This is a really great interview with James Arthur Ray. He hits on all of the major points that a person should address when trying to better one more aspects of their life. James lays out five steps to help anyone get started on the road to changing something (or things) in their life.

1. Find Inspiration
2. Specify Intentions
3. Maintain Attention
4. Be Grateful
5. Be Enthusiastic

At first glance this list looks a bit vague, but taken in context with what James says during the interview these steps are very powerful. These steps are not a magic potion that will cure all of your ailments, but they are a great set of tools to help keep you in alignment with the vision that you set for yourself.

Our friends at Google are constantly creating services that make our lives better and more manageable. Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, has been working on creating a tool, Google Powermeter, for Google users to track their electricity consumption via their iGoogle homepage.

While some conspiracy theorists might think this is just another way for “big brother” to keep tabs on all that we do. I politely disagree. This is a non-invasive means for people to track their electricity consumption for personal monitoring and improvement. I mean, if “big brother” really wanted to keep tabs on your electrical consumption they would find a way that is not voluntary and they would not be telling you about it.

So, conspiracy theories aside, this is a great tool soon to be offered by Google that will give everyone the ability to become personally accountable for the electricity that they consume. There is another part to this equation and that is the smart meter. The Obama administration, as part of its stimulus package, has pledged over the next three years to upgrade 40 million homes with these smart meters.

As Lord Kelvin said, “If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it.”

A fellow human, Crazzy Eve of London, England saw a T-mobile commercial that took place in Liverpool Street Station that showed a large group of people dancing. This is when he decided that he wanted to re-create the commercial with himself and a group of his friends, and their friends, and their friends, and their friends…..

By creating a group on the social media site Facebook, Crazzy Eve was able to enlist his friends who in turn recruited their friends and so on. The end result is hundreds of people gathering at 7 PM on a particular night and peacefully dancing to the music on their iPods, or in their heads.

This is another fantastic example of one persons vision coming to life with the help of a group of like minded individuals. As I have said earlier it takes only person to make a difference big or small. No matter how far out there or crazy your idea may seem (to yourself or others), with the right mindset anything is achievable. You doubt me? Lets take the first electric lamps, they were housed behind glass because people were scared of them. Can you imagine feeling that way about your bedside lamp today?

Anthony Webb, aka Spud Webb, is a retired NBA point guard and the third shortest player to ever play in the NBA. Although Spud only measured in at 5′7″ in 1986, that did not stop him from competing in the slam dunk competition that year. One of Spud’s fellow participants was teammate and former slam dunk champion Dominique Wilkins. Dominique Wilkins measured in at 6′8″, a full 1 foot and 1 inch taller than Spud. Another aspect of this story is the rim height. In the NBA the rim height is 10 feet, just short of double Spud Webb’s height. All of these factors did not deter Spud and his reported 42″ vertical leap from doing the unthinkable and going on to become the slam dunk champion of 1986.

If that were not impressive enough, in 2006 Spud Webb went on to train Nate Robinson, who measures 5′9″ (just 2 inches taller than Spud) for the slam dunk competition that year. Under Spud Webb’s tutelage, Nate Robinson went on to win the slam dunk competition in 2006. One of Nate’s highest scoring dunks came when Spud Webb, standing on the court in the paint, served up the ball to Nate. Nate proceeded to jump over and clear Spud just before completing the dunk.

This certainly proves that if one man (woman too!) can do it, so can another. Especially if the first man to do it teaches the second!

So you are probably thinking, “surfing, is this really all that amazing??” Well, when you consider the location, I say yes this is amazing. These guys are surfing in the Barents Sea. Where in the world is that you ask? The Barents Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean and is on the north coast of Norway and Russia.

Now, I don’t know about you but I have a hard time taking a cold shower. So it is tough for me to even wrap my head around surfing in the Arctic Ocean. This is just another reference for me that many things in this world truly are mind over matter. Sure, those guys are probably cold, but the feeling of enjoyment I am sure they get from surfing far outweighs the feeling of cold they get from the water and air.

This is a great video montage showing some of this and the past centuries most influential people, from Mother Theresa to Michael Jordan to Albert Einstein. At one point they were kids just like you and I, they had fears, they had setbacks and they had dreams. Had these people not been driven to accomplish what they have accomplished the world as we know it today might not be the same place. It truly does take only one person to make a difference in this world, whether it be big or small. What difference can you make?