Me Time

The past couple of months I have embarked, on what has most tragically been an ultimately futile search for the perfect planner for 2009. Oh, you may say, please. It can't be that hard. Well, let me tell you. It was that bad. You try opening calendar after calendar, some are too big, some too small, some don't have the right layout, some don't have the right sections, some... you get the idea. There was no "and this planner is just right".

So, you ask, what did I do in this hopeless situation? What anyone would have done--I made my own. After hours of toil I am happy to say I have an end result that is nigh perfect. The layout is so easy to use, the sections are useful, it actually makes sense. And there is space for to-do's, space for notes, and then, space for "Me Time", which was the most important section. Woah, you are thinking now! All that time you were simply looking for a calendar that gave you ample room to write stuff about yourself? Well, yeah. I wanted a place I could keep track of my goals and resolutions. No more, oh, I want to read more, or workout more, or learn more about art. Now I actually have one place to write it down, a way of holding myself accountable to myself. I want to make life happen, not let life happen. So I'm doing it.

Creative Capitalism

Anyone who knows me probably knows my fascination with the idea of Creative Capitalism, as coined by Bill Gates. Read the article. It's brilliant. I've worked in non-profits and noticed an often clear lack of business savvy, while in the corporate world it's so often all about profit and not about helping others. Social entrepreneurship is what I want, and when I figure out what exactly what that means for me, you'll be reading about it. Basically, I want to start a business that yes, makes me money, b/c that is what businesses are supposed to do, but also that actually improves the quality of life for impoverished or otherwise underprivileged individuals.

"This is the heart of creative capitalism. It's not just about doing more corporate philanthropy or asking companies to be more virtuous. It's about giving them a real incentive to apply their expertise in new ways, making it possible to earn a return while serving the people who have been left out. This can happen in two ways: companies can find these opportunities on their own, or governments and nonprofits can help create such opportunities where they presently don't exist."

Beautiful.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my humble blog! So I now find myself with some extra time on my hands, and thought it high time I started a blog to write about what I find interesting in the world, what I'm doing, and other such novelties. I've called it "through my slanted lens" because isn't that how we all see the world, each with our own personal biases? One of my favorite quotes from high school and still is from "To Kill a Mockingbird", which pinpoints the problem at hand: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." And who among us can say we can actually do that, even in a metaphorical sense? We all try, I most definitely try to, but at the same time when I approach an issue, a problem, a circumstance, it's with my personal background and my personal knowledge of the situation and my personal end goals. You would come with yours. We could see the exact same situation but from a totally different angle-- each through our slanted lens.

So here I am giving you my point of view. I want to know yours. If an article I post or something I write interests you comment your eyes out. The world will be a better place because of it.

(the inspiration for the name):
From my slanted lens
I look at the mingling crowd and cannot but wonder at their source their destination
The plight of the weary, the step of the proud, all blend into one
Lonely and quick.