Current Events

Category Archives: Current Events

How You Can Help Haiti…

Posted by Grant on January 14, 2010 – 7:56 pm

Filed under Current Events, Thinking Out Loud...

I don’t know about you, but as I watch the news unfold regarding the tragedy in Haiti, I feel compelled to do something. My guess is you feel the same way. The challenge though is whatever we do, it feels so small compared to the great need of that country. But the bottom line is something is better than nothing. I’m no different than you. I want to help.

So here’s what I’m going to do…

On my website, I’ve got books, t-shirts, and wristbands available. For any purchase you make between now and Sunday, January 17 at midnight CST, I’m going to donate 100% of the money to the relief work in Haiti. That’s right. One hundred percent of it. I won’t get a dime of it.

START SHOPPING NOW

So not only will you get a copy of Reality Check, a sweet t-shirt, or a bunch of wristbands out of the deal (all with free shipping of course), you’ll sleep good tonight knowing every bit of the money you spent went to support the relief efforts in Haiti.

Sound good? Go here to get started…http://grantbaldwin.com/store.php.

But don’t be greedy and keep this deal to yourself. Spread the word. Tell your friends, neighbors, parents, teachers, co-workers…even that one kid who eats glue…he could use a cool t-shirt. Make it your Facebook status. Tweet and re-tweet it on Twitter. Post the link on your blog (http://grantbaldwin.com/store.php). Get the word out.

One other quick note…even if you’re not interested in buying anything (it won’t hurt my feelings), I hope you’ll do something to help out. Volunteer at your local Red Cross. Organize something at your school. Get your youth group involved. DO SOMETHING!

Remember…every little bit matters. Do your part.

VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE HERE

What else are YOU doing to support the relief effort in Haiti?

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Dear Tiger Woods…

Posted by Grant on December 3, 2009 – 12:38 pm

Filed under Current Events, Thinking Out Loud...

We tend to forget how often our actions can influence others (even complete strangers) without us even knowing about it. I’ve noticed this through something I’ve been try to do more of lately: running.

Let me explain…

At the beginning of the year I started running and had a goal to run a few races. A few months into it my knee started bothering me, and I eventually threw in the towel on the whole idea. So for most of the summer I was frustrated with myself that I started something but didn’t finish it.

Then I was influenced by a stranger.

My wife and I were on a cruise back in August and while at dinner one night, I found myself eavesdropping on a couple of guys at the table next to us. One of the guys said he had just run a race and it all started by simply walking each day. Keep in mind, this guy was an older, larger dude…he wasn’t some elite beast of an athlete. Well that got stuck in my head and I started thinking…

“If that joker can do it, then I can do it.”

So when I got home, I started walking and have got back into a running routine again.

Here’s another quick example…Last night on my flight I ended up seated next to an old friend. We were getting caught up on life, and he told me he recently finished the Chicago marathon. I was totally impressed and immediately started asking lots of questions. He told me a story about traveling out West and stumbling across an ultra-marathon being run in Death Valley. This wasn’t just any race…it was 135 miles through temperatures reaching 130 degrees…that’s freaking insane!

But my friend said he saw those people running this race and thought…

“If they can do 135 miles in these conditions, I can do 26 miles.”

Influenced by a group of strangers.

You have no idea how your words, actions, and attitudes influence not only your friends and family but also complete strangers who you’ll never meet or know how you impacted them. Therefore…

Think before you speak. Pause before you react. Be cautious how you treat others. Why? You have no idea how it will impact others…both positively and negatively.

Are you reading this Tiger?

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Why I Hate The New York Yankees…

Posted by Grant on November 5, 2009 – 9:13 am

Filed under Current Events, Random

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Sometimes It’s Better To Keep Your Mouth Shut To Avoid Looking Stupid

Posted by Grant on September 9, 2009 – 7:24 am

Filed under Current Events, Thinking Out Loud...

It’s been quite obvious that President Obama speaking to students has drawn controversy. As I stated in an earlier blog post, I think the President addressing students is a good thing. However, there are plenty out there that would disagree with that assessment.

In order to spur on some debate and discussion, I threw out a little sarcastic comment on my Facebook page yesterday basically in support of Obama’s speech. I didn’t expect it to generate 44 follow up comments within 4 hours.

The comments were fairly well split between being for or against Obama and his speech, but the longer the comments went on, the less intelligent they seemed to become. I’m all for healthy discussion, debate, and disagreement, but it quickly went away from that and became borderline childish.

It quickly became a “my dad can beat up your dad” competition filled with lots of insults, jabs, and unintelligent comments. Next time you’re in a debate like that, keep in mind a really solid principle from Disney’s Bambi: “If you don’t have anything nice (or intelligent) to say (or post), don’t say anything at all.”

Or in the words of Mark Twain, “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.”

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What Would The World Be Like Without The Media?

Posted by Grant on September 5, 2009 – 6:37 am

Filed under Current Events, Media, Thinking Out Loud...

Obviously part of the media’s job (and responsibility) is to report the news. But the unwritten/unspoken part of their job is to sway opinions. We all know that news channels have certain biases one direction or the other.

And I think it would be safe to say that the more media you consume, the more you’re swayed by that newspaper, talk show, or broadcast. And it got me thinking…

What would the world be like without the media? What if we were all able to get the news (and just the news) we needed but the slats and the opinions were left out.

If that were the case, all of the sudden it would force people to think for themselves as opposed to having someone on TV tell them what to think. If you had zero contact with the media, you would have no choice but to form your own opinions.

How would your views of the world be different if you stopped watching _______, stopped reading _______, and disconnected from __________ (I’ll let you fill in the blank for your media outlet of choice).

If you’re saying, “I form my own opinions, but I just watch ______ and read ______ because I agree with them,” you’re kidding yourself and you’re just plain naive.

Take a step back from the media and ask yourself: “Do I believe what I believe because I’ve thought it through or because someone else told me what to believe?”

By the way, if your feathers are being ruffled by this post, then you’re probably the person that needs to read this anyway.

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Why Having The President Speak To Students Is A Good Thing (And I Didn’t Even Vote For Him)

Posted by Grant on September 4, 2009 – 6:48 am

Filed under Current Events, Students

As most of you already know, President Obama plans to address students in schools across America next Tuesday, September 8. Naturally, there is plenty of controversy surrounding this move, but personally, I like the idea.

As a youth speaker, I meet with tens of thousands of teenagers each year and I can tell you what most students are thinking about politics, government, and their role in society.

It doesn’t apply to them. Why should they care? Their vote doesn’t matter. The list goes on and on.

When was the last time a President specifically addressed students? As far as I know…never. Despite what your political views of Obama may be, I think we’d all agree that part of sending students is to school is for education but part of it is preparing them to become contributing citizens to society.

He’s not going on TV asking for teenagers to vote for him in another three years for re-election. He’s not trying to sway them to a particular political persuasion. He’s trying to help students connect with the bigger picture of being involved in this country.

Truth be told, I think the parents are more upset by this than students are. This generation of students is passionate and they’re looking for something to rally behind. A student’s involvement in their country, in their community, and in their school is one of the best things that could come from this.

I would challenge students and parents to do the same thing. Have an open mind. Allow this moment to encourage thought, debate, discussion, and healthy conversation. None of these things will happen if either parents or students approach it with their mind made up.

Oh and in case you think I’m some Obama-maniac…I actually voted for the other guy. But I still think having the President speak to our students is a good thing.

What do you think about President Obama speaking to schools/students?

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Are Students More Or Less Literate Than Their Parents?

Posted by Grant on August 24, 2009 – 7:00 am

Filed under Current Events, Students

Over the weekend, I read a great article in the new issue of Wired Magazine called “The New Literacy” by Clive Thompson. It began with the argument from a college professor that students today were losing the ability to write and over time, could become borderline illiterate.

Wow.

But the case was made that students today not only write more but may be more literate than their parents. Teens’ parents basically did their writing in school and unless they had a career that required that they write, they never had to pick up a No. 2 pencil again.

But think about the number of opportunities that students today have to write. Facebook. Blogs. Twitter. MySpace. Texting. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that students today do more writing than any other group of students in history.

Why? Because there are so many opportunities and platforms to use.

Sure you may see some random shorthand and smiley faces in their online writing, but they are developing the ability to think and write creatively.

The article ends with this great statement: “We think of writing as either good or bad. What today’s young people know is that knowing who you’re writing for and why you’re writing might be the most crucial factor of all.”

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Three Life Lessons Learned From The Sports World

Posted by Grant on August 18, 2009 – 7:53 pm

Filed under Current Events, Thinking Out Loud...

Just a couple of life lessons and observations from the sports world over the last few days…

You Can’t Win Them All (thanks Tiger Woods) – If you’re a golf fan, then you no doubt watched Tiger collapse at the PGA Championship over the weekend. And it was a good reminder…the guy is human. Sure he’s the greatest golfer on the planet and arguably the greatest golfer to ever live. But even Tiger Woods loses golf tournaments…even when he’s expected to win. No matter how good you are at something, you won’t win them all. That should take some of the pressure off you.

Learn To Stand By Your Decisions (thanks Brett Favre) – It doesn’t matter how good of a football player he is, people lose respect for you and you tarnish your own legacy when you’re wishy washy about your decisions. If you’re in, then be in. But if you’re out, then stay out. Cut this back and forth crap. Being lukewarm in life doesn’t get you anywhere. You know what people are looking for? Someone to stand up for what they believe in. The world may not agree with your decision or your stance, but at least be confident in your choice.

Make The Most Of Your Second Chances (thanks Michael Vick) – I’m a huge dog fan, but Vick has more than paid for his crime. If people are remorseful and genuine, they deserve a second chance. What he does with this second chance (more off the field than on) is up to him. People make mistakes everyday. Some are obviously bigger than others. Make sure you not only take advantage of your second chances but provide those fresh starts and clean slates to other people as well.

Oh and one other observation from the sports world…the St. Louis Cardinals are the hottest team in baseball, and we plan on winning the World Series this year. Just thought you should know…

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Is A College Degree Still Worth Anything? (The Future of Higher Education)

Posted by Grant on August 17, 2009 – 6:19 am

Filed under Current Events, Thinking Out Loud...

In my work with students, it is fairly standard that educators/speakers/counselors/parents push students towards attending college after they graduate from high school. I’m sure this is blasphemy to say out loud but I’ve been weighing whether or not this is still sound advice in our current world.

Is a college degree still worth anything?

I’m not sure, but I do know that the face of education is changing. To better understand how it’s changing, think of the newspaper industry. Twenty years ago, the newspaper was a staple within American society. But think about how technology has changed that. The majority of people don’t get their daily intake of news through a newspaper anymore. In the coming years, newspapers could possibly even become extinct.

Why?

Two primary reasons: access and cost. Why would I pay any dollar amount for a printed newspaper when (A) I can get the news I need from Yahoo or another online outlet and (B) most newspapers put all their articles online for free anyway.

Think about how this affects the world of education. Access and cost. Why would I spend $100,000+ to get a four-year degree when most of the same education I gain from that degree is readily available for free? For example, did you know that major universities like MIT and Stanford are starting to make all their classes available online for free?

The thing that excites me is that with education being more readily available online, it will drive the cost of learning down. Our current higher education model is really broken when you think about it.

Come spend $100,000 at our school for a piece of paper that will give you the ability to get a $35,000/year salary so you can spend the next decade or two paying off the $50,000 in school loans you have.

Brilliant.

I’m just thinking out loud here, but in another 10 years or so, I’m not sure a college degree will still have the value it does today. Don’t get me wrong. There will always be a premium placed on learning and knowledge, but I’m not sure that you’ll still need that expensive piece of paper to validate what you know.

Agree or disagree?

(For more on this subject, read Fast Company’s article called “How Web-Savy Edupunks Are Transforming American Higher Education” and Seth Godin’s recent post, “Education At A Crossroads“)

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Teens & Money Survey From Seventeen Mag & Bank of America

Posted by Grant on August 13, 2009 – 8:33 am

Filed under Current Events, Money & Finances

Yesterday, I read a new survey that was released in Seventeen magazine regarding Teens & Money.

Yes, I subscribe. Please don’t judge me.

Anyway, it was a survey of 2,000 teenagers across the U.S. Here were some of the findings with my 2 cents…

88% are stressed about money – That seems fairly high to me. I wonder how much of it is attributed to their parents being stressed about money or the shock value of the news media?
34% believe they’re in total control of their finances – I’d be interested to know what they define as being in “total control”. I’m sure some students are and hopefully with resources like BrokePiggy.com, more students will feel this confident with their money.
63% would rather have a career that makes a difference over one that makes a lot of money – I wonder how this would compare with their parents? Most of our parents were taught to find a career for the money rather than passion but Gen Y is the opposite.
40% think their parents should bail them out if they don’t have enough money or find themselves in debt – This needs to be 0%. Stop expecting someone else to bail you out for your lack of responsibility. If you want to be an independent adult, then don’t count on bailouts.
45% say their parents are worrying/fighting more about money lately – Studies consistently show that the #1 cause of divorce is money-related issues. My guess is that continues to increase in this economy. All the more reason to learn to handle your finances.
38% have had to altar their college plans because of the economic downturn – Hopefully this economy has been an eye-opening experience for students so they may attend less expensive schools to save money and avoid school loans.