24. The Republic by Plato – A gripping and enduring work of philosophy on how life should be lived, justice should be served, and leaders should lead.  It also gives the reader a fundamental understanding of western political theory.

25. Lolita – This is the kind of book that blows your mind wide open to conflicting feelings of life, love and corruption… and at times makes you deeply question your own perceptions of each.  The story is as devious as it is beautiful.

26. Getting Things Done by David Allen – The quintessential guide to organizing your life and getting things done.  Nuff said.

27. How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie – This is the granddaddy of all self-improvement books.  It is a comprehensive, easy to read guide for winning people over to your way of thinking in both business and personal relationships.

28. Lord of the Flies by William Golding – A powerful and alarming look at the possibilities for savagery in a lawless environment, where compassionate human reasoning is replaced by anarchistic, animal instinct.

29. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck – Steinbeck’s deeply touching tale about the survival of displaced families desperately searching for work in a nation stuck by depression will never cease to be relevant.

30. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov – This anticommunist masterpiece is a multifaceted novel about the clash between good and evil.  It dives head first into the topics of greed, corruption and deception as they relate to human nature.

31. BONUS:  How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman – 900 pages of simple instructions on how to cook everything you could ever dream of eating.  Pretty much the greatest cookbook ever written.  Get through a few recipes each week, and you’ll be a master chef by the time you’re 30.

32. BONUS:  Honeymoon with My Brother by Franz Wisner – Franz Wisner had it all… a great job and a beautiful fiancée.  Life was good.  But then his fiancée dumped him days before their wedding, and his boss basically fired him.  So he dragged his younger brother to Costa Rica for his already-scheduled honeymoon and they never turned back… around the world they went for two full years.  This is a fun, heartfelt adventure story about life, relationships, and self discovery.

SOURCE: http://www.marcandangel.com/2008/08/11/30-books-everyone-should-read-before-their-30th-birthday/