Can you “RISE ABOVE THE NOISE?”

Remember the last time you examined your Target receipt (or other department store receipt) and read “5% of our profits goes back to your community” or something similar? Me too. And when I read that, I feel some satisfaction, because in some small way, I’m feel like I am helping make a difference. I like that companies, especially large ones-give back!  Because I believe we are here on Earth for a reason.

But how often do we see  “100% of our profits go to charity” written on  a receipt or anywhere?  Well, not often. Ok, rarely.  We don’t expect that because it isn’t the way to run a business or make a profit, right?  Who does that anyway?

Well, today I will tell you about someone who is doing just that.  I’m thrilled to report he has written his first e-book, and will donate not 5% or 10% – (as is the norm for many organizations), but 100% of the profits, during the first week of his launch to the charity, Hope International!

I am speaking of Mike Donghia,  experienced blogger, college student, and now-ebook writer of  his new book, Rise Above The Noise. The link is …….  http://artofminimalism.com/rise-above-the-noise/ .

"Rise Above The Noise"

Let me tell you that Mike’s passion for helping others in need, whether through blogging helpful information, or through donating a week’s worth of profits from the sale of his e-book to Hope International,  has led him to give us specific ways to help ourselves with all of Life’s noise.

While the internet enables us to connect with people halfway around the world, and provides very valuable information simply by the tap of a keyboard button,  it can also be very disheartening. There are so many distractions and some of them are negative. It’s sooooo easy to get reeled in by ‘the noise.’  Sometimes we are so caught up in that noise, it creates mental clutter.

I feel that way sometimes— like I can’t even make a difference in my own home, or my own neighborhood, much less around the world!  Don’t you? Like our hands are tied so tightly, and our day so full-that inside I think ….How can I help anyone around the globe, when my own life is nuts!!?

Well, both! Mike’s insights provide a way for help with both.  He talks about the ways technology helps us become more human, and yet how it can also cause us to lose touch with ourselves and each other. And he speaks from his own experience of struggles with managing technology without neglecting his studies, relationships, and his responsibilities.

He addresses how our minds are too noisy…..

Remember the last time you set down to lunch with someone who didn’t make a phone call, receive a phone call, text, check a social network or email?  If you answered yes, you are in the minority.  And how did it feel when you were in the middle of sharing a story, or important point, and noticed your friend’s eye slowly shifting to scroll and check his or her phone? It’s distracting, right?   We can all get caught up in that.

Mike writes about how “choosing less” and minimalism has led him to refocus and  “turn down the noise” while calling on several experts-like Colin Wright, Tyler Tervooren, and Tammy Stroble, who share their thoughts and personal experiences on the issue.

There’s a reference in the book about being the “pioneer of my own frontier” which struck a chord with me. It reminded me that–yes, it starts with me!  Change has to begin with me!  And believing someThing, someOne- is out there beyond ourselves, spurns us on too, doesn’t it?

When I help someone, in whatever way, and see that person’s life become better- I give hope. I get hope.  And I make the world a better place!  In fact, in the process, I become a better me. I help myself, and that spreads and spreads like in that commercial “I’d like to give the world a Coke….

But I have to know how to do that. Well, Mike covers that in his book. And he loves Hope International; a world-renowned organization which helps others through: finding sponsorship of orphans and homeless children, assisting villages in creating wells for healthy water, providing financial assistance to impoverished young woman, and providing small loans of up to $200 to partner with people in Third World countries who can use those loans to begin small businesses which support their families.

So, here is your chance.  Buy the book for a thrifty $10.  It’s packed with great information, and remember 100% of the proceeds go to Hope International during the first week of the launch! You can check out their website at www.HopeInternational.com.

To buy the $10 e-book check out Mike’s blog at http://artofminimalism.com/rise-above-the-noise/ .

If you like what you see on this blog, share this article on Facebook or Twitter and help somebody else as you help yourself at the same time! Share this article and you help me grow my blog–kind of like giving the world a Coke!