Genius of Money Interview

This interview really appealed to me because it felt so pure, genuine and honest. Knowing that the person was answering the questions without any recognition, made the words so powerful. I felt engaged and found myself wanting to know more and more about the person as I read. And yes, I do believe the interviewee is a girl. One of the coolest things she talks about is why she decided to do philanthropy. When you think about giving back to people, humans' first instinct is to debate whether or not it is worth it to altruistically give. Knowing how time consuming helping others may be and the amount of effort expended, it is not always easy to lend a helping hand. She mentions that this is why she is mot a full time philanthropist; however, achieves incredible self fulfillment and happiness when she does help others. The biggest driving factor and motivation to do philanthropy is when you see that someone is suffering, and feel the urge to alleviate them from that need. I found that to be incredibly powerful. Sometimes people are just drawn to each other and you know that you can impact them in ways that will be beneficial to their life, and your soul. I also found it really cool that her way of connecting with others and their inner being is mediation. Recently, I have stumbled upon numerous people who use mediation daily and find it to be extremely soothing and relieving. I think that after reading so much about the benefits, I will be inclined to do some mediation of my own.

Chapter 14 Blog

Money only has the power we give it. The only value it holds is the label we place on it in order to fulfill our material needs. How you use your money, can be a big representation of the person you are and the lifestyle you choose to live. You can use that money to buy more material items, healthy food for a positive lifestyle, or you can donate that money to help people in developing countries. Whatever you choose to do with it, the money is going to the cause that you want, and therefore its only purpose is to meet your needs. This is why money makes invisible things, visible. Money can be used from a venture capitalist in order to fund a start up business. It can turn a simple idea and vision, into a reality. Money can buy a well for families in poverty, hydrate their bodies and nourish their crops. It can turn a famished family, into a flourishing, healthy one. The possibilities are endless. But money only has this power because our world has supplies, and international relation needed to find a way to meet demands. To place monetary value on items people want and need and chose to implement money into a system that would inevitably empower this piece of paper and give society order. Globally, our money is always relative to the value of other people's money and it is constantly changing. But ultimately, the value it holds is still only what we make of it and its' importance to us. Whether the dollar is worth fifty cents or 50 dollars, the real value is inside of us.

Chapter 5 Blog

The chapter was a pleasure to read because it actually discussed money and business in a way that wasnt intended for selfish need or interest. It was centralized around the idea of philanthropy and that people can be altruistic and and have interest in helping others. It discusses ways to use power and money to help people in need, rather than increase the social welfare gap. Social entrepreneurs are using new technology to solve systemic human problems and provide more support to the lower class consumer market. There is value in solving this socio-economic problem and expanding the circulation of money within every economic class. Foundations are being established in order to manage and find resources that can implement a way to get people in lower economic classes more involved in bigger markets. Specific markets need to be aware of how to support the needy and action needs to take place in order to do so.

LiveLoveLax: The inside scoop

Athlete. Lacrosse player. Attacker. To people that only know me from the outside, these words essentially define me. They've become my identity. You see someone walking around campus with a black nike dri-fit backpack on that says trojan athletics across the front, and automatically certain perceptions arise. Whether its about my personality, my decisions, my lifestyle, or my academics, the world is bound to form stigmas about a person based on the club, group or team someone affiliates themselves with. I mean I do spend at least 4 hours of my day on the field, watching film or meeting with my coaches. So here is a little insight into the life of a student-athlete at USC:

Wake up at 5 am. Hit snooze. Hit snooze two or three more times. Sleep thirty more minutes. Panic. Put on the outfit for the day. Freak out because you can't find the matching shorts. Scramble through your laundry. Race to the locker room. Find your shorts. Sigh of relief. Check your email. Memorize the practice plan. Pack your equipment and binder. Run to the field. Warm up. Hold your breathe and wait for how much running you have to do pre-practice. Run. Sometimes puke. Set up the field. Practice. Hard. For three hours. Run back to the locker room. Watch film in team room. Get quizzed on opponents and go over scouting reports. Almost fall asleep from exhaustion. Grab breakfast. Race to class in sweaty clothes. Freeze in class. Try to pay attention. Finish classes. Go to Mckay center. Do homework. Study. Scour for food in the facility. Splash water on your face and focus on your work. Go home. Eat. Clean. Pass out. Do it all over again. Every day except Sunday. It is a full time job.

This is our life. My life. On an easy day. There is hardly any time for a social life, friends outside of your sport, and sometimes even family. The lacrosse team becomes your family. Sometimes I feel like I hardly have time to breathe and never get the chance to take a step back and really visualize my life. Understand what is happening around me. How I am growing and how my opinions and perspectives are changing. It all happens so fast that I forget to appreciate the little things in my life. I have to force myself to remember that I am more than just an attacker on the lacrosse team. More than just a number on a jersey. A player on a scouting report. I still have hobbies. Dreams. Real passions and ambition. It is so easy to get sucked into the athlete lifestyle that it makes it hard to keep your individuality. So everyday, I open my bible, say a prayer and look myself in the mirror. I enter each day with a new mission. A mission to better myself and grow into the woman God intended for me to be. Here's to life and all of the adventures ahead of me!

Final Food Blog Post

"Life is rather grand here these days. The farm is sufficiently developed. Most of the twelve acres are being well utilized, although I have great plans for making areas more productive...On my morning walks around the perimeter I often wonder what this farm will be like in one hundred years."

Everything is finally coming full circle for Kurt. Those twelve acres he first stumbled upon, transformed into a full functioning farm and lifestyle that he has embraced. He has gained an appreciation for the animals and the process necessary to create a self sustaining business. Every day Kurt does his evening chores and his morning chores. Which primarily consists of feeding the cattle, milking the cows, and cleaning the stables. He lives a very simple, day to day lifestyle that may seem boring and unfulfilling from the outside, but when you put your heart into something and invest your time, it becomes your passion. Your purpose. Kurt looks at this system he has embellished and is proud. He envisions its future. How it will prosper when he dies. How it will grow. It has become a part of him. Kurt loves that he can control the process. He loves that he gets to decide every step of how the animals are raised and the produce grown. "I can control how the animals are born, how they are fed and raised and how they are slaughtered. The end result is a superior product." Over the years he has learned exactly what he wants to do and what he doesn't. Farming has become an art form. A way of expressing himself and investing love and effort into something beyond himself. He has connected with nature and mother earth and is more wholly now than he has ever been. Watching him develop over the book as a farmer and a person has been eye opening to the opportunities to grow and prosper all around us. Overall, I thought the book was incredibly insightful. It was not a terribly exciting novel to read, but it made me understand the culture and appreciate the things I take for granted all around me.