Gabriel Hummel » Helping Others

But I Just Wanted to Help

Gabriel Hummel — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:22:55 +0000

So you have this big shiny new plan for your life and you are super excited that you have actually started taking steps to making a reality of your wildest fantasy

Awesome

You feel the need to spread the love to as many people as possible. Friends, family members, spouses, and even the homeless guy you see with the same unoriginal sign every day on your drive to work seem to be appropriate targets for your cheerfulness

In your attempts to spread the love, you inadvertently break your vow of humbleness and begin on the path of gloating

Your gloating quickly turns to lecturing; about how the people in your life should be jumping on your “get shit done” bandwagon and going for gold just like you

“Be Like Mike” seems to your new motto (replacing Mike with your name of course)

I am in full blown support for people trying to change other people’s lives, but many people make this critical mistake of stepping on other people’s toes and telling them how to live their life

As much as you think other people should make changes in their life, it’s not your call

It’s up to your friends, family, and even that homeless guy with the sign to decide to make a change in their own lives. This would be a change that they want

You cannot assume that other people want to change any aspect of their life, let alone what that change might be

Even if people complain to you about how their life isn’t the way they want it, it is not your position to tell them “how it is”

Only after these people decide that change is needed, and they come to you looking for a resource or an idea, then share with them things that helped you, and leave it at that

It is their responsibility and advantageous for them to follow down the same path of self discovery that you did, with the only expectations being in life threatening situations

They will go much further on their own path than ever if they had you there to hodl their hand the whole time

In those special moments when people truly want some sound advice, merely act like a signpost and help to point them on the path that has less heartache and more challenges

To wrap it up, I am damn proud of you for making a change, and even happier that you want to help to make changes in other people’s lives as a result

Just don’t force the change, let it happen

Don’t be stepping on toes

Gabriel

Saving the World, One Purchase at a Time

Gabriel Hummel — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:02:12 +0000

Eco friendly bags

Recyclable lap tops

Hemp clothing (non smoke-able)

There is a trend that is overtaking our nation faster than a naked person getting attacked by sex addicts

The “Green Movement”

What is this movement you might ask?

This movement is about saving the environment, or at least that’s what its suppose to be about

People everywhere are finding out ways to help reduce their carbon footprint in the world, and making them feel better about themselves in the process

Is there anything wrong with this? Not directly

People wanting to make a difference? Good stuff

People wanting to feel better about themselves? Amen

People running around buying more stuff to replace the stuff they already have so they can be part of the green bandwagon in order to feel good about themselves? Lame

These people may have their heart in the right place, but advertisers and the population mass have gotten to them and turned something that should be amazing into something that is best left in the market of clothing, technology, and other random acts of consumerism

Case and point, you do not need to run about and by a recyclable apple computer and a horde bio degenerating cleaning products right now in order to help the environment

I am not the crowning man of the green movement trying to lead the world with my hemp made cape and organic raw smoothie in hand, but I know marketing bullshit when I see it

I also know enough to tell you that there are far superior ways to help save our planet, and upgrade your reality a bit, without the need to whip out the checkbook or be part of the in crowd

Some examples that actually do a lot of good

1) Stop wasting water by taking shorter showers, fixing your leaky toilet, and turning off the faucet when you brush your teeth (and save over 200 gallons of water a day)

2) If commuting to work via bicycle isn’t an option, consider walking or cycling the next time you want to go to your local coffee shop or convenience store instead of using the car

3) Recycle (duh)

4) When your gadgets, clothes, furniture, etc breaks and needs to be replaced then consider buying something that is a more ecologically sound replacement (but don’t freak out about it, even hippies have iPhones)

There are literally a million things you can do, just pick and choose the ones that seem the most feasible and you will be a step ahead of hardcore Whole Foods shoppers without the extra stuff, money spent, and generally misguided efforts to save the planet

Who knows? You might even feel pretty damn good about yourself

Get greener

Gabriel

Spreading the Wealth

Gabriel Hummel — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 22:36:10 +0000

(Great picture, lame message)

So let’s say that you are like Richie Rich in life

Maybe not with things, but more so with knowledge, skills, and relationships

Whether you are an expert on electronics, know how to easily create a work of art, or simple know how to drink a pitcher of beer in under 5 seconds, there are areas in your life that you have some level of talent over

These talents are things that either came to you naturally or grew over the course of much trial and error. The beauty of having these talents is that they will typically never leave you, especially if you enjoy practicing them on a regular basis

Now for the million dollar question, do you like to share that information?

Are you the type of person who finds it hard to keep a secret that is going to impact someone’s life in a majorly positive way?

Do you know the best way to make a model train and spend time with children showing them how a whole world can be created with only a few tools?

Do you know how to lift people’s spirits at the drop of a hat and make it your business to put a smile on as many people’s faces as humanly possible?

Or are you a hoarder?

Do you know the best technique to shoot a 3 pointer but refuse to expose your secret?

Are you a talented writer who doesn’t want to share their work for fear of people stealing your ideas?

Do you know the secret to happiness but don’t want to tell anyone else because you are afraid of what they might think of you?

It is important to understand not only what your “good stuff” is, but to share it as much as possible

Just like when you do some form of charity work and get a high from helping others, the exact same feeling comes when you push your talents into the limelight in an effort to enrich other people’s lives

When you hoard information, ideas, talents, anything really, your life will feel emptier despite the fact that you are holding onto more stuff

Think of it like when you hear a bit of good news about a close friend, and you cannot wait to tell the first person you see all about it. That is how you should treat your talents, skills, valuable information, and your positive feelings when interacting with anyone

I don’t want you running our and trying to be the next starter of the hippie revolution and put daisies in people’s gun barrels and smoke pot all day. Simply make a conscious effort to push out all the great stuff you run into

Don’t worry about people taking your ideas

Think about the passion you are adding to people’s lives

Don’t think your creations aren’t good enough for the public eye

Feel great that you have the balls to put yourself out there

Go out and spread the wealth

I promise you will come back richer than you were before

Cheers

Gabriel

Creating A Personal Brand (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is)

Gabriel Hummel — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:09:02 +0000

So you have decided to be your own original brand and even create an awesome pseudo logo in order to commemorate your general awesomeness. Awesome, now comes the hard part. This is the final, and most important, part of this whole ridiculous exercise that I have had you do.

Anyone can decide who they ought to be like, and agree that being original and not another Heineken toting, football watching, and shopaholic redux version of Apple or Pepsi. But when it comes time to step up and stand up for what you and your brand are all about, many people reside to putting their tail between their legs and watching the box set of Friends like a good little boy or girl. I am here to tell you that your whole life is going to be a total cookie cutter joke if you do not stick to what you believe in and stand behind your personal brand 110%.

Of course you will agree that sticking up for what you believe in is an important facet to anyone’s life. And while this doesn’t mean starting a fight with every person who tries to mess with your head and tell you that you are retarded for believing x, y, or z (and take it from me personally, I get that a lot) it is equally important to be firm in your understanding of what things you believe and do not believe in. Sticking to your guns, as they say, is the core of having your own brand (fancy logo and all) and being true to it.

So this sounds all fine and dandy, but what the hell do I mean anyway? I mean when someone tries to compromise one of the values of your brand, you don’t allow them to. Gasp! This might mean you will inadvertently step on a few people’s toes a little bit as a result of sticking up for who you are and what your brand is all about. Believe it or not, by having your own limitations, goals, and general strategy for who you are and what you are trying to be is an admirable quality. When you don’t allow someone to compromise who you are (even in a slight way) they will inherently have more respect for you as a person. Do you think that many of the greats of world history compromised who they were when it was convenient for them? How would have Gandhi ended up? Or MLK? What about Bill Gates and Wayne Gretzky? The common denominator behind all of these people is the same, they stuck to who they were and what they believed in and as a result led a life that they could be proud of.

Now having a personal brand isn’t always going to be a defense based effort, there are going to be many opportunities for you to exert your brand onto others in an effort to help them and somehow help to benefit someone other than yourself. This philanthropic nature is critical to the success of any major company, brand, or person, so you must a conscious effort to put your beliefs on the line to educate, motivate, and help others who may or may not have the means to help themselves.

Say for example that your brand is a strong supporter of the arts, specifically that of music. In order to put yourself and your brand on the line, you need to go out of your way to extend yourself in ways that will put your passion for the arts into the hands of people who will appreciate it. This could mean any number of things from offering free music lessons to the unfortunate, to volunteering to help conduct and lead a local school musical production. You could promote other organizations that support arts programs in schools and donate money to help keep music and art programs an integral part of a child’s life. The options are literally endless for any aspect of any brand. All you have to do is put forth some effort that is no half assed and decide that putting your passions on the line in order to help others is something that you want to, and should be doing. Trust me, even if you think that running over to your local school right now to offer your services free of charge is a pointless effort that will be refused, it’s the effort that you will continually put in that will have big long term payouts for you and your brand.

If you take anything away from this series, just make sure that you don’t let anyone compromise your brand, and always put your brand on the line for the right reasons, and you will go far in life.

Cheers

Gabriel

3 Tips to Avoid The Christmas Crisis

Gabriel Hummel — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 19:00:16 +0000

Ah the holidays

Seriously who doesn’t love this time of year? The food. The friends. The family. The Gifts. Who doesn’t love the overall vibe and general awesomeness that occurs during the months leading to the new year? Hell even if you don’t have the same sugar and gum drops view of Christmas as me, you at least get to revel in the fact that you are not buried in paperwork at your job.

So we have established that the holidays kick ass, but then why is it that everyone seems to completely loose their shit during this time of year? They panic and fret over every little thing and it leads people to view the holidays in the worst way possible instead of viewing it for what it really is, a time of stillness and good feelings. Maybe you are caught in this trap yourself. Do you find yourself panicking to buy the perfect gift for your significant other? Are you stressing about whether or not you should attend your office Christmas party and get wasted off eggnog? Are you trying to buy everyone and their mother a stocking stuffer that will amount some level of meaning other than the financial expense you incurred? Fear not, I have a simple guide laid out here that will allow you to cut bullshit out of this holiday season and allow you to focus on the things that really matter to you.

One of the first things people think about when they think of Christmas is gifts. Getting them, receiving them, but is it really ever that easy? Many people go through many painstaking hours shopping, planning, and generally stressing themselves out to the point where they are passing death threats to the Santa Clauses outside of Macys. My question to you is why stress? Do your children really need another video game system that will be replaced in 6 months? Does your uncle really need another tie to add to his closet full of unforgettables? It would be to your benefit this holiday season to practice some minimalism and

1) Avoid the consumerism of Christmas

This means spending a hell of a lot less money on things for people. Buying a whole bunch of electronics at Best Buy for your significant other or handing out gift cards like candy to your “not-so-close” relatives is going to offer nothing more than a very short term level of appreciation. You and I both know that we live in a consumerist society, and I am sure that during the year you are completely frugal and spend your money on the things that matter most to you (*cough*) and if for whatever reason you usually find yourself knee deep in credit card debt come January, why not take this time to break away from all that spending and only give gifts that truly have a significant meaning to them. What the hell does that mean, you might wonder? Why not try

2) Giving the gift of experiences

I am not uncle scrooge, I love giving gifts and receiving them as much as the next 12 year old getting his brand new Xbox 360 this holiday season. But the types of gifts I find have the greatest impact are those of experiences and events, not a laser pointer you got in your stocking and used for all of five minutes before it found its way to a bargain bin in your summer garage sale.

Just tap into a person’s interests and offer them gifts that will allow them to experience first hand the things they love to do most in life. Have an artsy girlfriend? Buy her a pass to the new art exhibit in town. Have a husband who loves boating? Get him a rental pass for a schooner for a schooner over a weekend. Have a child who loves music? Buy him tickets to concert. The options are only bound by your imagination. So you have finally decided to put down the PlayStation 3 and pickup a new guitar for your music loving daughter, can you now fully enjoy the holiday? Maybe, but it might be beneficial for you to

3) Give to those who cant give anything at all

One of the greatest gifts you can give during the holidays is help and support to people who are not as fortunate as you. There are literally millions of people all around the world who will go through this Christmas without not only a new toy or piece of jewelry, but food. I know that everyone talks about this a lot during the holidays, and as much as I am trying not to beat a dead horse talking about helping others, it is damn important for not only the people in need, but for you. Giving back to others is something that everyone is capable of doing, no matter what your current situation is. When you can donate your time and energy to a soup kitchen, or buy a stack of gifts and hand them out to children who have nothing to play with at all, you will feel more alive and in touch with humanity than if you received the perfect Christmas gift 100x over.

Yes you heard me right, this is the time of year to get your hands dirty and involve yourself. Just writing a check or donating some cans at your local grocery store is still a great gesture, but it really wont mean shit to you in the long run. If you really want to connect with the definition of what Christmas is all about, you need to get out into the impoverished areas around you and lend a hand. Make a commitment to do this right not, and do not procrastinate because you and I both know that you wont get this shit handled at all. Whether this means talking to your local churches and asking how you can help, volunteering, or spending some time with an elderly person with no family, I promise you will feel better then when you are knee deep in eggnog and red wine.

Peace and love

Gabriel

What the Hell is Thanksgiving All About?

Gabriel Hummel — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:21:48 +0000

(Faces will be stuffed come Thursday, be prepared to roll over and pass into comatose)

So I am sure that you are totally amped and ready for the coming turkey day in which people from all across the US will stuff their faces full of oh so delectable comfort food. Hell, even I on my 90% raw vegan diet fully plan on engorging myself and eating one massive meal on Thursday. Earlier today while I was fantasizing about turkey and green beans swimming in a pool of mashed potatoes that will soon be my belly, I got to thinking what the hell Turkey day, Thanksgiving, or post hangover from the biggest drinking night of the year day is really all about.

So what the hell is thanksgiving anyway? According to my very reliable sources (my uncle and Wikipedia *cough*) Thanksgiving is described as, “Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.” So before I got back and amend my list of comatose turkey eaters to include our fellow Canadians, it has become apparent that thanksgiving is really just a great big excuse to get together and eat a lot of food. Now I love eating, so I am not complaining, but what why should we really care about giving thanks and expressing gratitude in general, especially around our families that many of you deem as less than ideal partners to spend with for a day? So I dug a little bit deeper into the wonderland of the internet and discovered a few better descriptions for the actual meaning of why we were thanking or being grateful for anything on this day, in hopes that we can all offer something other than a steady hand and a fork on this day of family togetherness.

I finally came across a far more noteworthy source, the History Channel. They have to be spot on, right? They describe Thanksgiving as, “The Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops.” So basically we are celebrating the unity that can be achieved by working together and acting on behalf of the greater good, instead of looking out solely for one’s self. This is great shit, now we are on to something.

I find that we often can trap ourselves in looking out for ourselves about the needs of others, whether you are a self help junkie who is constantly learning new skills and ideas, or a fashionista who is obsessed with looking that much better in comparison to the person next to her. Now don’t get me wrong, trying to be your best and doing your best on the daily is one of the most positive things you can do with your life. But what if instead of taking that passion and energy and directing at yourself, you took time to direct to others who could benefit the most from your passion, love, and 4 cans of Redbull you had in the morning. This is the essence of not only Thanksgiving day, but life in general.

Thanksgiving is meant to serve as a reminder that putting the needs of others above our own is one of the most powerful and important things we can do in our lives. Helping family, friends, and even strangers in the high and low points of their life is one of the most rewarding things you can do for them and yourself, and we spend thanksgiving to appreciate these ideals of unity, togetherness, and working for the benefits of all.

Now as much as this sounds like some TV special gone horribly wrong, you can’t help but recognize that putting others above you is something that we could all work to improve in our lives. So this Thanksgiving I challenge you to not only appreciate that friends, family, and love that you have in your life, but also to spread some of that joy onto people who may not be as fortunate as you are.

Whether you decide to donate your time to a soup kitchen or donating food to those who won’t be having a large feast this Thursday, or pay an organization a small fee that will better help them in supporting people from all around the world, you will be doing a service for everyone. Hell, you could even decide to not blow off those boy scouts that liter in front of your local grocery store and offer up a bag of your canned gods to them, you know as well as I that you have more than enough money to replace those goods the minute you step foot in that store for getting all the fixings you will be using this Thursday.

Spread the love around a bit, I promise it won’t hurt, it will feel kind of nice, and you will be that much more understanding of what you are thankful for when you go back for your third round of pumpkin pie.

Happy Thanksgiving

Gabriel