Help the Homeless, Feed the Homeless

During the holiday season it is always nice to give back, and why not give back to those who need it the most - the homeless.  I have done other projects to help the homeless, but I feel this was one event that really opened my eyes to the reality of the situation.  When I decided to feed the homeless I didn't know what to expect, but it was something I knew was the right thing to do.  Instead of just donating money, or giving canned goods to a shelter I encourage all of you to get out and help the homeless directly so that you can better understand their situation and grow from the experience.

First off, I would have never imagined how difficult it was to set up before going to give food.  I thought you would just need to get food and go, but it is a much more complicated process.  We needed to cook the soups and chili, ask for donations of money and of food products from our neighbors and local bakeries.  Not just that, but we needed tables, pots and pans, socks, a pick up truck and much much more preparation.  Besides the preparation, we needed to find a location that there are a lot of homeless grouped together so that we would be able to set up in one spot to serve people instead of searching for them.  We decided to go to downtown Santa Ana, California where there were numerous groups of homeless in the surrounding parks trying to set up camps/shelter.

Once we finally got there and set everything up, people started coming in hoards.  The line stretched down the street to get some chili, socks, and other holiday treats.  Unfortunately for us it was one of the only days in Southern California that it rained, but it rained hard the entire time.  Thus, the people that came really needed not just the food but the warmth the soup provided.  One thing that shocked me was how polite people were.  They were very respectful in the way  we organized the booth all standing in line patiently, letting others go before them, collecting some materials for their friends, and always saying thank you to us.  For someone who has been so down on their luck because of society it is amazing how high their spirits are - very polite and even joking around.  This really opened my eyes to the reality of the situation.

Of course there are always those who have mental problems, and those with drug and alcohol problems but from what I saw most of those we served were just down on their luck.  All the circumstances differed but why should we discriminate when we are trying to help? No one deserves to be starving and struggling to survive in the rain.

Unfortunately the reaction of those we asked to support our cause was not as understanding.  There were many people who belittled us for what we were doing and others that flat out said they didn't care.  Although it is a personal choice to help others and decide who is worthy of help - wouldn't you like to be helped if you had no one to rely on and you were facing some tough times?  I know I would, that is why I am hoping to go back after the holidays.

There are many people helping the homeless during the holidays which is wonderful, but they matter and struggle just as much when its not the holidays and people have stopped going to help them.  I'm going to try and ensure that they are not forgotten especially during these rough weather conditions.  This time I helped out by feeding them, but they need so much more - socks, clothes, suitcases and bags, tarps to keep them dry, and most of all people to understand their situation.  This is why I want more people to go and help directly because your eyes will be opened to what really goes on in your community - money and donations can't solve everything.

I wish you all happy holidays, and happy helping.

Help the world - go to happy hour!

Put the papers down, and pick the wine glass up - for a cause that is.  The other night I decided to take a trip up to Los Angeles after seeing a post online about a meet up group for happy hour.  This wasn't just any happy hour though, this happy hour we were all hoping to save the world.  Net Impact, a responsibility group was holding a networking meeting and it was eye-opening to say the least.

This is an interesting group which meets to put together events, conferences, and networking parties to help change the world.  This is not the only group that has this focus - but if you are interested in going green or being responsible joining one could help make your contribution to the world really matter and powerful because you are joining a group of many working towards the same cause.

Networking is an interesting way to meet people who might be working towards the same goal yet through different means.  A lot of times both parties need each other but just haven't found a way to connect, and these types of events are great to bring together people, ideas, and organizations.  I spent a lot of time listening to interesting ideas, and getting cards from people who can help me with my projects - and I want you to be able to benefit from the same sort of events.  I have prepared a list of what you can do to network and help the world during happy hour:

• Remember your business card - This is important, even if you don't have a business card from your company or work make a personal one.  You never know when your project and someone else's idea lines up - it's better to be safe than sorry.

• Collect their business card -  You have been having an amazing conversation with someone, you say goodbye and its over.  If you don't collect their card and contact information you will never know if this great idea could be made into a reality through your collaboration.  Again, its better to have too many cards of people that you won't contact, than missing the vital card of your potential game changing connection.

• Ask more questions -  Not everyone is comfortable telling their great ideas right off the bat, most try to stay humble.  However, you are missing a lot if you spend the time just talking about yourself.  The more questions you can ask the more you will learn and possibly get new ideas to change or  create new projects.

These three key points will help you to make the best out of your networking trips.  I look forward to going to more happy hours and meetings to connect with people who have the same interests.  I can't wait to see where these connections will take me.  Happy networking!

Just say NO to plastic bags!

Christmas shopping season is among us.  Everyone is out buying gifts and toys for children, families and loved ones.  We are out shopping till we drop this season - and where exactly do all of these purchases go?  Most likely a plastic bag.

This doesn't seem like that big of a deal, that is until you get home and you realize that you have been collecting more plastic bags than gifts themselves.  They are so freely given, baggers don't even ask if you want one anymore it is just an assumption that plastic is all you have to carry your purchases out to your car/home.  These little bags just sit in our homes collecting until there are just so many we can't store them anymore.  I however, have found 2 different solutions to this problem.

• Say "NO!" to plastic bags, or any disposable packaging if possible

Before I even think of going to the store I bring along my handy recycled reusable grocery bag.  With two of them you can take home almost everything you buy and they are much sturdier.  You don't need to worry about double bagging the milk (how wasteful) and you don't have 15 little bags to take in after you get home, just one bag per hand.  It is convenient and efficient.  Plus, after you get home you don't have to find a place to stuff all those extra plastic bags.  Moreover, you don't have to worry about what it does to the environment if you were to throw them away.  No worrying  about the increasing swarm of plastic floating in the ocean harming marine life and polluting our shores.  You will no longer be contributing to the over 1 trillion plastic bags used each year with only 1 of every 200 being recycled.  If you are interested in purchasing one or learning more about why we should stop using plastic bags I have found a great link: http://www.reuseit.com/facts-and-myths/learn-more-facts-about-the-plastic-bag-pandemic.htm

Another instance to refuse plastic bags wouldn't just be at the grocery store but at the food counter.  While preparing your sandwich and a drink they get out a plastic bag to put one napkin and your sandwich.  Is it really worth it?  Although it is an automatic reflex for the employees to start putting your food in a bag, you can quickly intervene and say "oh, I don't need one".  Who knows it might inspire the guy waiting in line behind you to do the very same thing.  

Finally, as a woman I have my handbag on me at most times.  It's intended purpose was to carry things.  So, when you buy small things throughout the day do you really need all these plastic bags accumulating or could you just quickly pop it into your hand bag?  Each time you say no to a plastic bag you are saving not only the ocean from being more polluted but you are reducing the demand on the production of plastic bags.  Although small, our impact is the beginning to a global trend to save the earth.

• Recycle for the benefit of society

There are already a ton of plastic bags in your home if you have just started using reusable bags.  You don't want to throw them away because it is bad for the environment.  However, you are unable to use them all again.  You can either go to the grocery store and recycle them (which only takes certain types of plastic) or you can "upcycle" them.

If you want to help the community and be good to the environment, why don't you take those used plastic bags and start a craft project for a cause.  More specifically I am talking about helping the homeless.  A few days ago I saw a project online about these women crocheting together a plastic sleeping mat for the homeless.  Seeing that there are a lot of homeless in my community that could use some help too I decided to put my bags to use as well.  You can follow this project and gather bags to re-purpose them for a better use such as this, or you can come up with your own project on how to recycle these bags.

What should be taken from this though is that there is always many different creative solutions to helping the environment, and to get yourself and others engaged its always more fun to take a creative route.  Normal recycling is great, but it isn't something that you are excited to do everytime you use these bags.  So, what I want you to take from this is to not just recycle but make it fun, and make it powerful.  Every time I come home to my project I feel motivated to help others and I remember why I am doing all of this in the first place.  Also it makes others very curious about my projects as well, which is a talking point allowing you a platform to make others more aware of their impact on the globe.

Overall I hope now you all will say "NO!" to these wasteful plastic bags, because the more we reduce the less we need to find ways to recycle.  

Responsibly Overcoming the Language Barrier

"我告诉你。。。我什么都听不懂!"

Although this phrase seems foreign to us, it is actually quite common... it's one of misunderstanding.  We face language barriers everyday.  Maybe not with Mandarin Chinese to English, but from different languages or even to simply different accents or vocabulary your diverse work force is struggling through miscommunication after miscommunication.  According to the study "The Impact of Language Barriers on Trust Formation in Multinational Teams", by Helene Tenzer, Markus Pudelko, and Anne-Wil Harzing explains that even simple errors and misinterpretations can lead members of the team and company to believe a certain employee is incompetent.  Clearly, this shows how important we perceive language to be - something that can prove if you have knowledge in another unrelated area.  However, this is just a perception, not the truth - you could be completely illiterate and yet be a great at another unrelated skill.

Society has placed upon us the need for language, and the corporate world has stressed its importance even more.  If you are unable to present yourself in a professional well spoken manner you are perceived to be sloppy or too casual which when generalized is applied to your entire career instead of just your language abilities.

I started to realize this on a personal level that my colleagues perceived me as having less ability in my job due to my language barrier.  Instead of just presuming I could efficiently do my job correctly even though I had difficulty expressing myself in their native language they believed due to my incompetence in their language I must be incompetent in other areas such as my job duties (however unrelated).  In relation to corporate social responsibility this lead me to believe that if a company intentionally employs people who are diverse and have different language levels there should be some methods to implement to assure that all employees are able to work as a team instead of being separated by the wall of language.

I would like to provide some of my suggestions of what companies could do to be socially responsible when it comes down to their employees and their language.

Language Lessons

• This doesn't necessarily mean buying Rosetta Stone for everyone in your company that doesn't speak the language fluently, nor does it mean that you need to hire an expensive personal tutor either.  Simple lessons are helpful enough to someone working hard and trying their best to communicate with the company language.  A simple gesture of creating something like a photo dictionary of key words or a general explanation of the company lingo will help quickly improve the communication through the language barrier.

Hire Multilingual's

• Although it may be difficult to find employees who speak more than one language, if your aim is to be diverse - this is one way to alleviate tension between coworkers.  People who speak only one language have a difficult time relating to how difficult it is to learn a language fluently with all of the nuances of grammar and specific vocabulary.  This could possibly create problems when there are misunderstandings due to language as they might expect the  colleague to be more advanced in the language or might also wrongly assume that they don't understand the job if they aren't able to express themselves clearly in the language.  Multilingual would  not only understand the difficulty of learning a language but they would be able to help the non-native speaker to feel more comfortable and reassure them.
• If hiring multilingual's is too difficult, another option would be to create an incentive to learning a second language so that everyone can experience what it is like to not be able to fully communicate.  Moreover, adding a second language to the companies repertoire of skills benefits the business as well as the employees cognitive well-being.

Allow the Employee to Teach Their Language

• Sometimes a word or an idea just doesn't exist in another language.  It might be very frustrating to someone who doesn't speak the company language perfectly to express themselves when they are missing key vocabulary.  One way to avoid this unnecessary frustration is allow specific moments for the non-native speaker to teach their language as well so that the whole office can benefit and be more international.  This creates comfort for the employee as well as increases other employees interest into learning other cultures and being more accepting in general.

Avoid "Professional" Flowery Language and Speak Clearly

• Nothing stops language learning more than over-complicated unnecessarily flowery vocabulary.  Speaking clearly and explaining ideas thoroughly alleviates much of this problem.  Speaking clearly doesn't just entail enunciating your words, but it also includes avoiding complicated vocabulary and not using idioms to express ideas.
• If an employee doesn't understand a specific word, try to explain what the word means.  For example if they don't understand the word "robber" instead explain more clearly that it is someone who steals/ takes something that doesn't belong to them.  Not only will this reinforce the new word but it allows the time for the employee to understand better what you are talking about.

Use Gestures and Body Language 

• Body language experts have come to a consensus that about 50-80% of our communication is through gestures and expressions.  This is perfect for those who are managing or working with someone who has difficulty expressing themselves clearly through the company language; it helps both parties.  It helps you because you will be able to communicate more clearly if you use specific facial expressions or gestures to explain what you want or communicate a general message.  Also it helps the employee because in case they have said something they might not have meant you will be able to tell by their facial expression and non-verbal communication  that they meant something different and you can clarify to avoid miscommunication which could lead to more serious issues.

Be Patient With Non-native Speakers

• Patience is the key when dealing with communication problems, on both sides.  The learner needs patience when receiving feed back as well you when you are trying to teach the proper way to communicate in the company.  The language learning process is a trying one, full of mistakes and blunders.  If one can be patient through this it will give the language learner all the more confidence to try and communicate without having to fear the repercussions for making a simple mistake. This will not only speed up the language learning process but it will also build a relationship based off of trust.  It will allow you to see through the language barrier and realize that the employee doesn't lack skills - they might even do the job the best.  With patience you can see the problem for what it is - a language difference, nothing more.

With all of this taken into consideration, I hope that companies can act in a more caring and understanding way to those who are struggling to express themselves.  Your mother tongue is always going to be the most comfortable, however companies shouldn't put more discomfort and pressure than there already is on learning a language.  There is always more that can be learned and more that can be done to ensure that the corporate culture is satisfactory for all who are employed.

Persuading Others to Go Green

Ever tried to tell someone how easy it is to recycle just to be brushed off, or in some instances be called a hippie?  These days people take it as if you are trying to spread a political message when you are trying to teach people how to be green and eco-friendly.  I am writing this post not to convince people to shove "going green" down peoples throats, but instead help people understand why we all should be green.

One of the arguments business owners use to explain why they continue to pollute is because many are convinced that there is no such thing as global warming and that it's simply a natural phenomenon not at all impacted by human behavior.  To them this nullifies the idea that humans are able to make a sizable impact on the earth through their pollutants and eco-friendly ways equally.  Even if this is your view, I completely respect your ability to decide for yourself what you agree with or disagree with.  However, you don't need to be convinced of global warming to go green just as people don't need to be convinced they are fat to get healthy. Just in case that you are wrong, or just by realizing that we have technologies that allow you to do the same job without polluting wouldn't you want to do that instead?  Isn't it nicer to breathe fresh air instead of smog, not just for future generations but for yourself as well?

Another one of the common arguments for not making a change is that one action by one person isn't going to save the world.  While that is true, this argument is invalid since there are already many people making the efforts needed to reduce the pressure on the environment.  Each and every other helping hand will start to make a bigger and bigger impact upon our polluting ways.  If they are able to get their entire company involved this means that not only are they themselves reducing their carbon footprint but they are reducing their consumers carbon footprints as well.  Our actions don't just follow a straight line to their consequence, everything is interlinked and by making one change many other elements are affected as well.  Thus if you take a mug instead of a disposable cup for your coffee every day not only are you saving many pieces of plastic from being thrown out, you are also slowing down the demand for their production, saving an animals life, reducing the need to drill oil, creating jobs for mug vendors, and so much more.

Going green is easy if you take small steps.  Many people believe that its expensive and you need to buy heavy duty equipment such as solar panels to even make a dent.  Although those products do help, you are doing just as much good by recycling, purchasing bio products, and spreading awareness.  Businesses are afraid that high numbers on their sustainability reports are going to make them look bad in comparison to other businesses and thus they completely give up on going green.  Instead I suggest making small cheap changes until you are ready to make the larger changes to get better numbers.  This should not be considered a competition - being good to mother nature is good no matter how much or how little you do as long as you are trying to make a difference.

I am no stranger to people opposing my ways, these are just some of the arguments that I use to convince people otherwise to understand being green from my perspective.  Unfortunately there will always be certain groups of people that don't want to hear any of our "nonsense" because they have better things to do than protect the planet, they have other places to consume consume consume, they are above going green.  They are not the reason to give up, they are the reason to continue to be green because you know not only are you making up for your waste but you are making up for theirs too.  In a perfect world everyone would come together to start making changes because they realize the gravity of the situation but until we find the solution for  a perfect world keep progressing through the difficulty and be the one to stand up and do the right thing.

If you are struggling to find supporters to your green movement, or you are trying to convince your business partners to go green... don't forget if it doesn't work now sooner or later the laws will catch  up to them and that's when real change will start happening globally; when its no longer down to choice but up to necessity.

Corporate Diversity - the Key to Good Business?

Lanzhou, China

I am inspired to write this post because I am lucky enough to work and go to school in a place where almost no one is the same nationality as me - and even if they are, they come from the other side of the country.  I for one would never give up the opportunity to work with such a diverse and international group of people, and one of the main reasons is that it leads to better business practices.  I want to list some of the reasons I think diversity plays a large role in effective business practice as well as social responsibility.

Boston, MA, USA

Corporate Culture - Unfortunately this day and age many companies force their staff to adhere strictly to their culture instead of allowing an international culture to thrive.  It is within this international and diverse corporate culture that everyone is able to be included instead of some feeling left out or changed into the mold their boss wants them to become.  This sort of international culture can teach about the different cultures of the clients but also opens up a pathway for others to understand different backgrounds.  Not only will this enhance customer service, but it will enhance the relationship between colleagues at work as they grow to understand each other and embrace their differences.

Open Mindedness - Truly open minded people are few and far between, and there always seem to be biases no matter how much you teach people to be accepting.  I have gotten into many saddening discussions where people have unfortunately denounced an entire group of people just because they have had one bad experience.  Diversity would stop this nonsense because if there are or were any biases or social misconceptions about a certain group of people, working along side them would make everyone in the office realize that in the end everyone is human and even though we are all different; that is what makes us unique.  I think there are many places that could use a little more work place diversity just for this reason.

Sierre, Switzerland

Expanded Market Reach- International workers speak many languages and can serve customers much farther away than just your city or country. Also they would have the ability to reach untapped markets within your own community filled with many different minorities.

Paris, France

Learning Opportunities -  Forget about going to another country to learn about different people and different ways of life - you can learn directly in your own company.  One of the greatest lessons you can learn by being exposed to other cultures is that you can open up to many different solutions to solving problems.  Your own culture doesn't have to dictate the way you solve problems anymore, you open yourself up to many different opportunities due to this.

Globalization -  Overall, the world is becoming more and more globalized, it's inevitable that diversity is going to play a role in your company.  This new globalization trend is going to change not only how companies operate but it will change the world culture - so why not be ready ahead of time?

In conclusion, I think diversity is probably one of the largest keys to doing good business.  Not only will it improve working life and understanding but it is socially responsible as well.  Maybe not all diversity programs are able to accomplish what they are supposed to achieve these days, but if we work harder especially in the service industry I am sure that a global change would be readily welcomed.

Istanbul, Turkey

Chemicals and Fear Mongering

Cosmetics just in the morning... so many ingredients.

The minute you wake up, how many chemicals are you  really using?  Between the shampoos, toothpastes, and preservatives in your breakfasts - the amount of chemicals used in just one morning is astounding.  However, they have been getting a bad reputation recently.  This past week I've taken the time to try and understand where exactly all of this fear of chemicals and preservatives was coming from.  Many sustainability websites and health websites have been painting certain chemicals as "dangerous" or "unhealthy" for humans.  Although I agree it would be nice to stop producing certain synthetic chemicals for the environmental reasons - I have come to the conclusion that in terms of your health most chemicals are just fine.

When you hear the word chemical what do you think? Poisonous? Toxic? Harmful? Unfortunately our language has given this word a very bad connotation which sometimes scares people away from the truth that chemicals are a necessary component to life.  We humans are made of many different chemicals one of the main ones being carbon.  They are natural pieces to our existence and we should be opening our eyes to the truth instead of associating it to sickness, poisoning, and death.

The first question this caused me to ask was the question of a set of chemicals called parabens.  This past summer France has made it their mission to rid the shelves and hotels of products containing certain parabens in fear of possible problems caused to their ability to mimic certain hormones.  After reading the government recall of these products I was shocked and horrified that my own country wasn't doing anything about these products that were supposedly so dangerous... that was until I did my own research into the chemicals real properties.

So many chemicals, such small text...

In my own bathroom out of the 16 products I used 10 contained parabens.  Before I used a single product again I decided to do some research in some trustworthy places.  I was taking the word of people in the green community without any evidence of true experiments to back it up.  As reputable as these websites and government policies are - it is always better in my opinion to have a check of the facts yourself or else you can be roped into believing falsehoods.

After reading many medical papers published on the topic of parabens and its ability to change into a similar form of a hormone, it has been ruled as safe for use.  I did my research using the website for the US National Library of Medicine which has databases of peer reviewed medical journals (Human biological monitoring of suspected endocrine-disrupting compounds).  If you are curious for yourself if your products are safe or you simply want to understand each chemical on the back of your cosmetics I highly suggest doing research on such a site.  The fear mongering needs to come to an end because it is only making people more afraid and distrusting of the FDA which in my opinion is more of a danger than a benefit.

I am always open to changing my mind about these ideas if factual arguments are presented, but I want the end of fear mongering within my communities because it is doing more harm than good.  Maybe not in the way of cosmetics as we don't need them necessarily to survive but this is a continual trend with food, and many other life saving products.  We cannot live in fear because sometimes there is some chance that something bad can happen - just do your research and learn more about things you feel unsure about.  Don't forget the well known saying "Knowledge is power", and continue using your shampoos and cosmetics, they are well researched.

What exactly are you spending? Money? Think again...

The other night I was watching a very interesting video recommended by a friend called Human Extended Version Volume 1. Although this is a very powerful video and had many important messages and questions for us as human beings, there was one line that struck me the hardest.  Near the end of the video there was a man who really got me thinking about life and society in itself.  He was speaking generally about the economy but the human condition in itself.  He ever so thoughtfully posed the question: What exactly is money itself?  A seemingly basic question when you were brought up in a society who never questioned its origin - however I wanted to dive deeper.

He explained that money is not just a device we use to purchase materials, it was not simply a valuable stone, coin, or gold backed piece of paper.  In fact he realized that money was nothing more than a quantity of time.  This takes the idea of money back to the source - work.  When you work you are spending time helping others (bosses, managers, customers), and in compensation for your time they give you something called money that you can exchange with others who share their time to help you.  It seems simple, and not very important as it is just the "middle man" so to speak.  That basically by buying certain products we are giving parts of our lives away to obtain them.

Take for instance if I was working a minimum wage job at around 8 dollars an hour.  When I needed to buy a new shirt which on average from a typical shop is around 20 dollars - that means this shirt is worth around 3.8 hours of my life.  How much did you spend on your closet?  Time is not something you can earn or get back like money, so why do we treat employees as if they are only worth 2 or 3 shirts per day?

Using time to buy products makes me ask why certain people's time is worth much more than others.  If this is how we are to value each other in society how is it that someone who scrubs the floor all day is worth exponentially less than the boss who manages all of the housekeepers?  I do understand that certain positions need more or less experience, education, and skill to obtain and thus should be compensated greater amounts, but how many times more is too much?

When it comes to being socially responsible I want to ensure equality among those who spend their lives working for what seems to be very unequal wages and thus also must unequally spend their lives continually working for the basics instead of the luxuries.  For instance in a relatively moderate company such as a hotel the general manager typically makes over 2 times more than their hourly employees such as front desk workers or bellboys.  If you were to take this to a larger extreme such as a large shopping outlet like JCPenny, the CEO was making more than 1795 times more money than their workers for the same amount of time (David Herris Gershon, retrieved from  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/27/1251041/-JC-Penney-CEO-Makes-1-795-More-Than-Workers-Largest-Gap-in-U-S-as-Company-Loses-73-Value).

Overall, to be socially responsible one must think of what money really represents before deciding what employees deserve to earn.  Of course different jobs require different amounts of compensation but the effects of a wage 1000 times higher than employees can send not only the wrong message to the customers but it undervalues the lives of the employees since to earn this money they are giving up their time.  Awareness is always the start to making changes.

Small change, big rewards: Showers

You stand in the hot shower still trying to wake up from the alarm clock at 6 AM trying to get ready for work in your still sleep deprived state.  You turn the faucet on and wait for it to heat up, and then you step in and groggily let the water pour over you as if the water is your batch of morning coffee - opening  your eyes slowly.  Finally you shower up and before you know it you've been in there for a good 15 minutes.  You've only just started your day and you have already used 33 gallons of water. That's more water than is suggested to drink in 4 days.

Personal Background

Sadly to say, when I first began tracking my water, electricity, and fuel use last month this is what I found.  I was astonished how wasteful I was being with all of this potable water going down the drain.  I started creating this environmental calculator to create my baseline levels, but after 12 days of seeing how much water I was wasting I was determined to put it to a stop.  I decided to make a small change, which in turn created a large change.

Steps to Saving Water - The Easy Way

#1:

Instead of sitting in the shower with the water running when I don't necessarily use it, I simply flipped the switch and turned it off for those periods.  Its crazy how simple it is.  The bathroom is already heated from the water that was running to wet your hair and get the soap all lathered that when its time to actually shampoo you don't need it to keep you warm.  Also, the amount of water that you save during that time turns your 15 minute showers into more of 5 minute showers - which are just as comfortable.

Don't get me wrong, I still spend about 15 minutes IN the shower, I just don't need the water running the entire time.  I work in the hospitality industry thus I need to be as presentable as possible; but why not try to have a smaller impact on the environment?

#2:

Repeat #1 for the entire month.  I made sure to make it a point to turn off the water.  Some days I accidentally reverted to my old ways - it is fun to take a nice hot steamy shower once in a while, but I was determined to change my unsustainable ways.  

#3:

See how much you are saving, and use that as motivation to continue.  I have tracked my entire month worth of water use.  I am shocked to see the results of my small change.  On my Shower Water Usage graph you can see that within the first 12 days of the month (before I made my changes) I was using over 64% of the shower water I used for the entire month! That's only 2/5th's of the month with over 3/5th's of the water use.

Overall Findings

In the end of my month long experiment with water, I found that I don't want this to be the end.  I have even made predictions for the future.  If I changed my average shower use from an average of 13.3 minutes (29.5 gallons per shower) to 5.7 minutes (12.7 gallons of water)  I would be able to save 16.6 gallons per day.  At the end of the year that puts me at a saving of 6082 gallons.  That is enough drinking water for the entire country of Tuvalu for a day.  Granted its small - about 11,000 residents, but still enough water to drink for an entire COUNTRY would be going down my drain in just a year had I not changed my ways.

I am not saying that you should be unreasonable when trying to save the planet, you and I are both people with typical habits that are hard to change.  However, the way we take our showers is such an easy change that it leaves me asking WHY NOT?  Why not help change the world, put the water on hold and see how much you can save!

Be Inspirational

Being part of this responsibility pact is not about sitting back and being quiet about what you believe.  You need to step out there and deliver your points, and hopefully inspire some like-minded souls to travel down a similar path of social responsibility.  I am still on my journey of working towards being inspirational in terms of the responsibility pledge. However, I am glad to have found inspiration to blog about it from one fellow colleague of mine, a blogger named Caterina Solang.

We speak different languages, we have different backgrounds, we don't even write about the same topics.  The only similarity between us is that we are both inspired by HER passion for blogging.  Yes, you read correctly - she has the ability to inspire herself through passion as well.

After talking with her for a few hours I was starting to feel more and more enthusiasm for blogging - even though I had never even tried before.  Just the way she goes about her blogging and talks about it to different people sparks intense interest in each of us willing to lend an ear.  I was so interested into why she was tremendously excited all the time about the blogging world that I even decided it was a good idea to join myself - and I am very thankful for that.  She has inspired me and I am sure many others while she was simply just being herself and doing what she loves.

We need more people to inspire in the world, and more people who we can look up to.  That is why I have compiled a list of how to be  inspirational - especially when spreading the message of being socially responsible and green.  The more people who have this spark ignited within them will cause a greater trend of positive change.  So, without further adieu:

How to Be Inspirational

Follow your own path.

1. Be yourself - the thing that truly inspires people is the fact that we notice that you are actually a real person.  The fact that "it" really can be done!  Its very motivating to know that others who have gone before you have succeeded.
2. Speak up - Although you might be doing everything right, you aren't being heard.  Unless you speak up about what you are doing and why it is worthwhile no one will have the opportunity to be inspired by your story.
3. Do the right thing - This doesn't mean do what people tell you is right, but instead do what you know is right.  Change is almost always greeted with opposition - so don't be afraid to face the critics.

Overall, although the main aim is to inspire others to follow your new responsible lead - the main thing I want from this small list is that you all learn to be inspired by yourself.  Just as Caterina has been able to keep up her amazing blog not for others nor for praise, but for her true love of literature; I hope that you can inspire yourself to keep on being green and socially responsible no matter the criticism or difficulty.  Take your own path - and see how far it goes, and if all else fails you can still look back and inspire yourself to continue and who knows who will want to tag along on the way.

But..WHY?

Beep...Beep...Beep...beepbeep...beepbeep...beepbeep...beepbeepbeep...beepbeepbeep........

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

You might laugh, but just last month that right there was the theme song of my life.  The alarm clock would run for a good hour before I could will myself out of bed.  It got to the point that I could recognize the time based on the increments the alarms would speed up.  I had no reason to leave my warm comfortable bed in the morning until my roommate started poking me to see if I was still alive because after an hour she too couldn't stand the screeching of the clock.  What little motivation I had to wake up went into pressing the glorious snooze button that gave me an extra five minutes of peace.

This all stopped when I picked up a very interesting book.  Simon Sinek opened my eyes to a whole new way of going about business with "Start With Why"- but I wanted to take it one step further and apply it to my daily life.  I could consider myself a personal business, in fact we function in very similar ways.  We could all think of our names as our personal brand and with that in mind we would need to create our own brand mission statement.  Why do people love apple? Because they are selling the unique individual mindset.  If you wanted the same results just apply it to your personal brand and people would want not necessarily your product but possibly your attention.

That is when it all changed for me - I created my own personal mission statement.  If I were to function strategically like a company I would need to have a good mission to base my decisions on.  As I am very interested in social and environmental responsibility I decided to create one that encompassed these beliefs. "I bring people together to make them realize we are all part of a greater whole - and we need to work together to make a difference".  Simple enough right? NO. 

I found that the common phrase, "actions speak louder than words" to be missing a critical element.  Actions do speak louder, however words are the sturdy base that give power to your actions.  This new "WHY" I had given myself set me up for success.  I knew why I was doing the things I was doing each day.  I knew why I was getting up each morning.  I knew what I was striving for.  This is powerful when you get up and start going.

That was the day I decided to create my blog.  I was tired of being tired, and wanted to put my "WHY" into action.  It gave me the reasons to go out and do what I wanted, and left no excuses to stay wrapped up in the sheets for a dull and boring day.

I hope that my personal brand of "Rachel" can be perpetually changed by a single WHY.  I hope we all can make a big impact with this simple change - we owe it to ourselves.

Interns: the ethical debate

"I'd like a latte with extra foam non-fat organic milk with brown sugar, please." The lady standing in line behind rolls her eyes as she heard 5 more of these complicated orders rattled off by this young girl.  This girl however was not drinking any of these coffees - she was an intern and this was her daily "lesson" about the job she was working in for the summer, for free.

This is the typical stereo type of what being an intern is all about. But in actuality is this what really happens?  In my experience - NO.

Taking in an intern can be one of the most ethical business practices in my opinion.  This is because as a young student trying to get an edge on a very competitive workforce, internships are the only way that can actually give me real experience.  This should be taken with a grain of salt however, I only say this with internships aimed at teaching rather than profiting from cheap labor in mind.

Following I will expose the pro's and con's of taking on an intern and then how you can make a difference in someone's life if you do choose to help them out with a mentor mentee relationship.  The days of coffee orders and photocopying are soon to be over.

Pros:

1. You are giving a young student or someone looking to work in the sector an opportunity of a lifetime.  "Experience" is the hardest thing to earn and a prerequisite to most jobs for graduating college students.
2. You have the opportunity to hire this intern after graduation - making an easy transition to your team.
3. Your company can learn from the new interns fresh mindset and can advance through these observations.  A new intern asks very good questions because they can truly see from an outsiders view what is working and what needs changing because they haven't gotten used to any of the operations yet.
4. An intern can be innovative and handle new projects that otherwise normal employees wouldn't have the time to handle.  It is a win-win, good experience for the intern and a great advantage for the company.

Cons:

1. If you aren't actually teaching the interns something, you are pretty much exploiting them for free/cheap labor.
2. If you are doing such things then you are robbing a potential candidate of an actual job position not just an internship.
3. Interns take time to train and explain the "why's" of your company.  If you don't have the time be careful of taking on an intern.
4. Interns can become a liability if not properly trained.  As they have little to no previous industry experience letting them on their own can possibly wreak havoc as they little to no industry common sense.  How was I supposed to know that you don't give free drinks to a customer that complains?

Overall, the pros and cons of taking on an intern are very subjective.  Based off of the companies actions alone it could be one of the most ethical or unethical choices the company could make. This alone could make or break their efforts of becoming socially responsible.  I have the bias of currently being an intern so I would suggest to anyone thinking of taking one of us onto your team to do the right thing and give us a priceless experience - we will thank you for it later.  We are the future of the work force - shouldn't we have the best chance of doing it right?

P.S. To all the companies who have given me the opportunity to learn and thrive in my chosen industry, thank you for all the time you have spent with me teaching me the tricks of the trade.  I know it will pay off in the future!

10 Topics You Must Cover on Your Responsibility Pledge

These days I find that most people are setting goals to achieve personal success.  Goal setting is a great tool to use, when used properly.  However, most people are setting more than one goal at once or even 100 mini goals at once.  The problem with this is that you typically start to fall through on your plans and eventually burn out.

To aid in your goal making process and to make your plan stick I advise using a pledge to yourself.  This isn't just something you say to yourself, or think everyday.  This is a physical paper in which you list exactly what your goal means and then you sign it so that you can see exactly what you stand for.  This becomes even more powerful when you sign one with a group of people because when you make your goals public, you tend to stick with them longer.

In the green club at my school, we are beginning to implement a Green Pledge for our school where we encourage our students to sign a certificate stating exactly how they will help the environment and others around them - hopefully this will keep the recycling high and the waste low!

Without further adieu:

Responsibility Catalyst's Pledge:

Protecting our Beautiful Earth One Step At A Time

1.  Waste - Waste is the number one factor you can control.  This goes beyond just plastic bags but into food waste, water waste, electricity waste, etc.  This is one of the most important factors for your pledge as this will get results quickly for everyone to see and be motivated to continue not to waste.

2. Water Conservation - This is one of the fastest ways we waste.  On average 2.2 gallons of water per minute out of the shower means that by the end of the morning you are already using about 22 gallons if you are taking 10 minute shower.  Turn the water off when not in use, the amount you save can be drinking water for weeks.

3. Electricity Conservation - 10 watts here, 60 watts there.  One can save electricity in such simple ways that it makes no sense NOT to participate.  Flip the switch when you leave a room, unplug unused appliances, and ensure your machines are energy efficient.

4. Fuel Use- Most of us need to travel in some form to get to work.  Be conscientious of your modes of transportation and the amount of fuel they burn.  The benefit of public transportation is that the 7mile/gallon busses are being shared by 30+ people.  Make the responsible choice, and if you must use a personal car - drive it as little possible, and as efficiently as possible.

5. Buying Power -  We as consumers have the ability to influence the economy by changing our spending habits.  If we all make sure to buy from sustainable companies and demand responsible practices more and more businesses will start to follow suit.

6. Community Service - We all have needed help at one point in time.  Giving back to the community is not only a thank you for everything they have given you but its also a way for you to help someone in need.  Small things make the most difference from picking up a piece of trash on the beach to tutoring kids that are struggling in school.

7. Standing for Your Beliefs - Many people have become so set in their ways they refuse to change.  Many don't understand the need to make a difference by living responsibly.  You must have the determination to do good and stand up for what you believe in and not let the naysayers get you down.

8. Tracking Progress- This gives you a sense of accomplishment and the encouragement to keep making small changes.  If you can't see that taking a 5 minute shower instead of a 10 minute shower saves you 11 gallons of water then are you really understanding your full impact?  Its important to know where you began and where you are headed.

9.  Encourage Others - Its amazing that you have taken the next steps to living responsibly, but are others around you struggling to make a change?  Encourage beginners by helping them out, or by giving them tips and tricks on how to make responsible living easier.  Its always nice to have a community to support you, so be those open arms.

10. Always Find a Way to Improve -  The most important thing to realize in life is that there will always be someone better than you and also someone worse.  Even if you have become the best at the moment, someone is just waiting to come around and take your place.  With this understanding we can change the negative thoughts into a positive statement.  There will always be something more that you can do to help the world. Smile more, help more people, recycle more - its a never ending challenge to give back to the Earth.

I Rachel here by virtually sign the Responsibility pledge on September 3rd, 2015.

If you believe in these actions then please "sign" and post them near by so that you can hold yourself accountable.  Its a promise to do better for the world - why not take the plunge? Good luck in your quest for a responsible life!

Ecofriendly Life: Beginning Baseline Measurements

The sound of crumpled up plastic brushing against the sides of the dumpster muffled out the singing birds today.  I killed the beautiful music of nature today with my weekly routine of taking out the trash.  I am living the all too familiar life of a college student too busy to care about how their choices affect the world.  It seems as if this business keeps us all trapped inside a little perfect bubble never really seeing the damaging implications of our wasteful consumerism.  As the dumpster lid slammed shut with a bang and nature returned back to normal - I vowed to myself that I will do what I can to stop disrupting its natural flow with my decisions.

Many of us have been there, living a life that we knew wasn't "green" and yet didn't really know where to start to get better.  Recycle? Take shorter showers? Replace the lightbulbs?  These are all great ideas but they all miss out on the cornerstone of the effort which is to make a difference.

How are we supposed to know how much of a difference we have made by being more environmentally friendly if we never knew how bad we were for mother earth to begin with?  This is why I decided to take my carbon footprint.

Online, there are a myriad of sites dedicated to helping you calculate your carbon foot print. I personally used the following to obtain my results:

• nature.org
• carbonfootprint.com
• footprint.wwf.org.uk
• carbonfootprint.c2es.org
• 3.epa.gov/carbon-footprint-calculator/
• footprintnetwork.org

Overall, my results revealed to me exactly what I thought - I am starting off quite wasteful.  For me this is a challenge, to go from needing 3.5 Earths to maintain my lifestyle to needing less than 1.  I did notice, however, that there are discrepancies in the different tests, so from now on I will be using these 6 to track my progress as they all measure slightly different green practices.

The main thing I want to highlight about taking this baseline test is that no matter the number you should not be ashamed to publish it.  Many companies these days refuse to post their environment friendliness rating because they feel that it would be bad press.  I would like to argue the contrary - it's good press because even though you might not have the most sustainable numbers you are realizing that and are openly making a change.  This public change might even inspire others to take on the same goal of becoming more sustainable and thus as a team make the world a better place. 

Please share your numbers, I hope you enjoy seeing where you fall within the carbon footprint spectrum.  Even if you have a very high number, don't worry  - everyone needs to start somewhere.

Making CSR Personal

First, lets start off with the question what is CSR? 

Heading Down the Right Path - Responsibility

Its a word passed around in business these days that sometimes gets confused with philanthropy or sustainability.  Although these are elements of CSR, one section of the program does not define it as a whole.  CSR is the overall process ensuring that your business is running ethically and responsibly - not just focusing on one side of the coin (environment, HR practices, philanthropy).  If the general idea of CSR is mainly about responsibility, why do we leave it in the office after the day of work is done?  We pack up the papers, put it in the drawer, and as soon as we walk out it is as if all of the responsibility we try to give to our business flies out the window of our huge SUV as we start revving the engine on our way out from the parking lot.  If we are putting so much effort into our businesses CSR plan, and we understand its importance - what is stopping us from personally living responsibly?  Shouldn't we make it our personal mission to also be living ethically within our own personal brand we all call "ME".

I know that we as people are much smaller than a corporation, but we are the ones that can make the biggest change.  If you ask yourself why your company started using CSR practices its not because it makes more profits, but because that is what your customers demand.  If we go out living our personal lives using the same methodology as CSR we would have even more influence on the economy and the businesses around us - spurring more change than already is happening. One man is just as important as the many because one man can inspire the masses - and hopefully this time it is to do the right thing.

Most people consider themselves to be contributing members of society, but is there a more effective way to inspiring change? To become a more responsible citizen I suggest taking your drive to do the right thing and apply the CSR methods of tracking, goal setting, and achieving so as to create a new hybrid "personal social responsibility".  This way people themselves are able to track themselves doing the right thing and improving over time - just as any business would, allowing measurable results and efficiency in the process.

Although I try to do my best to help make a positive impact, I feel that by haphazardly doing it I am actually taking away from what I could truly achieve. That is why I am beginning the personal CSR journey today by starting with my baseline.  I will track my data for all of next week containing my sustainability info, social responsibility, and overall impact and then post a report. Then I will start making goals and striving to achieve even more than before.  I hope if you found this interesting you can join me on my personal CSR journey.

CSR doesn't just have to be for businesses - its a way of life.

Don't "Pay It Forward" Instead "Give a Note"

It seems nice, the idea of "paying it forward" - but the real question is what does it mean and is it effective?  This past month my social media has been buzzing with this idea of paying it forward.

In effect this is when someone does something nice for you, and then you move on and do something nice for someone else.  Typically this involves simple chores, money, or noticing someone that needs help.  I completely support this idea of helping one another - but what happens when the chain breaks?  You are obliged only to pay it forward to only one person, right?

Due to this flaw in the idea, I want to suggest something even more simple. A note.  Following, I will detail how you personally can make a huge impact in the life of another and inspire more action than the "pay it forward" movement with just a pen and paper.

The idea behind the note is that anyone is capable of participating - money is not necessary for this responsible action.  Also, it is much better than giving a positive compliment because the recipient can always keep the note to look back on rather than forgetting your words.  The idea is all about helping society - thus it should be able to be applied to everyone.  When it comes down to it, what most everyone wants is to be recognized for what they do, due to this simple human desire I can make a small initiative extremely powerful.  So, take out your pens, find someone that deserves recognition, and deliver the note to them with a smile.  Both of you will feel wonderful afterwards - even if you are strangers.

For my example, I want to talk about the note I gave to the bus driver last year.

I took this bus every day, and each day there were different drivers, some drove more often than others.  I was used to this trip so much that I never even realized how helpful the drivers were until one day I was caught off guard by how friendly one specific driver was.  Each time I entered the bus he gave a nice smile, and a warm welcome.  After a while my friends and I started calling him Super Bus Driver because every time he was driving the bus had an unusually positive atmosphere.  It was at this time I realized I needed to tell this driver how much he impacted my journeys and how he brightened my day - I wanted  him to feel recognized and good for what he does.

My Beautiful Swiss Village Next to the Bus Stop

For me it was necessary to write a note as the driver only spoke French, and my French was incomprehensible at best.  I sat down with a friend who helped me translate my message and with my best writing I scrawled out "Thank you Super Bus Driver - you make my day every time we travel! Keep up the good work".

When I handed the driver the note the very next day he took it, looked a bit confused and then walked away.  The following evening when I got on the bus home, his smile was bigger than ever.  He had read and understood my note.  We both were feeling amazing and this positivity radiated to the other customers as well.  We all got off the bus feeling better than ever.  He was happy for being recognized, and I felt good to express my gratitude, and I'm sure the rest of the customers had no idea why they were happy but they cheerfully walked home as well.

Although this is the end of my story with the bus driver, I hope to find someone else to send a nice message to in the future.  Who knows who it may be;  that is why I always carry a pen and a note. I want to be prepared to recognize someone for their great job.

I hope that all of you can have similar stories where you don't need to go and "pay it forward" with money or services but simply make someone realize their positive impact on your life.  Living in harmony with society is a very important factor when it comes to responsibility.  Understanding the nature of human wants and needs makes you realize how we are just simple creatures. How wonderful could it be if we could all just recognize each others positive qualities?

Lets start the "giving a note" initiative and make people feel wonderful, accepted, and most of all appreciated!

One Man...

How would you define humanity if all it contained was one man?  What would this one man's power become?

Be conscientious of our precious world - and make a difference!

The reality is that one man alone cannot do much for the world - but luckily for us in 2015 there are 7 billion people on this earth that can be inspired by just one man to make a change.  This is what I want you as a reader to realize - that with your solitary action to make a change that you will inspire others to make a difference.  It might be a slow process, maybe only one person joins for years but in the end if you have just one follower that means already you have the power of 2 just by one action and support.

This blog is meant for those of us who are wishing to make a difference by creating personal social responsibility plans. Our solitary actions can influence others to make the same sort of change.  It doesn't even need to be radical, just a small change such as reducing food waste.  Each step we take the world is thanking us.

I know it is hard in the modern day to be conscientiousness of the world, its people, and the way we work together ... but if there is one thing that is important for the future of man its that we need to learn to be more conscientious of these types of decisions we make.  In this blog we will start small and move forward as we learn more together.

This will be the catalyst for our change in responsible behaviors.  I look forward to writing more posts on this subject and feel free to message me if you have any articles you would like to see.

Wishing everyone the best in our new socially responsible endeavor,
Rachel