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May 6, 2013 by Kat

Be part of a Positive Cycle

Have you ever been swept into a positive cycle? One good thing happens, then another, and another… the positive energy flows. We often get bogged down in negative energy cycles, but the positive ones are the best. How would you like to participate in one? I have a way you can insert yourself. You have the opportunity to help inspire others and to fuel your creativity too. Here’s the cycle you can join…

Step 1 of the cycle: My friend, Toan Lam, founded Go Inspire Go. Toan is a former news reporter who was tired of dwelling on the bad news. He created Go Inspire Go to help tell inspiring stories of people using their power to help others. How awesome is that?

Step 2: I met Toan when he interviewed me for a Tea with Toan segment on the Photo-Heart Connection for his blog over a year ago. We clicked and have become friends, meeting in person when I visited San Francisco and chatting on Skype when we get a chance. (Not nearly often enough!)

Step 3: Toan and Go Inspire Go just launched the 50-50 Campaign. Their goal is to raise $50,000 to uncover and tell 50 inspiring stories from 50 US states. They want to spread the positive message! You can visit here to read more about the campaign and meet Toan in the video explaining what he wants to do. It’s worth the watch!

Step 4: Pay close attention – Here’s where you come into the cycle! Donate to the 50-50 campaign and help Toan and his crew of volunteers bring the 50 inspiring stories to life. Whatever they raise, they will use to tell as many inspiring stories as they can. Donate what you can, it doesn’t matter if it’s a little or a lot. Every little bit will help!

Step 5: Receive my one week eCourse, Fuel Your Creativity, as a perk for any donation over $5. This is me sharing my power to help others – showing that each of us can bring the positive energy of creativity into our daily lives. It was always my plan to make Fuel Your Creativity an on-demand eCourse, and it will be available for regular registration on my site after June 3. Until then, the only way to get this creative boost earlier is to donate to the Go Inspire Go 50-50 campaign.

Step 6: Do the exercises in the Fuel Your Creativity course. Feel a boost of energy. Find more happiness in your daily life as you become more aware of your surroundings. Find joy in creating, whatever your medium.

Step 7: Share that joy and happiness you find through your creativity with everyone you come in contact with! The good that comes from creativity is contagious. This is your power to pass on. Who knows what else your positive energy will lead you to?

GIG-FYC-Featured-Image copy

There you have it. The cycle of positive energy, started by Toan wanting to share inspiring news instead of bad, continues — out from you. Each of us who touches the cycle transforms it a little bit. We all have a slightly different power to help others, and that’s a beautiful thing. The cycle spirals out in every direction! I love that I can use my unique power to help Go Inspire Go’s mission. What’s your power? You can help too!

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: Fuel Your Creativity, go inspire go, Toan Lam

May 3, 2012 by Kat

A True Photo-Heart Connection

Meet Toan Lam. Founder of Go Inspire Go and writer for the Huffington Post and Intent.com, Toan and I first met in an online interview for Tea with Toan several months ago. We felt an instant connection as we chatted, discovering we have very similar philosophies. We both believe individuals have the power to make the world a better place; you only have to recognize your power and tap into it. Find your passion and act on it.

Toan interacting with San Francisco street art

When we discovered I was heading to San Francisco, his town, we made plans to meet up in person. Toan and I, along with his friend Erin, spent a morning together during my visit. We wandered the streets and they showed me their city. They took me on my first visit to Chinatown, where Toan introduced me to Boba Tea.

Colors and Textures of Chinatown

We hunted for interesting street art, and Erin led us to a famous piece by Banksy.

Up close and personal with Banksy street art, protected by plexiglass.

We checked out the view from Toan’s apartment, seeing his incredible view.

Toan and Erin, with Toan's incredible view

We climbed the hill to the Coit Tower, sharing a peaceful moment looking out over the Bay Bridge. They experienced my obsession with scooter sightings, as I stopped to photograph every scooter along the way.

Scooter Sighting: San Francisco

Running through our fun trek around the city was a serious conversation on inspiration, life, and doing what we love to do. For Toan, that love is sharing people’s stories and helping others to use their powers – resources, talents, network – to help others. Toan’s background is TV journalism and through Go Inspire Go he provides a multimedia platform to tell the stories of “regular people” who are making a difference in small or big ways. For me, that love is helping others find a connection to heart and soul through photography. We both feel immense gratitude for having discovered something that we feel called to do. Our lives are better for it.

Words to live by

But we also talked about the difficulty that comes along with following a path that is not mainstream. When you are building something completely new, there is no map. You can only follow your heart. Sometimes there can be a struggle with the idea of making a business out of a passion, because when you love and believe in something so much, you want everyone to have a piece of it. It is so valuable, you want to give it all away. This is the opposite of the business world, which is all about selling, monetizing and commercializing.

End Commercial? I see a mixed message.

We talked of how to find a balance between the two, and the examples we see around us of people doing it every day. The key is simple: Know your heart, follow your heart and trust that it will carry you in the right direction.

We found our heart...

Putting that key to use is not always simple, but it’s easier when you have the inspiration of people like Toan to help you along the way.

My morning with Toan reminded me of my own passion, my own power. His energy, enthusiasm and belief in the connection with the heart to inspire change is contagious. I came away reconnected and inspired to do what I am here to do.

Our morning together was wonderful. We walked. We talked. We photographed.

And found a true photo-heart connection in the streets of San Francisco.

Learn more of Toan’s story and see his post inspired by our morning together on the Go Inspire Go blog today.

Filed Under: The Kat Eye View of the World Tagged With: California, chinatown, color, graffiti, heart, San Francisco, scooter sighting, sign, Toan Lam, words

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