Every year, instead of making resolutions, I prefer to do two simple things.

First, count my blessings. It may be easier to write them down so you can physically see them. When you do this, you then realize how abundant your life is, no matter the circumstances.

Here’s my list:

1. Most importantly my breath: We all have this to be thankful for
2. Connections to people new and old — this is what we all need to be happy
3. Health, started CrossFit and feeling fit inside and out
4. Community, all of my 90+ volunteers who spend countless hours to bring you this content, my heart is full! Thank you.
5. Simple everyday things: food, shelter, my comfy bed, warm laundry fresh out of the dryer, the faith that I am experiencing exactly what I’m supposed to be going through and am in the perfect place in my life (even though there are challenges, pain and growth) and loved ones who care for me, cry with me and laugh with me. (OK, that’s more than five — but there are so many things to be grateful for!)

I dare you to make a list and check it twice mid-year to see what has blossomed.

Second, time to take action and do one kind thing for someone else!

We all can do one thing TODAY to make someone else’s life better. Yes, YOU have the power to make a difference both big and small.

Last year, my Go Inspire Go team and I had a crazy idea that has manifested ten-fold. Our goal of spotlighting 50 heroes in 50 states has resulted in numerous blessings, miracles and new friendships. We’re so excited to unveil our second hero to you.

This New Year, please count your blessings and do one kind act. Here’s a story that will motivate and inspire you!

Man Loans Homeless Family House for a Year 

Who: Tony Tolbert, UCLA lecturer & attorney
What: Offered homeless woman and her four children home for one year
Where: Los Angeles
Why: Inspired by Tony’s father and family

The Catalyst

Many people we know do not believe or know how they can make a difference. “I don’t have time” or “I don’t have money” are common statements.

It’s refreshing to meet people who seek ways to make a difference. People like Tony Tolbert, a UCLA lecturer and attorney in Los Angeles. Tony read an article that inspired him to think, “What can I do?” and decided to loan his house to a homeless family for one year.

Tony says the seed of generosity was planted early on by his late father, James Tolbert, who always welcomed people (who weren’t friends) to stay in their home. “I don’t remember a time when there wasn’t someone in need, staying in our home.” Tony says the story of Kevin and Hannah Salwen of Atlanta sparked action. The Salwens sold their 6,500 square foot house, downsized to a house half its size, and donated more than $800,000 from the proceeds. They wrote a book and named their project “The Power of Half.”

“It struck a chord, a visceral emotion,” Tony explained. He posed the same challenge to himself that we ask at the end of all of our Go Inspire Go videos and blogs: “What can YOU do?”

Tony’s response will inspire you to ask yourself this question and take action.

 The Act

Tony decided to give his home — no strings attached, to someone in need for a dollar a month. At age 51, Tony moved back with his mom and gave up his home to a homeless woman and her four children for a full year. “I thought he was out of his right mind,” Tony’s mom Marie said emphatically.

The lucky recipient, Felicia Dukes, a single mother of four, couldn’t believe that a stranger could be so generous. Her youngest daughter was one when they were living on the streets. Dukes explained that she fell behind on her bills when she gave birth to her daughter. She turned to Alexandria House, a transitional shelter, but her eldest son, Kima, was unable to live with them because of an age limit. Tony felt Felicia and her family were a great fit because they could live together in his home.

He offered the fully furnished three-bedroom, two-bath home in southwest Los Angeles. “Let this be home for a year,” Tony said. “It’s yours do what you want, decorate it, enjoy your space.”

Tony says this experiment in generosity taught him many life lessons. See how Tony’s gesture taught him and Felicia the real meaning of “home.”

The Ripples

Stories of giving are infectious and so are the ripple effects. Both Tony and Felicia grew personally and spiritually from this experience. We are excited that Felicia is ready mentally and fiscally to move forward. When people heard about Tony’s kind act, they also asked themselves, “What can I do?”

Here are just a few ripples that continue to billow out:
– Felicia and her family have moved out of Tony’s home are now living in an apartment on their own.
– Personal performance coach Orlando Bishop with Align Performance voluntarily meets with Felicia to help her identify and achieve her personal and professional goals.
– A dentist learned about this story and donates dental services to Felicia and her family.
– Charysse Tia Harper, with Xplore the World, was inspired to create a documentary on Tony’s story. Her crew followed Dukes and her family around for a year.

Tony says he will give his home to another homeless family in 2014. He hopes his story will inspire you too. “Most of us want to contribute to something beyond ourselves. Sometimes it requires a reminder that the way we treat people and what we do in the world actually matters,” Tony said.

He hopes even more people will be inspired to give what they can this new year.

“You don’t have to be a billionaire to make a difference.” Tony explained. “We all have something to give to make a contribution to someone else’s life. What we do does matter.”

Yes, YOU matter. YOU can make a difference. The first step is doing something. All big ripples start from a single action. What can YOU do in 2014 to better the world? We hope this story hit home in your heart. We want to hear about it in the comments section.

Meanwhile, we leave you with this quote from the late Nelson Mandela: “As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

What can YOU do?!

Take Action
1. Learn more about Alexandria House and support its great work in helping women and children move from a transitional shelter into permanent housing.
2. Consider what you can contribute (time, skills, resources) that might make a difference in someone else’s life.
3. Give or share something (little or big) with someone today.

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For more information on our 50/50 campaign, check out our blog: 50 Heroes, 50 States, 1 Inspiring Journey!

Hit share if you care, please share, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or comment.
Join us & Go Inspire Go…

The post Go Inspire Go 50/50 Hero: L.A. Man Loans Homeless Family House for a Year appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

A hood that’s up to no good? OK, not fair, that’s more than one word. It’s also not a 100 percent fair representation of Compton. I recently met an aeronautical angel in this city, about 16 miles south of Los Angeles, who, for the past 15 years, has helped more than 2,000 kids earn their wings.

Robyn Petgrave, founder of Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum (TAM), is using aeronautics to get at-risk youth in Compton off the streets and into the air — educating, inspiring and empowering them to soar high and reach their dreams. Starting at age eight, kids who stay out of trouble, get good grades and have positive attitudes earn the privilege to fly planes.

“I talked to the kids about staying away from drugs and gangs, communicating, using aviation as a real life application of math and science, and working hard in school and life. As I noticed that some of them listened and followed through, I realized that I wanted to help kids succeed using aviation as a magnet to keep kids off the streets for a living,” Petgrave said.

As the founder of Celebrity Helicopters, a flight school and tour company, he still felt empty. He’s rubbed elbows with celebrities, garnered media recognition and even got the attention of Oprah. But what he’s most proud of is the title of “role model” to more than 8,000 kids at more than 21 different schools where he’s been a guest speaker.

Jump in and take a look at our Go Inspire Go video and come along for an inspiring journey. Fasten your seat belts — I promise your spirits will soar when you hit play.

After spending the day with several TAM kids, I was on a high. I was most impressed with the kids’ maturity, their willingness and duty to give back and responsible demeanors. Many TAM alum, like James Knox, are giving museum tours to the public and mentoring newcomers. Way to pay it forward!

It’s interesting to witness how the kids were drawn to TAM because of the planes, but it’s clear that they’re just a vehicle that gets the kids in the door and cockpit. Petgrave says there’s a tremendous amount of responsibility when you fly a plane, life skills that can be transferred from the air and to the streets.

I was lucky enough to be flown by James high above downtown Los Angeles. That’s when it occurred to me — what if we all took time out of our day to spend time with the youth, to tell them “YOU matter.” To what new heights would this child take us in our lives and our society?

Robyn and the kids told me many sordid stories — both heartbreaking and harrowing — of kids who’ve come through the doors with no hope. “Gangs, shootings…” says teen Cinthya Hernandez who found her calling and life’s purpose after meeting Robyn and the other TAM kids.

“One of the kids got shot in the leg right in front of his house for no apparent reason,” Robyn explained.

What’s next for Robyn and his kids? He’s joining forces with NASA’s SpaceX program. His dream is to send one of his TAM kids to space! Something tells me this out of this world idea will become a reality in the near future. Cinthya shared her favorite quote with me. “Why shoot for the stars, when you can go to the moon?”

High-five to Robyn and his crew for taking these amazing kids under his wing and catapulting them past the sky’s limit. What a great way to use his power and fueling the dreams of these bright kids and challenging them to soar to new heights.

Take Action:

1) Learn more about Tomorrow’s Aeronautical Museum: Tamuseum.org
2) Use your power to support TAM
3. Mentor a Child in Your Community. Inspire them to follow their passion.

What can YOU do?

*Thank you Connie Chan Wang for introducing GIG to TAM!

Follow us @GoInspireGo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube

The post Pilot Inspires Compton Kids to Dream Big appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

There is no doubt, this severe consequence for playing with matches falls under the “child abuse” category.” But, as a grown man, Colocio said he “forgives her. She raised me how she knew best.”

Colicio said he grew up in the hood, was raised by an abusive, single mother, who locked him up in the house to protect him from the tough streets.

”I didn’t have a father figure.”

This personal experience is just a snapshot of the numerous heartbreaking stories I heard while connecting with some “homeboys” and “homegirls” at Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles — the nation’s largest gang rehabilitation center in the United States.

What comes to mind when I say the words “homeboy” or “homegirl”?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Home·boy ˈhōm-ˌbȯi means:
1 : a boy or man from one’s neighborhood, hometown, or region
2 : a fellow member of a youth gang
3 : an inner-city youth

As you watch our Go Inspire Go video on Homeboy Industries, I ask you to observe without judgment for the next few minutes and take in a deep breath of compassion:

I serendipitously came across this story during a business trip to Los Angeles. As usual, I was welcomed by the thick layer of smog and “SigAlert” traffic, so my media consultant Denise Poon and I decided to exit the freeway, grab a bite to eat and wait for traffic to die down (By the way, traffic hardly ever “dies down” in the City of Angels.)

We found Homegirl Café, one of the many businesses under the umbrella of Homeboy Industries. Poon and I were so moved by our waitress’ story on how Homeboy Industries turned her life around — we just had to come back and cover this story to share it with you… Especially after she told us about their recent layoffs.

Founder Father Greg Boyle and the “Homeboys and Homegirls” moved me to produce this video — my hope is that viewers will think twice before judging others. Father Boyle believes that no life is more important than another.

As the pastor of Dolores Mission Church, in Pico-Aliso, which Fr. Boyle describes as the poorest parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he was inspired to create Homeboy Industries more than 23-years ago to give people like Colocio a second chance to turn their lives around.

This area is also known to have the highest concentration of gang activity in the entire city. Fr. Boyle said, “I started burying many gang members… I just had to do something” for the gang members and parolees who wanted a way out of the hood — and back in to the working world. Finding jobs for parolees wasn’t easy, so he decided to create jobs, training, placement services — AND hire them.

As you see in our GIG video, Homeboy Industries needs $5 million to get through the next six months. Father Boyle said, due to the bad economy, grants and donations dwindled, so they need the money to bridge the gap.

I am so inspired by Fr. Boyle and Homeboy Industries’ story of compassion and hope. As I sign off, I think of two of my favorite quotes:

“Now you know, so you can’t pretend you don’t.” -Oprah Winfrey

“If you judge people, you don’t have time to love them.” -Mother Teresa

My challenge to you — “What can YOU do?”

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You can find out more about Toan Lam at http://www.goinspirego.com. Click on the YouTube link and check out the stories his team created, and videos created by viewers.

Contact Toan at: info@goinspirego.com

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