The secret to happiness from one of the richest men in the world

From a recent Q&A with Warren Buffet:

"I enjoy what I do, I tap dance to work every day. I work with people I love, doing what I love. The only thing I would pay to get rid of is firing people. I spend my time thinking about the future, not the past. The future is exciting. As Bertrand Russell says, “Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.” I won the ovarian lottery the day I was born and so did all of you. We’re all successful, intelligent, educated. To focus on what you don’t have is a terrible mistake. With the gifts all of us have, if you are unhappy, it’s your own fault.

I know a woman in her 80’s, a Polish Jew woman forced into a concentration camp with her family but not all of them came out. She says, “I am slow to make friends because when I look at people, I have one question in mind; would they hide me?” If you get to be my age, or younger for that matter, and have a lot of people that would hide you, then you can feel pretty good about how you’ve lived your life. I know people on the Forbes 400 list whose children would not hide them. “He’s in the attic, he’s in the attic.” Some of them keep compensating by joining board seats or getting honorary degrees, but it doesn’t change the fact that no one will give a damn when they are gone. The most powerful force in the world is unconditional love. To horde it is a terrible mistake in life. The more you try to give it away, the more you get it back. At an individual level, it’s important to make sure that for the people that count to you, you count to them."

It might seem easy to espouse such ideals from behind a multi-billion dollar fortune, but this is the guy who is giving it all back, leaving next to nothing to his children.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett

Playing for Water

There are many days when what I read, see or hear about the world at large is discouraging. Then I see something like the video above. Technology and more importantly innovative thinking can make a profound difference. For some the quest for water is a daily struggle that unfortunately has been the focus of many women's lives in developing nations. How awesome it is to see that playing can replace the shackles of fetching the daily water.

Links: www.playpumps.com

For the Love of LEGO

Yesterday, January 28th, marked the 50th anniversary of the greatest toy I ever owned, LEGO. Whilst rehearsing for a production of Hamlet I learned that LEGO is Danish for "play well." (Hamlet was Danish and therefore must have played with medieval versions of LEGO made out of wood, bone or old crusty cheese. :p )

I remember my first sets from the late 70's and the cool pouch my mother bought to keep them all together. It was a large circle of blue denim with a bright red drawstring. I thought I was pretty slick. The bricks were brightly colored and their resulting composition was limited only by my imagination. Cool and infinitely playable; it wasn't until 1980 that my love affair with LEGO truly began. That's when I received set 497 Galaxy Explorer from the newly created LEGOland space line. Oh the joy of LEGO's that included thrusters and laser canons was almost more than a preteen boy could handle. It had the complexity of an Estes model (without the contact high of model glue) coupled with the challenge of alteration and improvisation. When completed per the included plans, the Explorer ship had a compartment which housed a rover vehicle I found useful in exploring the surface of many uncharted planets (boo-ya)!!

Alas, like the energy and excitement of a first kiss, no subsequent set ever captivated me as much. And over the years my commitment to LEGOdom waned. My mother still has the denim sack and some of my original LEGO's have continue to delight my nieces and nephews. But now and then when I least expect it they magically appear in my life. At a friends playing LEGO Star Wars on the Wii; or more surprisingly resting atop our wedding cake in true old school fashion.

Maybe someday I will tackle the new 5,000 piece Millenium Falcon set that I've heard tell about on the internets. Wouldn't that be keen, Star Wars and LEGO's in one! The thought borders on ecstasy. Maybe I'd better wait...

Play well!

Further Reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lego

Image Source: http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2008/01/lego-brick4-timeline.jpg

A Gmail Question for Matt

I'm wondering if there is a special way to organize and file the groups that you send email to. Like, today, I sent an email to about 40 people. Is there a way to retrieve that list of people other than to go back to the letter I sent and copy and paste the addresses, etc.? I'm counting on you, Matt!

Time Out for a Special Announcement

Hi Everyone--
I just wanted to announce to my cousins (Jana, Diana, Melanie, Scott, etc.) that I'm offering a free cousin special! Anyone who would like to have their kids in my children's choir (cousins, that is) may have them come for free! (Okay--you do have to pay $15 for tee-shirts and misc.) That is a $110-$125 savings!! Seriously, I would just love to teach your kids! So--if you want them to join, just call me! (Or comment on this blog!) The age groups are 4th to 9th grade (8:00a.m.-9:20a.m. Saturday mornings) 1st to 3rd grade (9:30-10:30a.m. Saturday mornings). Hope someone takes me up on it!
Love ya!

PS The Hill kids are coming all the way from Highland and Lindon....

More On Time

I came across this article this morning and thought it relevant to my post about time.
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18925371.700-teach-your-brain-to-stretch-time.html
This is a bit dense but it's the best explanation of the biological perception of time I've read.

Wow, Matt, My Mind is Reeling!

That was fascinating! I knew Matt was smart, but I really didn't know he was THAT smart! I'm so proud! Please send us more!!