Blogathon is in Full Effect!

Greetings Readers!

We're a little over 4 hours deep into the 24 hour Blogathon – Woo Hoo! Despite the fact that I'm chugging along on only 2 hours sleep my blog buddy Sandria and I are here at Bronzeville Coffee & Tea enjoying our lattes and blogging the day away for literacy.

Why are we depriving ourselves of much need sleep to blog? We are supporting Open Book.org's efforts to raise $2,500 for its Open Books Buddies program. That's enough money to fund one underserved school with the Open Books Buddies program for an entire YEAR!

So what are you waiting for?! Head over to the Open Books.org and DONATE! Now…where's my coffee? =)

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael Stagg

My II Sense

Bring on the Blogathon!

Hey Readers!

It's 1:29am CST and I'm still up preparing for my first Blogathon! I'll be at Bronzeville Coffee and Tea BRIGHT & EARLY at 8am with my blog pals Sandria and Mu Shemsu-t. We'll be blogging for the Open Books.org
Open Books Buddies program and raising $2,500. Again, this will allow one disadvantage school to participate in the program for one year – Cool, right?!

Well, I'm off to bed. I hope to see some of you later at Bronzeville Coffee and Tea.

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

My II Sense

Bloggin’ Outta Control for Literacy!

Greetings Readers!

We are still preparing the upgrades to the blog as well as gathering some really great professionals to provide stellar blog content for you!

Today's post, however, is about something more important: giving the gift of literacy! On Saturday July 25^th, 2009 My II Sense in conjunction with Writeous Media and other bloggers around the world will be participating in Blogathon 2009
in support of OpenBook.org's Open Books Buddies program! We will be stationed at Bronzeville Coffee & Tea, 528 E. 43^rd St., Chicago, IL 60653 during the shops hours of 8am – 4pm so come join us!

Open Books Buddies is a weekly one-hour program that allows students to work one-on-one with a trained, supportive mentor to help boost reading skills such as fluency and comprehension. Mentors also promote school attendance, academic performance, positive behaviors, and more.

Each week, a Big Buddy and a Little Buddy pair will read together in 30-minute segments. This allows each volunteer mentor to work with two students over the course of the academic year.

During Blogathon 2009 Open Books.org hopes to raise at least $2,500 for the program which will provide
an Open Books Buddies scholarship for an entire class of students in an underserved community, and gives each of those kids a chance to connect with an adult mentor to share the love of reading and the joy of friendship.

My II Sense encourages anyone with a blog to join us for Blogathon 2009 and sponsor the Open Books Buddies Program by donating (or pledging if you join the Blogathon) at least $10.

For more information on Blogathon 2009 or Open Books.org please click on the links above and let them know My II Sense sent you!

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

My II Sense

Blogathon Logo: Blogathon.org

Change is Coming to My II Sense!

Greetings Readers!

We are making some big changes to the My II Sense blog in the coming weeks! In doing so we need to halt all blogging activities as we prepare to introduce new blog writers, spruce up the design and other changes to enhance your MIIS experience.

Everything should be completed and the dust settled by August 1, 2009. Thank you in advance for your patience while we make these changes.

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

My II Sense

The Healing Power of Forgiveness

Greetings Readers!

I, like many others yesterday, watched the touching memorial for Michael Jackson as it was streamed live on CNN.com. For the most part it was a wonderful experience filled with great memories and tribute to the King of Pop.

Unfortunately, during the stream there were some people that decided to take cheap shots at Michael and I found myself getting very angry at the thought of people being so unkind. I mean, if you don't like Michael Jackson why log in and watch, right?

So I'm sitting there getting mad at people I don't know for typing things that may or not be true about MJ and suddenly I begin to experience a humdinger of a headache. Then it hits me – well two things do – 1. I'm wasting my energy disliking these people and 2. This is a perfect opportunity to practice forgiveness.

When you extend the energy of forgiveness to others it frees that energy for more valuable purposes (like manifesting a better relationship, a success business venture, you get the idea). More importantly, there's a certain healing quality to forgiveness that I can't explain. Incidentally, once I changed my anger energy to that of forgiveness my headache ceased!

We could all use a little forgiveness in our lives just as we would all do well to extend forgiveness to others. Here's a simple four step plan to invoke forgiveness*:

1. Forgive the other person for causing you the feeling.
   
2. Give the other person permission to forgive you for having the feeling.
   
3. Forgive yourself for any harm that has come from that feeling.
   
4. Wish the person well.
   

Just remember to begin with the most important person that deserves your forgiveness – YOU!

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

My II Sense

*4 Steps to Forgiveness courtesy of the Carla Kay White blog

Image © Robyn A. Harton/http://www.robyna.com

A Winning Strategy for Success

"There are three things every successful person must possess: patience, persistence and perseverance. Without them your enterprise is doomed before it's begun." – Michael Stagg

Greetings Readers!

I awoke this morning thinking about a conversation I had on Facebook about pursuing one's dreams. Why do we pursue them? What keeps us going in spite of everything and everyone around us demanding that we throw in the towel?

I know that what keeps me going is the belief that what I'm doing will be of benefit to others. In order for me to make my dream a reality I have to be patient and not rush into things without careful thought. I must be persistent and not stagnant in my pursuit of my dreams. Finally I must persevere even when times are difficult.

If we adhere to these three principles of patience, persistence and perseverance this is nothing that we can't accomplish!

My challenge to you is to review what you're currently doing in pursuit of your dream. Ask yourself am I being patient and allowing the Universe to bring to me all the people and resources I need to succeed? Am I being persistent and constantly following my dream or am I procrastinating? Am I persevering through the tough times with the knowledge that what I'm doing is right for me and will be of use to others?

If you answered no to any of these then make the needed adjustments to realign with your purpose and the energy of success.

Have a question? Email the My II Sense Team at Ask@MyIISense.com!

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

My II Sense

Celebrate TRUE Independence

Today is Independence Day and strangely enough I awoke this morning thinking about my own independence and the reasons, if any, I have to celebrate.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online the word independent can be defined as showing a desire for freedom. This is important because on some level everyone has something they want to be free of (an addiction, financial woes, traffic!) but how many of us actually take steps to DO something to liberate ourselves? How many of us lend a hand to liberate others once we've achieved some level of independence?

How do you define your own independence? What freedoms are you celebrating today? How will you help others achieve a similar level of independence?

I leave you with a quote from Lao Tzu that comes to mind:

"Give a man a fish; feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; feed him for a lifetime"

Have a PERFECT day!

Michael

My II Sense