And The Good News Is...

And The Good News Is...: My 5 "Mandela Moments": How the Quintessential Dre... :   This post was published in the Huffington Post on December 20, 2013 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-hunt/  Last S...

  This post was published in the Huffington Post on December 20, 2013 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-hunt/  Last Sunday while attending a celebration in honor of Nelson Mandela's life I had an epiphany; Nelson Mandela deeply touched my spirit on five synchronistic moments that came at critical times in my life. His loving spirit, unwavering optimism, and remarkable courage inspired me to find light in some of my darkest moments. During these times I might have fallen victim to cynicism however, Mandela's example helped me to rise above my personal struggles and focus my energy on helping to create a better world. Mandela's life inspired me to continue to dream big and reinforced my core values of love, peace and the belief that the world can be changed. In short, Nelson Mandela helped shape my belief in DreamMakers. He also helped to confirm my commitment to being an unapologetic optimist. This way of being, thinking and working has brought me grea

Nelson Mandela, thank you for committing your life to love, freedom and justice. Mandela the man will be deeply missed, however his spirit has enveloped the world. I believe that even those who choose hate have been and will be affected by his love and compassion. I was honored to meet him when I served in President Clinton's Administration. He was a gracious man who resonated love! May we all find the courage to live our dreams and do our part to co-create a better world. 

(This post was published in the Huffington Post on November 21, 2013,  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-hunt/) Sustainable Dubuque: “The Masterpiece on the Mississippi” , that’s what the people of Dubuque affectionately have named their city, and they have every right and so many reasons to be proud of their community. I was recently invited to keynote the Growing Sustainable Communities Conference in Dubuque. My plan was to give my speech and spend a couple days learning about their sustainable “activities” and “programs”.  My condescending attitude was shattered within hours after I arrived. Cindy Steinhauser, the Assistant City Manager, picked me up at the airport and before taking me to my hotel she took me on a city tour.  I was tired and even a little annoyed because my trip was full of long lines, long delays and a bumpy flight, so all I wanted to do was check into my hotel and regroup. When Cindy began to weave the compelling story of Dubuque’s Sustainability journe

And The Good News Is...: DreamMakers: Innovating For Good : This was posted in the Huffington post on August 7, 2013 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-hunt/d...

This was posted in the Huffington post on August 7, 2013 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michele-hunt/dreammakers-innovating-fo_b_3716985.html My passion is to seek out and shine a light on people who found the courage to create big, bold visions and are transforming their visions into reality, to help make the world a better place. I call these people DreamMakers. They take on seemingly intractable problems like poverty, the degradation of the planet, global health, illiteracy, hate and prejudice… These visionaries are accomplishing extraordinary results in the face of tremendous obstacles.   I believe we learn best through stories, especially personal stories of challenge and triumph. I have interviewed numerous DreamMakers for my book series, documentary and my articles - it seemed like I was always talking to the same person. Although they are highly diverse and unique in their own way, they share some common chara

This Post was published in the Huffingtom Post on 07/22/2013 The Trayvon Martin tragic injustice has sparked a long overdue conversation in America. What is at the heart of racism in our country? Why is the fear so intense between the black and white communities? Why can't we find the courage to authentically talk about it? I am so proud of our president for calling on us to engage in thoughtful conversations in our homes, churches and communities across the nation. He is asking us to talk about why an innocent young black male has to fear for his life walking home, why he becomes a suspect when he enters a store, or feared when he steps into an elevator -- normal activates most of us take for granted. He is also asking us to go deeper, to get to the heart of the matter. I was very happy to hear the president talk about the need to understand the "context"; the background and circumstances that got us to this horrible place. Context matters, it gives us the framewor

And The Good News Is...: Thanks to the Internet, “We The People” Now Have t... : There are some people who choose the dark side of life, those who commit acts of terror and destruction as we recently witn...

There are some people who choose the dark side of life, those who commit acts of terror and destruction as we recently witnessed with the horrific Boston Marathon Bombings. Those who choose to hurt and abuse people and the planet remind us of what humans are capable of when they act out of fear and hate. They make it easy for us to forget that the vast majority of people in the world are good. We know this because of the tremendous outpouring of love and support people give one another in times of tragedies and heartaches. Compassionate, caring people far out number the bad ones - not by hundreds, thousands or even millions –- but by hundreds of millions. Most people want a life of love, peace and prosperity and yet throughout history the majority of people have been controlled by a small group of self-serving people. We were under the illusion that we were powerless to change things; that collective mind-set is dramatically changing. Empowered by Internet technolo

And The Good News Is...: Is it better to understand than to be understood? : (Posted in the Huffington Post on March 1, 2013)  My family and I were sitting around my mother’s dinning room table when this question ...

(Posted in the Huffington Post on March 1, 2013)  My family and I were sitting around my mother’s dinning room table when this question popped into my head. Having a very vocal family where everyone has strong opinions, I knew I was in for a hearty conversation. I was surprised however at how this simple question ignited a fascinating, deep hour-long conversation. I learned a lot, understood even more and by the end of the conversation I felt understood. What has happened since that discussion has been amazing. Every conversation I have had with the members of my family who participated in that dinner dialogue has been exponentially richer. We love each other deeply however we have a long history of talking over each other, each of us battling to be right. This has resulted in hurt feelings, feelings of not being understood and a lot of frustration. By engaging in the simple question - Is it better to understand than to be understood, we miraculously have shifted our focus from b

And The Good News Is...: Inspired by President Obama's Inaugural Address? : I was so inspired by President Obama's speech that I wanted to share my last article in the Huffington Post. I hope you enjoy! We are at ...

And The Good News Is...: The World Has Ended, As We Know It – Now What? : This was posted in the Huffington Post on December 21, 2012, I hope you enjoy! If you are reading this that means we are still here; and...

I was so inspired by President Obama's speech that I wanted to share my last article in the Huffington Post. I hope you enjoy! We are at the dawn of a new era. A dear friend of mine put it beautifully when he said “the past has relinquished its hold on our future”. So what are we going to do now? What am I going to do? What are you going to do? The time for hopelessness and helplessness is over. The future depends on us – me, you, all of us working together to transform our civilization from the painful, unnatural, conflict-filled, destructive world it has been for centuries into the hopeful, inclusive, loving sustainable, flourishing civilization it can be. It is time for us to put our highest aspirations to work to co-create a brave new world. We are the pioneers, explorers, and the inventors of our time. Our journey is like no others before us for there are no blueprints, maps, or precedents for us to follow. There are no experts, no great leaders, no hero’s to save us – th