A lesson from a few teens.

…I put my hand in my pocket so no one could see and made a fist trying to hold back tears…

On a November evening around at 6pm a group of about 12 youth from “disadvantaged backgrounds” came to a meeting to talk about I Got Heart. They ranged in age from 16-22; some were from the inner city, some from rural areas, and all of them were in a government program to help them “get on their feet,” so to speak.

I asked them if anyone knew what I Got Heart does, and one of the girls offered, “maybe help people with heart problems.”

Sort of.

Will America ever truly invest in its educational system?

Why or why not? What would it take? If it’s so obvious that we should – why don’t we do so immediately?

How can we expect corporations to be ethical when they are driven by financial profit?

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in a comment to get the ball rolling here …

Can you get leaders to be more accountable?

What do you think? Post your thoughts in a comment to get the discussion rolling (and I’ll reply right away)

Can you get people to be better managers?

If you have any thoughts… post as a comment and get the ball rolling.

Love unconditionally… on a few conditions.

Do you believe in unconditional love?

For this – let’s constrain it to a spouse, not blood relative.

I wish I remembered where this idea came from so I could give credit, but consider this … Say you’re dating someone and fall in love with them. What if they start to repeatedly cheat on you? What if they abuse you? Do you still love them? If you’re thinking “no,” then that would mean your love is conditional; that is you’ll love them on the condition that they don’t cheat on you, abuse you, etc…

Can a speech spark change?

Think of the most memorable speech you heard. Did it affect you? Do you remember a key story, point, or lesson from it?

Furthermore, if you walked away from that speech feeling inspired, walking a little taller, and with that take-over-the-world look in your eye, do you still carry that mentality that the speaker instilled in you today?

My guess is, probably not.

I think we can all agree that a good speech has its upsides. It can be fun, moving, and memorable, take you to the edge of your seat and leave you exiting the auditorium with newfound knowledge and courage to tackle your goals. And of course, it usually means one less hour in class or at your desk. Maybe that cute girl you’ve seen in the cafeteria will be there too.

Those benefits are all fine and dandy. But what if you were the speaker? Or let’s take it a level further – what if being a speaker was your job? Your duty was to go to companies, schools, organizations, conferences, and seminars and talk to 20, 50, 200 people at a time hoping in some way to add value to their life. Would you honestly think that in 30-60 minutes, you could create sustainable lasting change in a person’s life through anything you say?

When I started speaking,

If you could buy stocks in countries

Imagine you are a stock broker, but instead of the stock market consisting of companies, it consists of countries. That is, you buy stocks in individual countries and either make or lose money based on how well a country performs compared to others.

Your best friend gives you all of his or her savings to invest: $100,000. If you pick the country that will perform best over time, you double their savings. If you pick one that doesn’t perform best, you could lose it it all.

Would you invest it in America?

And if you’re gonna say, “I’d diversify.” Then would you put more than 50% in America?

Unless I was ready to explain to my friend that I lost his 100 grand, I’d probably put no more than 20% of it in America. The bulk would go to China / India for their educational and economical advantages alone.

Why? As glorious as “put all your money in America! We’ve got the American Dream!” sounds,