Steven Curtis Chapman get nomination for Beliefnet's Most Inspiring Person of the Year

Nominations were announced yesterday for Beliefnet's 8th Annual Most Inspiring Person of the Year Award, and on the list is Christian music icon Steven Curtis Chapman.

The nomination is an annual recognition by Beliefnet readers and editors of noteworthy humanitarian actions that inspire and encourage us all to live better lives. The Most Inspiring Person of the Year Award is bestowed upon someone who has risen above expectations. He or she may have countered stereotypes and demonstrated courage, forgiveness, self-sacrifice or love under difficult and challenging circumstances.

Voting began yesterday; readers can vote once a day through December 5th.

Chapman and his family suffered a tragic loss this past May when their youngest adopted daughter, Maria, was accidentally run over in the family's driveway by their oldest son, Will.

In the midst of their obvious grief, the family responded with characteristic faith and grace, taking the opportunity to speak publicly about God, Christ and their faith on shows like "Larry King Live" and "Good Morning America" and in a feature story in People magazine.

The family encouraged concerned fans to make donations to Shaohannah's Hope, the organization the Chapman's found to give financial assistance to families wanting to adopt children. More than half a million dollars was donated to the organization.

Beliefnet nominated Chapman for "His courage in the face of personal loss balanced by a reliance on God serves as a model for millions of people around the world. Chapman is a tireless advocate for underprivileged children and Christian relief."

The other nominees include:

Greensburg, Kansas Superintendent of Schools Darin Headrick, who spearheaded efforts to get the school up and running immediately in the wake of a tornado that destroyed 95% of the town. "His environmentally-friendly 'Green' schools gave students and families hope and a reason to stay and grow with the new community they pledged to build."

Olympic medalist Dara Torres, who at age 41 took home three silver medals, for "her instinctive and selfless gesture to help a competitor that stopped the clock seconds before race."

Actress Christina Applegate, crusader for breast cancer awareness who, as a breast cancer survivor herself, "continues to inspire and motivate others to join the fight against this deadly disease."

Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, the doctor who spent her life studying the human brain only to suffer a massive stroke herself. "As she watched her own brain deteriorate she reached a profound level of spirituality that eventually inspired her to change the course of her life and share new knowledge with the world."

Sudanese Dr. Halima Bashir, whose memoir relates her story of brutal punishment "for medically treating the injured and then declaiming the rape and torture of young girls who are being traumatized by government-backed rapists in Darfur. Her breathtaking life story and passionate commitment to speaking out against violence on behalf of those who cannot fight for themselves has inspired millions."

Master Sgt. William "Spanky" Gibsonm the 19-year-old Marine who returned to battle with aprosthetic leg after after doctors amputated his leg above the knee as a result of a combat injury. "Master Sgt. Gibson refused whole-heartedly to think of himself as disabled. 'Born to be a Marine,' Gibson retrained with gusto and returned to battle."

"Last Lecture" professor Randy Pausch, "who recently passed away after a brave journey through pancreatic cancer showed the importance of living each day well--even when facing death--and to never give up on your dreams."

Academy Award Winner and generous humanitarian, Paul Newman, whose "Hole in the Wall Gang Camps for seriously ill children give hundreds of thousands of kids an opportunity to laugh, play and enjoy the fresh air, green grass and sunshine."

The dozens of Nebraska and Iowa Boy Scouts who, while attending a weeklong leadership training session, "rallied into action without missing a beat when a devastating tornado ripped through their remote western Iowa campsite. Courageously, the boys overcame fear and panic to rescue their friends and community members and assist the injured."

For complete profiles and to cast your daily vote, visit Beliefnet.com. Remember, voting ends December 5. Beliefnet's Most Inspiring Person for 2008 will be announced on December 10th.

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Passerby rescuer climbs into wrecked truck amid live power lines

Chris Garcia risked his own life last night to help a driver who crashed into a utility pole on Quadra Street, knocking out power to 1,100 customers in downtown Victoria.

"I was walking down Pandora Avenue when I heard a crash and saw a flash, like lightning," the Victoria resident said. "I ran back and saw the crash. But everyone was staying pretty far away from it."

With live wires dangling overhead, Garcia climbed into the damaged pickup truck to check on the driver's condition.

A B.C. Hydro worker works at the scene of a crash yesterday in which a vehicle toppled a utility pole at Quadra Street and Pandora Avenue. The driver of the vehicle was taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries, police said.

"I was scared he was in there bleeding to death," said Garcia. "He was in the middle of a seizure. He had hit his head because his hat was still stuck to the window. He wasn't bleeding and he was breathing."

Then Garcia noticed a woman, frozen with fear, standing beneath a live power line. He got out of the truck and tried to reach out to her.

"She jumped away. She was absolutely terrified. The truck had just missed her. She didn't want to move. So I grabbed her and pulled her out of the way and got somebody else to come and help her."

Garcia went back to the truck and held the driver until his seizure stopped. He comforted him until emergency crews were able to remove the driver from the damaged vehicle.

Garcia, who works as an asbestos remover, said he wasn't really thinking about any danger to himself.

"I just react," he said. "It's just something that I do. It's happened many, many times."
Garcia's girlfriend Amy Slimon, who was at the scene, said it's not the first time he's helped people.

"I've been going out with him for 10 years and I've come to the conclusion he's going to die helping people," said Slimon.

Victoria police Const. Mark Turner said the driver was heading north on Quadra at about 4:40 p.m. when he lost control, crossed the centre line and hit the pole.

"It was a very, very hazardous scene," said Turner. "We approached the scene with protocol and caution. We knew we had to stay behind the barriers. And the people in the vehicle were safe as long as they stayed inside. They were instructed to stay in there."

After a B.C. Hydro crew neutralized the wires, emergency crews removed the driver, who was taken to Victoria General Hospital. "He was able to talk and give us a thumbnail sketch of what transpired," said Turner. "He'll be checked out at the hospital. It does not appear to be life-threatening."

The emergency lights of firetrucks and police vehicles lit up the darkened streets while Quadra was blocked to pedestrian and vehicle traffic between Johnson Street and Pandora. Pandora was also blocked off from Vancouver Street to Blanshard Street.

Ted Olynyk, B.C. Hydro manager of community relations for Vancouver Island, said power was restored to most customers within the first hour. Businesses and homes, in closer proximity to the accident, were expected to be dark for about five hours.

ldickson@tc.canwest.com
© Times Colonist (Victoria) 2008

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Uplifting Attitude Aids Marketing, Makes Sales

Anup Gupta of SCORE tells the Ohio Beacon Journal it's all about attitude:

Offer clients products and services that can boost efficiency, cut expenses, deliver value
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The media and naysayers constantly underscore today's tough economic times. As an optimist, however, I always look at the brighter side of issues.

Being in the business of helping clients with their marketing, I am regularly asked, ''How should a business owner approach marketing in this downturn?''

Here are some suggestions:

• Market consistently.

The renowned management guru and author of In Search of Excellence, Tom Peters, says, ''Now is the time to turn up the heat, not down.'' There is a lot of truth to that advice. Depending on your marketing budget, now is not the time to cut back on marketing and sales efforts.

Keeping your name and face in front of clients and prospects in good and bad times will ultimately pay dividends.

Differentiate your business from the competition. Offer solid reasons why yours is the company with which to do business.

• Be results oriented.

When times are tough and your clients are experiencing declining revenues and profits, it is only natural they are being careful with spending. Offer solutions that can be substantiated and add to the bottom line.

How? Offer products and services that help cut costs and increase efficiency, saving time and money. Enhance brand awareness to increase business. Apply the creative juices to come up with various ways to deliver value.

• Keep in touch with existing customers.

''I don't want to hear someone beat us to the marketplace because we didn't get out of the building,'' said Frank Hauk, EMC Corp. executive.

Visit clients regularly. Let them know how much you appreciate their business. Find out ways you could be of more assistance. Add value, whether it is by better service, creative financing, warehousing, improved packaging, etc.

Strengthen and a create a long-term, mutually advantageous business relationship.

• Think positively.

Norman Vincent Peale inspired generations with his Power of Positive Thinking best-seller. This is a powerful motivator — maybe the most important characteristic of all — to meet today's economic challenges.

If you buy into negativity, clients can sense it and delay or eliminate purchases.

Change your mind-set. Instill confidence, not concern. Your demeanor should be uplifting. It is vital to consummating sales in today's market.
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Anup Gupta is affiliated with the Akron chapter of SCORE. If you would like more information on this or other business-related subjects, contact Akron SCORE via the Internet at http://akronscore.org or by calling 330-379-3163. Services are free and confidential. SCORE is a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

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A Festival That Aims To Uplift Audiences

Gloom, begone. The Sydney Herald reports that uplifting themes are at the heart of this little film festival that could.

AT A time when the world is hurtling towards a recession, flanked by doomy predictions about global warming and terrorism, people are still paying good money to go to the movies to be scared, angry and depressed. For Toni Powell, this just didn't make sense.

The amateur filmmaker from Gympie, in rural Queensland, was tired of cinema that focused on the darkest aspects of human nature, especially after she toured festivals with one of her own short films.

"When I went to festivals I thought: 'This feels like it was programmed by a 22-year-old guy with a sadistic streak,' " Powell says. "I would have to sit through a whole pile of other shorts which left me feeling assaulted."

So in 2006 Powell did what anyone who lived in a small town and had no experience in the festival industry would do: she started a festival of her own.

Powell is now the director of the highly successful Heart Of Gold International Film Festival. All the films at the yearly event in her town - attended by more than 5000 people - are chosen because they intrigue, inspire and uplift their audience.

The festival is now going on tour around Australia for the first time and will come to Sydney next week, where Powell hopes it can alleviate some of the city's cynicism.

"People are so over being depressed and that's the attraction," she says. "They're sick of living in fear and they want a change. Movies change people."

The films that will screen in Sydney from next Wednesday are a selection of the best movies from the past two years: a mix of dramas, comedies and animations from the world over, from local productions to Oscar-nominated foreign shorts.

The films have been divided into three programs, each of nine to 12 films that will screen throughout the week.

Included in the second program is Mavis, a short documentary by Sydney filmmaker Loosie Craig. It's about a 90-year-old grandmother who sabotages her entries into a yearly doll competition after she finds out the winner can't keep their winning entry. By sewing on buttons backwards, she can enter without winning and keep her precious dolls.

"I just really love the fact that she totally thinks she screwed them," Craig says of her subject. "Just that little cheeky revenge factor that was in the story."

From the beginning, Powell devised a selection process for the films to ensure they would appeal to a broad audience.

"I literally went down the street to an art gallery, a library and various other places and got a group of people aged 14 to 80 who agreed to meet every week," she says.

The festival has earned some high-profile support. Actor Tony Barry, playwright David Williamson and At The Movies critic Margaret Pomeranz are among the industry heavyweights who have got behind the little festival that could.

Pomeranz sat on the judging panel last year. "It's about films that are really affirming of the human spirit in a variety of ways but they're not cloying films," she says.

Powell is confident Heart Of Gold will have as big an impact on a festival-weary Sydney audience as it did in rural Queensland.

"It's hard to talk about this festival without it sounding sweet but it isn't sweet, it's complex and nourishing," Powell says. "It's just like going out to a top-class organic restaurant compared to McDonald's."

The Heart of Gold International Film festival at Cinema Paris, Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park, opens on Wednesday ($30, including wine and nibblies) and runs until November 25; $17/$12/$10 for each set program of nine to 12 short films.

Gold index: Four of the best

Binta And The Great Idea: This film about a young girl in Senegal sharing her father's idea for changing the world was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film last year. In program two.

Ruby Who?: A children's film from Australian director Hailey Bartholomew about a girl who spends her time trying to imagine she's someone else. In program three.

Bloody Footy: George Kapiniaris stars in this Australian film about an Italian son who defies his father to play Australian rules instead of football. In program one.

Agricultural Report: An animated comedy from Ireland concerning a cow that becomes distressed after hearing about a bovine disease on the radio. In program three.

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A Guide to Personal Transformation

Dallas, Texas - October 22, 2008 - Annette Colby, PhD, Intuitive Growth Expert debuts her new audio book, 'Confidence To Love Your Life.'

'An amazing story that will guide you to a dramatic personal transformation- 'For anyone with a dream to achieve, a challenge to overcome, or an obstacle to surpass- The new audio book, 'Confidence To Love Your Life,' is geared help those struggling with issues of self-doubt and low confidence. 'It is written to provide both an understanding of how to gain genuine core confidence and also offers remedies to build solid self-reliance - both commodities often non-existent during times of tumultuous change.

In 'Confidence To Love Your Life,' Colby begins with an inspirational tale that entertains and reveals to the listener how to leave their comfort zone, shatter self-doubt, and give birth to a more confident self.

In this enlightening story, three friends risk leaving the comfort of their homeland to reach a goal, win the gold, and live the promised happy life. All believe that reaching their goal will make them successful and self-assured. They begin their journey with visions of greatness, expecting a quick and easy outcome- - until an unforeseen challenge appears. Each must face paralyzing fear, emotional turmoil, worry and lame excuses, and feeling victimized by life before gaining the ability to rise up and step into each moment with confidence.

Their journey to reach a goal is a metaphor for what we want to achieve in life - whether it is money, health, weight loss, overcoming addiction, moving beyond depression, or attaining spiritual peace of mind. The 'gold' is where we routinely look for the happiness we want - the end of the goal.

Eventually, one of the characters, Aryan, discovers how to deal with the challenges successfully and experiences a dramatic personal transformation. He discovers exactly how to overcome the roots of fear, self-criticism, and his lack of confidence.

As the listener travels along with the other two characters, he or she will immediately recognize that how they typically handle fear, stress, and setbacks actually keeps them trapped in a destructive cycle of doubt and undesirable habits.

As a special bonus, Colby offers an empowering 9-step confidence building session that will help the reader stay self-assured and confident to reach their highest goals. In this bonus section entitled, 'Casting Off Self-Doubt and Developing Total Self-Confidence,' Colby provides an insightful process designed to reveal exactly how to develop inner core confidence, easily move beyond obstacles, and gain irresistible, effective self-leadership to reach success.'

After years of watching people struggle with doubt, insecurity, and feeling worthless, it was my mission to write an audio book that got to the heart of what people can do, in practical terms, to believe in themselves and make proactive decisions,' Colby says. Throughout the self-help audio program, Colby provides plenty of encouragement, gently taking the listener by the hand and guiding them into deeper levels of unfaltering self-trust.

Dr. Annette Colby has more than 20 years as an Intuitive Growth Expert. Her visionary books, seminars, and private practice have helped thousands of people develop rock-solid self-confidence to create a life with passion and purpose.

She is the acclaimed author of the award winning book, 'Your Highest Potential: The New Psychology of Understanding and Working with Self' and 'Body Redesign: Goal Setting Secrets to a Thinner, Happier You.

For information: http://www.annettecolby.com/

Contact: info@AnnetteColby.com

Phone: 972.985.8750

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John Agno Helping Businesses Come From the Heart

Business Coach gets personal:

As a former corporate executive, business owner and recovering management consultant, Agno understands that in the business world, we don't speak much about the heart. Yet, since all businesses are ultimately people serving people, our life's work should come from the heart. Long after your products or services have been delivered, the feelings and knowledge shared during the business relationship remain.

Coach Agno believes that people need connection, belonging and meaningful contribution. They need to know that their life and work matter. Many people find that personal or career transformation is an excellent time to better understand their life purpose and direction. Coming from the heart makes sense in life and in business.

He holds the designation of Certified Executive Coach (CEC) by the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (the highest designation available to business coaches) and is a Certified Business Coach (CBC) by the International Consortia of Business Coaches.

A past member of the International Coach Federation (ICF), member of the National Association of Business Coaches and a founding member of CoachVille, he is also the founder of the Coach to Coach Network, a virtual community of over 1,300 personal and business coaches from around the world. He enjoys working with coaches, executives, professionals and management teams to help them flourish in their professional and personal lives.

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A Momentous Achievement in India's History

The Hindu, India's National Newspaper reports on success in space:

New Delhi: Political leaders on Friday hailed Chandrayaan-1’s landing of probe —with tricolour painted on its sides — on the Moon as an “inspirational and momentous” achievement for Indian space scientists to take the country to a leadership position in space exploration.

Applauding the milestone, the country’s first spaceman Rakesh Sharma said that compared to India, the feat was not achieved with a very high degree of success by other countries.

The former president, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, said the landing of the Moon Impact Probe on the lunar surface showed the Indian Space Research Organisation’s technological excellence and creative leadership.

Extending her congratulations to the entire team associated with Chandrayaan-1, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said: “This momentous achievement shall be etched in the history of India as a grateful tribute to our scientific community for its resolute efforts to take India to a global leadership position.”

“Today is a historic day for India,” Ms. Gandhi said.

The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, L.K. Advani, said: “Today is a truly historic day for India, a day to be recorded in golden letters.” — PTI

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