Every day I’m in the gym early in the morning. And I find it tough whether it’s 25 minutes at level 6 on the stepper or 40 minutes on the treadmill at a 15 incline. Then there’s the ‘core’ exercises afterwards. Sweaty. Puffing. And tough.

But I’m fortunate to share the gym with Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1) founder Masami Sato. Yesterday she asked me to take a look at my face.

‘Is it hurting?’ she said.

‘Your face looks like it’s in pain and it always does even when you start exercising. Why not try smiling and see what happens,’ she said.

We’ll get back to that in a moment.

Because after the gym yesterday I caught up with some reading. In the Chronicle of Philanthropy I learnt of a survey that ‘verified’ that sad photos of kids in fund-raising campaigns raise more money from donors that happy faces. I find that probably true but sad if you know what I mean.

 

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Since I started doing more daily exercises and physical activities, the life has become so much more enjoyable, meaningful and abundant.

I had felt the need for more physical activities before but never done anything consistently since I had my first child. Life can be full of excuses with family/business commitment and demanding everyday chores. But this time, I actually took action.

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OK, I know that sounds like a weird title. But read on!

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE ideas and products that make me laugh. And when those ideas also have a great ‘give back’, it’s even better. And here at B1G1 it takes our tag-line, 'sharing the joy of giving, every second, every day and in every way', up a notch as well.

I was reminded today of some material a new B1G1 Business Member sent us. It scores high on the laughing index and it scores hugely on the give back index as well. And to top it all off, the business, run by Tom Minter in the UK has a seriously great name.

It’s called Socks for Happy People.

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Responding to the twinge
It is certainly not so nice to feel the twinge in our stomach when the financial market is shaking as well as our bank account. We want to make sure that we have the certainty and security for our future. We actually do so many things to create this 'peace of mind'. Working hard for money, saving and investing wisely, buying property, getting life insurance, even having the cup of coffee and chocolate can be pretty much for the 'peace of mind'.
But there are other ways as well to respond to the twinge.

Buy1GIVE1 Business owner Susie Ascott is a yoga teacher who teaches

Often in life, it is so easy to postpone things we want to do. Can you think of anything you have been meaning to do for a while and haven't done yet?

We would like to introduce you to this person who didn't postpone it and made a massive difference in just 9 months. His name is Alan Hewitt.

Finding the 'Right Fit'
Alan runs a company called Earth Star Publishing (www.meditate.com.au ). One of his company's major products is this very innovative meditation CD set that helps us get into deeper meditative states to effectively help release stress coming from many of the inner issues we have. He

Bees are all giving by nature. They give naturally to maintain the world of abundance. But each bee actually takes different role in maintaining the colony as well as the flower garden. So, I thought human beings are the same. We are all naturally giving and caring. But we tend to express our giving in different ways. So, here it is a 'giving bee' chart where you can find your bee type. Watch out for the following bee analysis! The more you share your value as a givine bee, the more we can do together make a difference.

 

Buy Socks - Give Love - Be Happy

I had the great pleasure of speaking with Tom Minter, Founder of Socks For Happy People. Having spent just over half an hour with Tom, it was evident that this is a business that has the potential to effect positive transformation on a global scale.

Their motto is "Buy Socks - Give Love - Be Happy". Read the interview below and discover for yourself how buying socks will bring joy and happiness to the world.

 

Let's talk about your role as Founding Chief and how Socks For Happy People started.

It started because I love socks and it's hard to find really cool and

Right now I’m on a plane from Australia’s Gold Coast to Melbourne.

And as always, being on a plane is a great time for reflection. Today it’s more than just reflection in some ways. I’m actually heading off for what we might call a ‘high-level’ meeting with one of Australia’s major retailers.

So I’ve done the background. And it’s interesting. This particular retailer gave just over $10 Million to charity last year. And that’s great! But here’s the challenge; not a single one of its customers knew about it!

Now don’t for one minute think that I believe they should shout about it in the

Why do we always talk about ‘sharing the joy of giving’? Isn’t B1G1 a new form of 'effective giving' program? Isn’t it about raising the profile of the company and creating socially responsible image while making sure the money we donate is effectively used? What is it to do with joy?

Well, these are actually some of the end results that our giving and sharing can lead us to. These just happen. But they shouldn’t be the sole intention of our giving if we want to share the inspiration with others long-term. A ‘great’ action may not necessarily lead us to the most desired outcome to really

The following inspiring quotes are excerpted from ONE, a book by Masami Sato .

On mastering things…

"…doing things we've never done can often seem very difficult and complicated until the day we actually try them out."

"(Children) learn by playing and become the masters of the game. And they do it just by having fun."

"…when something more effective and easy comes along, we let go of the harder way very quickly without being 'taught'."

"Friends share with us what they think and feel.
Teachers teach us what to do and how to do it.
Coaches ask us who we want to be.
Mentors show us who we can be.
Masters

While on a late night web research exploration last night, I came across a most fascinating video film trailer called "SEROTONIN RISING". The clip is a preview to an upcoming movie about creating happiness. It stars some big names like Deepak Chopra, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, David Lynch and Donovan.

The video shares the scientifically discovered fact that when we receive a gift from someone, the serotonin levels in our brain increase. Serotonin is the 'happiness drug' that our bodies naturally create. As levels of this amazing substance increase we feel happier. Now the amazing part of the