Four (or Five!) Reasons Why

…Most People Only Change For The Money

1. The Environment. While it has been many moons since the effects of global warming have been brought to the international stage and most of the planet has seen Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” the reality is that most people won’t make changes to their global footprint until it starts to hit them in their wallet. Hybrid cars didn’t really start to become popular and there wasn’t a lot of thought around alternatives to car travel until gas prices started to soar. The movement to buy local, in-season fruits and vegetables only recently became highlighted by a surge in food prices (caused by higher input costs). Corporations only went “green” when they realized they could charge consumers a premium for it. And consumers only stop using plastic supermarket bags when they start getting charged for it. Sort of sad.

2. Charity. There is no doubt that giving to worthy causes is a good thing. A ton of people do it every year and many organizations survive on the generosity of others. We’ve already commented that there is a sense of charity fatigue developing. Another trend that seems to be emerging is the concept of charitable lotteries, where promises of million dollar give-aways and dream homes result in the sale of high priced tickets. It’s unfortunate that more people are inspired to give when there is the probability, albeit extremely low, that they’ll win something in return.

3. Health. Most people know what’s bad for you. Smoking. Eating too much. Not exercising. Stepping into oncoming traffic. Some of this is out of your control. Some of it is not. Although we know that we can make changes to improve our health, there is a strong tendency not to do so and rationalize every which way as an explanation. But some studies show that financial incentive brings beneficial effects, with attendance at exercise sessions improving when personal trainers and even more so when money is involved. While the long-term benefits are debatable, it’s clear that money talks and walks and runs.

4. Personal finance. When times are good, the money flows. Banks are more than eager to extend a helping hand when you need money for the extra square footage you didn’t know you had to have when looking for a house. Credit is practically free and card companies more than happy to increase your line of credit so you can spend more. Retirement savings? Pshaw! They’ll be plenty of time for that. Well, the bubble has burst yet again and somehow we’re all surprised when we see the carnage left behind. Yes, it’s lesson learned. But it’s also an awfully painful one that could have been avoided. Think objectively about your real needs and live within your means.

Related Posts

….Charity Fatigue is Growing

…Making Employees Work Notice Periods Is A Bad Idea

…It’s Time To Start An Exercise Regimen

…This Is The Perfect Time Of The Year

1. Crappy weather makes people cranky and sometimes crazy. Long, cold winters can bring heightened levels of depression, anger and anxiety, while lower levels of general happiness. We also tend to stay indoors, which means less physical activity, and feast on chocolate, meatloaf and other comfort foods. With the emergence of summer, things change. People change. Attitudes changes. Everyone becomes a lot nicer, we start smiling at each other and a city’s vibe begins to improve. It’s like a flower blooming. But take advantage while you can, because it doesn’t take long before we all become immune to the warmth and our friendliness cools off.

2. For those of us in geographies that have distinctive seasons, it’s nice to see people peeling back the layers. Gone are the parkas, boots, raincoats and umbrellas. Out come the shorts, skirts, flip-flops and sunglasses. Nicer weather brings better people watching and more people to watch you.

3. Office life starts to improve with the combination of improved attitudes, the prospects of going on holiday, and your colleagues (i.e. boss’s) absence as he/she goes on holiday. Everyone just seems a little more relaxed and work seems to get easier as the longer days feels like you get more time to do stuff outside of office hours. And if you happen to live in Europe, you score hugely by the fact that the whole continent seems to shut down for the summer.

4. The transition into early summer is a sports fan’s dream. You have the NHL and NBA playoffs wrapping up, the MLB gearing up, the French Open for tennis and golf’s US Open. This year we are blessed with Euro2008 as well. But it doesn’t take too long before you get into the dog days of summer and the only thing we are left with is baseball. And we’ve already blogged here about how “exciting” mid-summer baseball can be.

5. It is the perfect season for hanging out on a patio. Just like Baby Bear’s porridge – not too hold, not too cold. It’s juuuuuuuuust right. There’s nothing like that first opportunity to sit outside and appreciate the nourishment that warmer weather brings.

With the excitement of summer fun upon, don’t forget about the harmful effects of getting too much sun. Visit the Sun Safety Alliance for more details.

Related Posts

…Baseball, Like Cricket, Is Kind Of Boring

….September is the Saddest Month

….Father’s Day is Bogus

…Football Really Is “The Beautiful Game”

1. Often characterized as a hooligan’s game played by gentlemen (whereas rugby is a gentlemen’s game played by hooligans), the beauty of football rests in its simplicity. Using anything but your arms, maneuver the ball into the opposing goal. Dead simple! In fact, there are only 17 straigthforward, un-contradictory laws that make up the rules of the game. They are universal, based on equality and restraint, and free to the interpretation of on-field officials. And like any gentlemen’s sport, what the referee says, goes, regardless of protests from players or fans.

2. Football inspires a level of passion that is rarely seen in other sports. One could almost say it’s a religion. If we cast aside the dark side of hooliganism, you rarely find a sport where fans will wake up at any hour or where an entire country will temporarily go “on strike” to watch their team in action. This passion is evident during the World Cup, particularly in countries where immigration has been a rich part of their history and culture, where fans from all nations pour into the streets to celebrate victory or commiserate defeat.

3. Unlike most televised sports, football goes uninterrupted by advertising for the entirety of each half’s 45 minutes (plus injury time). While this doesn’t lend to bathroom breaks and bar runs, it does allow for the flow of the game to go undisturbed.

4. Football is a game that can be played anywhere – on a concrete parking lot or a patch of grass. It can be played barefoot or with cleats. Shin pads – optional. All you really need is a ball, and even that isn’t a game-breaker. Anything that can be kicked is a “ball” – whether it’s a tin can, ball of tape or wad of rags.

5. Given its universal appeal and ability to play just about anywhere, there is little regionalism or politics to football. As a global game, it’s like the United Nations of Sport, where football is, as Sean Wilsey waxes, “like pageantry and high-mindedness, the apolitical display of national characteristics, the revelation of deep human flaws and unexpected greatnesses.”

Check out what’s going on with Euro 2008 here!

Related Posts

…Baseball, Like Cricket, Is Kind Of Boring

…Pro Athletes Should Be Held To The Same Standards

….Golf is So Frustrating

…Green Is The New Black…Which Is Good

1. If you’re not green, you’re not mainstream. It used to be that being green meant you lived on the margins. It meant that you lived at the thin end of the long tail. It meant that you were kind of different. These days, however, being green has moved to the fatter part of the tail. If you don’t demonstrate that you’re green, whether you are a corporation or an individual, you run the risk of being a pariah amongst your neighbours, friends and family.

2. Green has become a sign of status. It may not bling, but it is as much a part of your personal branding as the clothes you wear. Yeah, yeah, people are green because they want to contribute. Totally agree. But people are also green because it feeds their ego, makes them look good, and gives them something to talk about at cocktail parties.

3. Consumers are starting to talk the talk…and some are even walking the walk. As Joel Makower summarizes, recent studies show that almost 4 in 10 Americans are buying products they believe to be environmentally friendly, 28% say they have made “major changes” in their lifestyles to protect the environment, they expect to see significant corporate commitment to environmental leadership, and 1 in 10 say that they have looked up their personal and/or household’s carbon footprint.

4. Green has become the preferred colour of the rich and famous. Hollywood has always set the benchmark for public relations and the green movement has taken a front seat. Gone are stretch limos and pimped-out speed racers. The new status symbol among the glitterati – the Toyota Prius.

5. Green events are common place now – Earth Day, Earth Hour, The Green Living Show. Green markets abound – farmers market, neighourhood and local markets (check out localharvest.org), organic delivery services. The evolution and proliferation of “green” has made us realize that we can do something for Mother Earth, regardless of which scientific study you choose to believe.

Related Posts

….Going to Conferences is Necessary

….It’s Tough to be Really Green

….Organic Food is Over-Rated

…Cell Phones Have Changed Society Forever

1. The cell phone has replaced the watch as our modern-day timepiece. One could argue that the watch is becoming obsolete Yes, there are some that like to sport a bit of bling and show off with a snazzy wristwatch, but flashing your cell phone is equally (if not more) likely to grab someone’s attention. Take a look around. How many people do you see wearing watches? Think of how that’s changes over the last few years. Maybe the cell phone as a timepiece is the first, and only truly successful, sign of convergence. Poor Switzerland…

2. Cell phones are increasingly replacig landlines as the primary option for home communication. More than a few people have asked, “What’s the point of having multiple lines? What exactly am I paying for?” Fair questions. This is especially true in the U.S., where highly competitive operators have resulted in highly competitive cellular plans. Having only a cell is often a much cheaper option in the long-run.

3. When was the last time you use a payphone? Enough said.

4. The development of cellular technology has opened up a huge source of revenue for governments around the world as billions have been raised for public coffers over the past couple of decades through the auction of spectrum. Granted, mobile phone providers have made a ton of money on the back of those fees, which in a way makes having a cell phone a perverse form of taxation in a way.

5. Cell phones have inspired an incredible amount of R&D, innovation and technological advancement. Because of the cell phone, we have everything on the go. We are connected all the time, 24/7. We can be reached at a moment’s notice, unless you declare wireless bankruptcy. And apparently nearly 162 million navigation-ready phones were manufactured in 2007, more than seven times the number of similar devices used in cars and non-phone gadgets. (Guess there’s no excuse of getting lost any more. Men, you have been warned.) And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

FYI - the cell phone was invented in 1973 by Motorola’s Dr. Martin Cooper, originally weighed 2.5 pounds, had 35 minutes of talking time and needed 10 hours to charge. What a difference a few decades makes!

How has the cell phone transformed you?

Related Posts

….Using a Cell Phone While Driving Should Be Banned

…Fishing Isn’t As Boring As You Think

…We Should Get Rid Of The Penny