I am addicted to the internet.

I realized it one evening last month, a few days after Christmas. I went to my office, which was closed for the holidays, to work on my book for a couple hours before I had to be somewhere. I opened my computer and sat down. An hour later I had done nothing.

Well, I had checked my email, refreshed Facebook any number of times, scrolled through some favorite blogs, read an ‘important’ article or two, and scanned my Twitter feed. But I had not even opened the file that held my half-written book.

And my book is my dream. It is what I want my future to be founded on. But instead of using that hour to push it closer to completion, I surrendered the hour to things that had no lasting value.

I realized in that moment that if I don’t write this book, then I am not the person I thought I was, that I aspire to be.

Thinking back over the past years of my life I saw a clear pattern: hours siphoned away into the stream of social media and blogs and funny videos. And if there’s one thing that determines whether a dream will starve or thrive, it’s how you use your hours.

650,000. That’s how many hours the average person gets on this earth. We sleep away a third of them and we’ve already lived another chunk. And whatever you believe happens when we die, the only life we know we have is the one we’re living right now, hour by passing hour. And the only way we will see the dreams of this life fulfilled is if we pour our hours into them.

I did the math for myself the other day. I have about 260,000 waking hours left. That’s it. And the hours that have passed can never be reclaimed. They have either enriched the current hour and pushed me closer to fulfilling my dream, or they haven’t. And for each one, it was my choice.

My mission for 2012 is to reclaim my hours, one by one, as they come to me, and to use them for the things I care about most.

That evening at my office I downloaded an app called Freedom that lets you cut off your computer’s networking capabilities for up to eight hours at a time. I set it for one hour, opened my book, and wrote.

Whatever your dream is, it needs your hours. Figure out what’s stopping you from putting your hours into the things you care about the most, and overcome it. Do it today. Do it now. Don’t waste another hour.

Here’s my February list of idea-makers:

• Jacquelline Fuller – Jacquelline is the Director Charitable Giving and Advocacy at Google.org. She worked previously with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, develops technologies to help address global challenges and supports innovative partners through grants, investments and in-kind resources.
• Liz Strauss – Liz is a well known blogger, speaker, and consultant to many leading companies. She is also the convener of a great conference in Chicago called SOBCon; considered the Cirque du Soleil of business strategy events. It’s an interactive think tank that moves ideas to action — packed with business strategies and social media immersion. You will walk away with new ideas and the energy and network to implement them!
• Jeremy Sidell – Jeremy is the Chief Development and Communications Officer for one of my favorite organizations – PATH (People Assisting the Homeless). He is incredibly innovative and simply gets things done! PATH is leading the charge in providing innovative and integrate solutions for homelessness.
• Michael Kroll – Michael was the Lead in 2011 of Toyota’s 100 Cars for Good Campaign. Michael and his team elevated the way that corporations engage the public and organizations in the area of social good. Toyota chose not to take a marketing approach to their campaign but rather focused on philanthropic support to worthy organizations. Yes, they raised the bar on how online campaigns are done.
• Jeff Shinabarger – Jeff is the Founder of Plywood People, an innovative movement of social entrepreneurs creating good in our world. Jeff and his team have created several initiatives and gatherings designed to help idea-makers move forward. Be sure to connect with this creative community of people innovating for good.

You have so much to offer our world.

You’re smart, skilled, and passionate.

You’ve worked your tail off to be where you are.

You most definitely deserve to be acknowledged, honored, and celebrated.

We know you’re focused.

You are not easily distracted from your pursuits.

You are highly organized and masterfully orchestrate complex projects.

You model for us a life that is fully committed to excellence.

You do it well because you understand what’s at stake.

We know you’re real.

You actually care and it shows.

You are genuine, kind, and considerate.

You give us a glimpse of what the world could be.

You are the person we all point to, talk about, and seek to emulate.

Who could blame you for wanting to save the day?

You’ve done more than most. Our efforts can’t compare.

You’ve solved many of our problems. We will forever be grateful.

You’ve brought clarity, sense, and hope.

Nevertheless, you can’t do it alone.

You need us as much as we need you.

Your vision is bigger than your capacity.

Your journey is far more grueling than you think.

Your soul alone cannot carry the weight of the things you desire.

You’re like Superman to us, but even Superman must confront his kryptonite.

Invite us into your dreams.

Create pathways for us to get involved.

We really do want to help.

We believe in you.

Don’t overlook the obvious people in your life.

Let’s do this together.

Created By: Education News

Education News

Education New

First of all, thank you so much for your continual support of this project! It’s been so encouraging to see many people pre-order the book and/or read early copies of it!

As we get closer to the official launch date, our team put together a quick video (below) describing why this book was written and for whom. Please take a moment to watch the video and share it with people you think would benefit from a book like this. Also, click the following link to download a free sample of the book: Good Idea. Now What? Sample

While this is something that we should strive for when it comes to human rights, I think this philosophy can be detrimental if applied to a context of working with a team in an organization or business. In theory, it sounds wonderful to have “equal” voice in leadership. Nevertheless, organizations and businesses that thrive tend to have clear understanding of the pecking order of leadership.

The egalitarian spirit is something that we should all embrace, but nevertheless, we need to be clear in our understanding of how it relates to the decision-making process. While it is very healthy to create pathways for team members of all levels of leadership to provide input for endeavors, that is far different from allowing everyone to have equal weight of input.

Too many teams in the name of creating equal voice have experienced paralysis and inability to move forward. A big part of leadership is that you have to “lead”. Creating a clear picture of how decisions are made and how people provide input can save an organization and company countless hours of unnecessary frustration and strife.

Here’s a quick snapshot of some of the recent additions to our event:

• Claire Diaz Ortiz | Leads Social Innovation at Twitter & Author of Twitter for Good
• Patty Huber | G-Team Director at Groupon
• Jeremy Cowart | Celebrity Portrait Photographer & Founder of Help-Portrait
• Brent Freeman | Founder & CEO of Roozt.com
• Catherine Rohr | Founder & CEO of Defy Ventures
• Shaun King | Founder of HopeMob

More will be announced shortly…

Be sure to register by tomorrow to get our lowest rates for the conference.