Who Was Harvey Milk? by Corinne Grinapol

 Who Was Harvey Milk? - one of the first openly gay men to run for and win an elected position in the US, and who advocated for gay rights in San Francisco, California.

Harvey Bernard Milk (1930-1978) was born on Long Island, New York. Both his parents came from Jewish families who came from Lithuania. Harvey’s father followed the traditional rules of their faith. His mother wasn’t as strict about the rules. What mattered to her was - tikkun olam – helping to fix the world. Thus, she volunteered in projects helping to feed the poor.

Harvey was outgoing, liked making people laugh, loved being the center of attention, full of energy, bit of a troublemaker.

He was proud of being Jewish but he didn’t like the religious rules. He believed in having a choice.

When he was eleven, he fell in love with opera while listening to it on the radio. He even pretended to be a conductor while listening to it.

At fourteen, he went to opera in NYC and discovered different kinds of people. He saw men being attracted to men but he wasn’t ready to reveal it.

He didn’t know what he wanted to study after High School, so he followed his parents’ advice to become a teacher. He kept himself busy during his college years. He wasn’t good enough in sports to join a team but he still practiced different disciplines, became a coach and joined the newspaper staff to write about sports. Later, he started writing about other subjects that mattered to him, like discrimination within fraternities and sororities.

He also liked the idea of having an important role at the college. So he ran for treasurer and tried to join one of the school’s honor societies. He lost in both, but this was a good practice for him to teach him about persistence with his determination.

After graduating from college, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to teach and it was a time of the Korean War. So he joined the navy.

He was sent to Officer Candidate School to learn how to become the navy’s future leaders. At school, he discovered that he liked deep-sea diving.

In 1953, he was sent to a naval base in San Diego, CA. During his free time, he visited gay bars, not that it was safe to do it.

In 1955, after four years in the navy, he was honorably discharged. When he returned to NY, at twenty-six, he got his first job as a teacher. Even though, he was a good teacher, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do this for the rest of his life.

After only one year in teaching, he left the position with his partner and moved to Dallas, Texas. Eventually, he got a job at an insurance company, but that got boring to him. This led him to moving to different places: Puerto Rico, Miami, then back to NY where he got a job at Wall Street. But the position at Wall Street wasn’t exciting for him.

He continuously searched for something he’d feel passionate about. Around 1964 when he met a theater director and composer named Tom O’Horgan, he spent the nights at the theater and sometimes on stage.

In 1972, he moved to San Francisco where he was introduced to a more open culture. People weren’t afraid to show who they were.

In 1973, he opened a store with his partner where they developed pictures. This led him to being pro-active in challenges that life was sending him. And that further led him to run for a city supervisor as he felt that there was still discrimination against gay people, and also against people of color.

He wasn’t elected but that didn’t discourage him from being proactive with challenges. He joined forces with Allan Baird who represented Teamsters worker union.

Allan wanted beer delivery businesses to join union. Harvey agreed to help in exchange for union hiring gay people. Harvey with his friends created a boycott and won all companies except one.

Harvey’s shop became a place to go if you were new to the city. Harvey helped people to find a place to live and work. He got a nickname the mayor of Castro Street (from the street where his shop was located at).

He decided to run for a city supervisor again and lost again, but with each attempt he was gaining support of other groups. At his third attempt in 1977, he won.

He wanted to make sure that there were affordable places to live. He saved a library in his district from being closed. He fought against Proposition 6, which wanted to prevent gay people from working in public schools in California, and won.

His life was cut short. On November twenty-seven, 1978 he was shot by a former colleague.

He spent less than a year in office, but people still remember him and what he was able to accomplish in such a short time.

This biography exemplifies a man who didn’t know what he wanted to do in life. Thus, he constantly tried different things to find out what he was passionate about. Nothing would hold him back, even a prestigious job at Wall Street. As soon as he felt that something was boring to him, he was gone to try something new. Eventually, he did find his passion. And even then, he still met many challenges, which again didn’t discourage him. He knew persistence well.

Source: Penguin Workshop, 2020

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: “If you are not personally free to be yourself in that most important of all human activities – the finding of love – then life itself loses its meaning.” – Harvey Milk

 

 

 

“Hope will never be silent.” – Harvey Milk

“I have tasted freedom. I will not give up that which I have tasted.” – Harvey Milk

 

 

 

Traits:

·         From young age, he was taught to help others. It was engrained in him as part of tikkun process he was taught by his mother.

·         He was full of energy and throughout his life he used his energy well. As soon as he found something being boring to him, he’d move to his new venture which eventually led him to his passion – speaking out for human rights and taking action.

·         He was proud of being Jewish but he didn’t like the religious rules. He believed in having a choice. For him it was more important to be a good human being and of service to others rather than following some strict rules.

·         He kept himself busy during his college years. Even though, he wasn’t good in sports, he still practiced different disciplines, became a coach and joined the newspaper staff to write about sports. He used his college years well, not just studying theory but also finding out in practice what he liked to do.

·         He ran for treasurer and tried to join one of the school’s honor societies. He lost in both, but this was a good practice for him to teach him about persistence with his determination.

·         He joined the navy before getting his first job as a teacher at twenty-six. Even though, he was a good teacher, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do this for the rest of his life. So he quit.

·         He moved to a few different places and tried different vocations but none of them was exciting to him. Eventually, he moved to San Francisco where he opened a shop and became known as the mayor of Castro Street.

·         His college years gave him a good preparation for rejections he received when trying for political positions. His life was cut short as he was assassinated. He spent less than a year in office, but people still remember him and what he was able to accomplish in such a short time.

 

 

 

 

 

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION: 

 Tikkun Olam stands for “repairing the world,” and is a central Jewish concept emphasizing active human responsibility to improve the world.

If you’d like to get a better understanding what tikkun is about and use the wisdom of Kabbalah for personal growth and abundance, this is very well explained by David Ghiyam on his podcast under his name @DavidGhiyam

His courses of Your Infinite Soul (1,2,3) are excellent tools for understanding what Kabbalah is about or rather understanding yourself. Each course is based on pay what feels right. You can pay only $1 and get access that can have a profound change on your life. If it ends up being not right for you, you only lose $1 or $3 in total if you take all three courses, but at least you’ll know that you tried something new and different – something that Harvey Milk would embody. 

Also, Harvey Milk was full of energy and he naturally knew how to use his energy, so it wouldn’t become stagnant. Many people get stuck or feel blocked, it’s because the energy flow is stopped. Instead being a conduit of energy, letting it flow like a river.

Charles Dickens – Scenes from an Extraordinary Life by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom

Charles Dickens: Scenes From An Extraordinary Life. He was one of the greatest writers of all time who wrote Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver Twist among many other famous stories.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was born in Portsmouth, England during the age of war and Industrial Revolution. He witnessed the poverty and abuse and sympathized with those less fortunate.

His father was the wages clerk for the Royal Navy, and his job moved him and his family from place to place. He inherited his comic voice from his mother, which he used with his talent for story telling from early age. He entertained grow-ups at local inns.

For a while, the family lived close to a small theatre where songs came through the thin walls and the whole family would often join in dancing. When the family moved to London and his father no longer could afford to pay for his education, Charles stayed home, reading books, including Robinson Crusoe.

In 1823, at eleven, Charles got lost in the bustling streets of London which were filled with pickpockets, rogues and other characters which later appeared in his stories.

Theatres were the cheap entertainment of the day. Charles had his own toy theatre. From early age, he wrote and acted in some of his own plays.

His father had no sense of managing money. Thus, leaving family in much debt. Charles was forced by his parents to work at factory at twelve.

His father was sent to debtor’s prison. After he paid his debt thanks to his small inheritance from his mother, Charles was sent back to school. But it was his father’s decision. His mother wanted him to stay and work at factory. Charles felt bitter about this throughout his life.

When his father’s money troubles continued, Charles left school for good in 1827 and became a lawyer’s office boy. In his spare time, with a fellow clerk, they performed at a local theatre.

At sixteen, in 1828, he got a position as a newspaper reporter. He also began to write short stories which began to be published regularly. He became friend of editor whose daughter enchanted Charles, and they got married in 1836.

At twenty-five, Charles wrote a news series for a magazine. He immersed himself into creating characters by mimicking them. He looked in the mirror and made facial contortions or talked rapidly in a low voice.

In 1838, he visited the infamous Yorkshire schools to which unwanted boys were sent and treated badly. This led him to writing Nicholas Nickleby.

In 1842, he visited the US and was treated like a superstar followed by a multitude.

In 1843, A Christmas Carol became favorite Christmas fairy tale.

In 1850, he wandered for miles at night, revisiting some old sites, including the factory and the place nearby where he stayed. This place continued to haunt him even when he was happy. This led him to write David Copperfield.

In 1851, his fascination for detectives inspired him to invent one of the first fictional police detectives.

In 1865, he narrowly escaped death while travelling by steam train. Only five years later, at fifty-eight, worn out by his hectic life-style and before completing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Dickens dies.

This is a graphic novel for ages 8-12. Thus, illustrations are big part of this storytelling, and both are beautiful and touching. Presented with fairly simple sentences, this story can be read by the target audience. Some painful memories that stayed with Dickens are well-dramatized so it touches human emotions. And it’s well-presented how Dickens used his painful experiences and observations as tool in his storytelling which touched multitude of people.

Source: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2011

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: Dickens used his painful experiences and observations as tool in his storytelling which touched multitude of people.

 

 

 

Traits:

·         He grew up during the time of wars and Industrial Revolution. He witnessed the poverty and abuse and sympathized with those less fortunate. Those observations influenced his writing.

·         He used his comic voice with his talent for story telling from early age.

·         When his father no longer could afford to pay for his education, Charles stayed home, reading books.

·         When he got lost in the bustling streets of London which were filled with pickpockets, rogues and other characters, what he observed later appeared in his stories.

·         From early age, he wrote and acted in some of his own plays.

·         In his spare time, with a fellow clerk, they performed at a local theatre.

·         While working as a newspaper reporter, in his spare time, he started to write short stories which began to be published regularly.

·         When he wrote a news series for a magazine, he also immersed himself into creating characters by mimicking them.

·         His fascination for detectives inspired him to invent one of the first fictional police detectives.

·         Throughout his life, he found jobs that kept him close to what he loved to do and meanwhile was writing what was close to his heart.

 

 

 

“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” – A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

“Reflect upon your present blessings – of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” – Charles Dickens

 

 

 

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 Discover Your Dharma – A Vedic Guide to Finding Your Purpose by Sahara Rose – host of Highest Self Podcast.

The dharma discovery journey talks about five stages: self-awareness, self-improvement, awakening, higher consciousness, stepping into your dharma. As you read those descriptions, you can identify at which stage you are.

It further explains, three paths to following dharma: leap – as it sounds, for example, quitting a job, investing all money, moving to a new country. Transition – for example, you keep your regular job and use your free time for what you love to do, but you have to be committed to do it on regular basis. Accidental discovery – for example you take a class that was required or someone asked you to do it with them, and you fell in love with what was done during that class and it becomes your passion and way of living.

Then, dharma is connected with three phases of dosha: vata – visionary who thinks outside the box; pitta – ambitious, driven individual; kapha – empathetic, generous soul.

Our life should be a cycle through those three phases of dosha, but some of us get stuck in one phase for life.

Thus, understanding ourselves and our actions, which comes down to consciousness/awareness, will make us move naturally through those phases.

This book gives a lot of practical examples, so it’s easy to grasp. Everything is encoded inside us. They key is to discover what it is. One of the ways of finding out is to pay attention what triggers us. Everything happens for a reason, good or bad, and you need to ask yourself what was the lesson to be learned. A lot of times, we assume or project things, which is a distortion, opposite of discovering the truth. When you feel being pulled towards something, then you should follow it. Keep exploring. Be curious. Those are directions of your dharma.

Who Was Charles Schulz? by Joan Holub

 Who Was Charles Schulz? – the cartoonist who created the beloved Peanuts gang.

Charles Schulz (1922-2000) was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was nicknamed Sparky from childhood.

With no TV back then, he listened to radio programs with his parents. Thus, the characters had to be imagined.

In those times, the comic books were very popular. He always carried a pencil in his pocket and copied comic characters.

After art school and during the Great Depression, he took any job he could. In his spare time, he kept on improving his drawing skills.

After the war, he got a job lettering the words in comic strips, and was also hired to teach at the Art Instruction Schools. His fellow instructors included struggling artists, too, but they learned from one another and helped each other improve.

Then, his work started appearing in a newspaper, and magazine. His characters were relatable and people loved them. By 1955, his Peanuts characters were in one hundred newspapers. By 1958, Peanuts was in 395 newspapers.

Meanwhile, he got married and had children. He had his routine/his work but he also dedicated some time to his children.

In 1962, he published a book which was about the simple pleasure that make people happy. The book became the New York Time best-seller.

Then, the time seemed right to try the Peanuts animated TV special. A Charlie Brown Christmas became a big success and won an Emmy Award. There were many more animated TV specials.

“The only thing I ever wanted to be was a cartoonist. That’s my life. Drawing.” – Charles Schulz

This biography exemplifies a man who lived during a time when imagination had to be used in order to see characters. His life was drawing and that was his driven force throughout his life. He was passionate about what he did, and that took him beyond his imagination, leading to animated movies based on his characters. 

Published by Penguin Workshop in 2022

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: Drawing was his life and his passion, which took him beyond his imagination.

 

Traits:

·         With no TV, only radio, he had to use his imagination to see characters.

·         During his times, the comic books were very popular. He always carried a pencil in his pocket and copied comic characters.

·         In his spare time, he kept on improving his drawing skills.

·         His first job closest to drawing was lettering the words in comic strips.

·         When he taught art, he struggled like many other artists, but the key was they supported each other and learned from each other how to improve their art.

·         Then, his work started appearing in a newspaper, and magazine. His characters were relatable and people loved them.

·         Then, the time seemed right to try the Peanuts animated TV special. A Charlie Brown Christmas became a big success and won an Emmy Award.

 

 

“I have a new philosophy. I’m only going to dread one day at a time.” – Charles Schulz

“Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” – Charles Schulz

“If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself.” – Charles Schulz

 

 

 

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 Charles’ words - “My life has no purpose, no direction, no aim, no meaning, and yet I’m happy. I can’t figure it out. What am I doing right?” - reminded me of Sadhguru’s words.

Life is not about searching for purpose but about learning how to be happy. Once we’re happy the purpose will follow.

This subject is further explored in his book – “Inner Engineering” by Sadhguru

In this book, Sadhguru relates the moment of his own awakening, and gives guidance to our highest spiritual enlightenment. He is devoted to humanitarian causes.

He explains the term guru: “dispeller of darkness, someone who opens the door for you…” He states, “As a guru, I have no doctrine to teach, no philosophy to impart, no belief to propagate. And that is because the only solution for all the ills that plague humanity is self-transformation. Self-transformation means that nothing of the old remains. It is a dimensional shift in the way you perceive and experience life.”

Sadhguru relates pure message from the eastern world. And what most of us rely on is western knowledge. For example, in the western world, we keep hearing about seeking purpose in life as pursuit of happiness, but as Sadhguru explains the purpose of life is to be happy. And happiness comes from within. No external factor will make us happy. And what we seek as purpose in the western world is still classified as external factor in the eastern world. We will never be truly happy until we understand the meaning of happiness that comes from within.

Nevertheless, passion is the greatest compass of what to do in life, and do it every day, even if it's just five minutes. As with each day, it may extend to longer time or taking you to the next step of your life's journey. The journey we're supposed to have on earth. 

Who Was Jules Verne? by James Jr. Buckley

 Who Was Jules Verne? – a famous French author, often called “the father of science fiction.”

Jules Verne (1828-1905) was born in Nantes, France. The family home was located on Feydeau Island, located on the Loire River. From the balconies of their home, Jules with his brother watched many boats move up and down the river. Jules dreamed of seeing faraway places those ships had come from, and with his brother learned to sail a small boat on a shallow river.

Jules didn’t like school much, but he did like writing. After graduating from High School, he wanted to join a ship’s crew, but his father, who was a lawyer, wanted him to study law. He studied law in Paris, but he never worked as a lawyer. Instead, he followed his dream to become a writer.

While living in Paris, he met famous writers of its time, Victor Hugo and Alexander Dumas.

He worked at a theater, his job wasn’t related to writing but it paid his bills.

Five years later, in 1857, he got married to a widow with two children.

In 1859, thanks to his friend’s brother who worked for a cargo shipping line, he was offered a free trip to England and Scotland. His dream of adventure was becoming real.

In 1862, Jules met Pierre-Jules Hetzel who was a magazine and book publisher, and agreed to publish Jules’ first novel – Five Weeks in a Balloon which was a story of a journey over Africa.

Jules belonged to a group of men who discussed the latest science news, which Jules integrated into his story-writing. His publisher saw it as profitable venture and signed a contract with Jules despite his first novel not doing that well.

Jules wrote the Adventures of Captain Hatteras. Then, Journey to the Center of the Earth. These two novels made him one of the most famous writers in France.

From the Earth to the Moon was published in the fall of 1865 and sold out by Christmas.

He continued to gather his knowledge from famous scientists and inventors. Joined with the experience from his travels, he used it for writing.

He combined all things he was passionate about in his book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, which made him very famous.

In 1870, he received the National Order of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest award.

1871 was a hard year for everyone during the Franco-Prussian War. During war, the distinction has no meaning, so he had to go back to doing whatever paid his bills and supported his family.

In 1872, he published Around the World in Eighty Days, which became his most popular book.

With his success, he built a grand house in Amiens. When his publisher died, he was very well-off, and decided to represent the town council of Amiens. He wanted to make sure that poor people in the city were cared for.

At seventy-seven, he had a stroke and never recovered.

This biography exemplifies a man who stood by what he dreamed about. When opportunity presented, he explored the world. Throughout his life, he continuously gathered knowledge that interested him and utilized it in his writing which took him to stardom.

Published by Penguin Workshop in 2016

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: He Stood by His Dreams which Took Him to Stardom.

 

 

Traits:

·         From childhood, he craved adventure as he observed boats passing by their house.

·         He wasn’t a good student but he recognized that he liked writing.

·         Even when his father wanted him to study law, he continued his writing.

·         After graduating law, he never worked as a lawyer. Instead, he had the guts to stand by his dreams and defy his father in following his calling.

·         His persistence made him one of the best writers of all time.

·         His curiosity about science and travel combined propelled him to be called the father of science fiction.

 

“We may brave human laws, but we cannot resist natural ones.” – Jules Verne

“When one has taken root one puts out branches.” – Jules Verne

“While there is life, there is hope.” – Jules Verne

 

 

 

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 Jules’ dream became real because he made it part of his present time, NOW. It didn’t become some illusion (time is an illusion, when you collapse time, that's when miracles happen). Dr. Wayne Dyer explores the subject of Now in his book “Wisdom of the Ages”

It is said that circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him. There is the tendency to blame our past for our current shortcomings. It is a ready excuse for refusing to take the risks. Jules’ was the first born and it was expected of him to follow in his father’s footsteps. When he decided not to work in law but to follow his dream, he was cut off from any financial help from his father. He took risks and it paid off.

Let go of the past, the choice is yours to make the NOW. Remove all blame from your vocabulary. We can learn from the past but we live in the NOW.  

The life changes when our approach to life changes. And there is no better time than NOW.

Sam Walton: The Man Who Invented Walmart by Wil Mara

 Who was Sam Walton? - the founder of the world’s largest retail business.

Samuel Moore Walton (1918-1992) was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. When he was five, his family moved to Missouri. He had one younger brother.

He came to understand the importance of money early in life. His father worked on family farm barely making ends meet. Sam helped out with any chore he could. He also made milk deliveries, sold magazine subscriptions and delivered newspapers after school, while other boys played with friends.

When the Great Depression struck in 1929, he saw how important it was to have enough money. He worked hard at school and outside school. His work ethic was very strong. He had friendly personality and it made him popular at school. He liked sports because he liked to compete and win.

The parents encouraged his both sons to go to college. Sam took various jobs to help with paying for tuition. In 1940, he got a degree in economics from the University of Missouri.

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do afterwards. He decided to give it a try in the retail business. He got a job with J.C. Penny. He became a manager of a store in Iowa. As much as he enjoyed his job, he gave it up to serve during WWII.

In 1945, he got back to the retail business, but this time he wanted his own business. He invested in Ben Franklin chain of retail stores. He took over the Ben Franklin in Newport which wasn’t doing well. Sam quickly figured out how to improve sales but the chain owners had their own ideas how to run the business which clashed with Sam’s ideas. Sam decided to ignore the company’s rules and did things his own way. Despite his success, he had to give up his store after five years due to rent renewal issue. He used what he learned here for his next venture.

He found a struggling business in Arkansas and bought it. He fixed up the store and made it more modern. He listened to customers what they wanted. And they wanted to look at the merchandise themselves instead having a clerk hand it to them. Sam saw an opportunity on saving money by hiring fewer people. This also led customers to buying more than they needed. Thus, higher sales. Sam was a strong believer in selling more for less and that’s what he did. The store became a huge success. Thus, he started opening more stores.

Sam believed that discount stores were the future but the owners of the Ben Franklin chain disagreed. Sam decided to open his own chain with his brother. Thus, the first Walmart was opened on July 2^nd, 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Within five years, he opened twenty-four Walmarts.

Sam was full of energy, enthusiasm and vision, always looking for new ideas how to improve the successes he already had. In 1980, he opened Sam’s Club to buy products in bulk.

This biography exemplifies a man who wasn’t afraid to try new things, who wasn’t afraid to fail as he knew there were lessons to be learned from failures and to apply the knowledge to the next venture. He always had a positive attitude. He started from nothing and through learning and listening he got to the top.

Source: Children’s Press, 2013

 

 

 

TRENDING INSPIRATION: “If you try something and it doesn’t work, learn from that failure and try something else. But above all else, always try something.” – Sam Walton

 

 

 

Traits:

·         He understood the importance of money early in life. Thus, he helped his father with any chores he could around the farm.

·         He made milk deliveries, sold magazine subscriptions and delivered newspapers after school while other boys played with friends.

·         He worked hard at school and outside school.

·         His work ethic was very strong.

·         He had friendly personality and it made him popular at school.

·         He liked sports because he liked to compete and win.

·         After college, not sure what to do, he decided to give it a try in the retail business. He became successful as manager at J.C. Penny.

·         Then, applied his knowledge to managing his own business.

·         Not agreeing with chain owners, and having visions others didn’t see at the time led him to open his own retail chain.

·         He listened to customers what they wanted while shopping.

·         He was full of energy and positivity.

 

 

“If you love your work, you’ll be out there every day trying to do it the best you possibly can.” – Sam Walton

“Swim upstream. Go the other way. Ignore the conventional wisdom.” – Sam Walton

“We’re all working together, that’s the secret.” – Sam Walton

“One person seeking glory doesn’t accomplish very much.” – Sam Walton

“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” – Sam Walton

“Celebrate your successes. Find some humor in your failures.” – Sam Walton

“Nothing else can quite substitute a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth of fortune.” – Sam Walton

FURTHER INSPIRATION AND RECOMMENDATION:

 The Art of Happiness at Work by Dalai Lama - This inspirational book brings the successful East-meets-West pairing together to provide a practical application of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual values to the world of work. In this wise and practical book, the Dalai Lama shows us how to place our working lives into the context of our lives as a whole. Rather than striving to find a role which suits us, we should allow our work to arise naturally from who we are - and what is most important to us. From here we reach a pathway that can lead us to true life fulfilment and purpose.