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Revive the Dream: Session 6 with OneGoal and Sarah Berghorst

Just a few hours ago, I hosted the March session for the Revive the Dream Program.  The RTD program fellows were lucky to spend the evening with Sarah Berghorst, Executive Director of OneGoal in Chicago.  The topic of the evening was college persistence, particularly in Chicago.

We kicked off the session discussing how we would be placing the Fellows next year before Sarah got to the room.  To prep for that discussion, I sent a few articles to the group in advance of the session, including these below discussing college persistence and OneGoal’s most recent success.

Article 1: Chicago Tribune 
Article 2: The Atlantic 

Sarah came in right as we finished up.  And she led the discussion for the next 90 minutes.

The discussion around college persistence among low income students is always a good one.  The discussion tends to go something like this.  On the positive side, going to college is an extremely important option for low income students.  Historically, going to college has been the best way to change the trajectory of the lives of first generation students.  It gives students access to things they’ve never seen before.   It prepares students to succeed professionally and live a more fulfilling life.  And it provides them with a more legitimate chance to compete in our ever changing but ever more unequal economy.

On the other hand, many people think that this is easier said than done. That low income students facing larger hurdles when trying to get to college. That money may be better spent in early education if you want to maximize the statistical impact. And that the value of college is changing; that a college degree is no longer a clear predictor of success.  These are all tough questions; but also questions that Sarah fielded and the fellows discussed.

Thanks to people like Sarah and my friend Jeff Nelson (founder of OneGoal) who are working on these issues not just in Chicago but beyond Chicago as well.  And thanks again for supporting the RTD program.

As a side note, please consider attending OneGoal’s Gala on May 6, 2014.  I plan to be there.

Yoga, Gratitude and the Lottery

One of my heroes (and former colleague last summer) Seth Godin once told a story about the importance of being grateful. The story reminded me a lot of the Yama, Aparigraha, which is being grateful for what we have. The story went something like this.

There are more than 5 Billion people in the world. Now, imagine each one of them participates in a mandatory lottery. Imagine that printed on each ticket were the circumstances that would dictate the rest of each person’s life. And imagine these were the numbers on the ticket:

• Race
• Sex
• Birthplace
• Government
• Parent names, income and jobs
• IQ (normal distribution)
• Weight, height, hair color, etc.
• Personality traits
• Health risks

First, if you are reading this blog post online right now, it’s likely that you had a pretty good ticket.

Further, if you practice yoga at a studio here in the US, the same thing is probably true.

But if you think about the entire world, the probability of you drawing a “good” ticket would seem improbable. The chance of you being born in a city US, with an average IQ, normal income, good health, good parents is 1 in a billion. Let alone having internet, attending college and belonging to a yoga studio.

When you look at it this way, practicing gratitude becomes way more obvious. And while it isn’t something I’m always good at, it has proven me to be one of the most extraordinary ways of living a better life. Helping me to not just be content but also to be more generous to everyone around me.

So I am going to dedicate the next part of the 100 days to being grateful. And I hope a few others will join me. Let us spread gratitude for the generous ticket we’ve been offered. Let us be grateful for the time and space to practice yoga. And let our light shine so others can do the same.

Namaste!