USA TODAY – Claire Lomas was the last of 36,000 competitors to finish the London Marathon — 16 days after it ended. And that was an astonishing first.Paralyzed from the chest down by a 2007 horse-riding accident, the 32-year-old Lomas used computer-assisted robotic legs to walk the 26.2 miles, crossing the finish line today to cheers from hundreds of supporters.

“It’s a moment I am going to treasure for the rest of my life,” Lomas told the BBC.

She was joined by her husband, Dan Spicer, who walked behind her in case she lost her balance. She was also joined for most of the route by her parents and 1-year-old daughter. Lomas averaged 2 miles a day. Her mother, Joyce, said she scrupulously followed the marathon map.

“We haven’t cheated even once,” she said.

Lomas, who raised more than $125,000 for paralysis research, completed her feat wearing the ReWalk suit, which was developed by Israeli entrepreneur Amit Goffer.

ITV explains how the suit works.

Although Lomas did not receive an official medal for completing the race, 15 other participants (at last count) had donated their medals.

Just in case you needed a little extra motivation today. “Don’t give up, Don’t ever give up”

In 2001, Barbara Corcoran sold her real estate business, The Corcoran Group, for 66 million dollars.  But her road to success was not an easy one.  While working as a waitress at a diner, she met the man who would eventually be her husband, who she would eventually start a real estate business with, and who would eventually leave her for their secretary.  But even through her most trying times, Corcoran never gave up.  And when her husband left her while saying, “You’ll never succeed without me,” she used his words to fuel her ambition, instead of letting them knock her down.

Click here for videos from Corcoran’s motivational speeches (from Inc Magazine).  Her stories may help fuel your fire…

b Driven. b Passionate. b Positive

Great news: We’re growing!  What does this mean?  Well… WE WANT YOU.  The b Positive Project is now in full swing looking for talented individuals to join our team.  We have a number of opportunities available for those in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and surrounding New England states..  If you want to make money, meet great people, and do good for others, check it out:

Ambassador

b Positive Ambassadors will be spearheading and helping to expand our events division.  This is the BEST opportunity for someone looking not only to make real money, but to be an integral part of building the b Positive brand while we are still at a grassroots level.  This role will eventually lead you into running events on your own.  Great for those who like being in charge!  Interested applicants should have the following qualifications:

• Interest in charitable work
• Self-driven/motivated
• Able to work and drive projects solo
• Own a motor vehicle and possess a valid driver’s license
• Able to work a minimum of 4-5 weekend days each month and at early hours (some events require you to be on-site by 6:30 a.m.)
• Able to lift heavy items
• Reliable, dependent, and strong communicator

Assistants/Volunteers

b Positive Assistants and Volunteers are those who are looking to join our movement and help at events, but may not be able to commit as deeply as those in an Ambassador role.  Interested applicants must have the following qualifications:

• Thrive on personal interaction with others
• Able to work early on weekends
• Strong communicator and outgoing personality
• Own or have access to a motor vehicle and have a valid driver’s license
• Able to lift heavy items

If you are interested, please email a brief description of yourself and your resume to anna@bpositiveproject.com.  Good luck!

Join us on Saturday, May 5, 2012 as over 1,000 people will unite at Carson Beach to participate in the 11th Annual Boston Marine Corps Honor Run, afterwards head over to Alibi Bar for a Cinco de Mayo Party

The Marine Corps Honor Run 5K will offer:

• The fastest 5K course in Boston
• Scenic views from Carson Beach
• Product Sampling
• Event Warm-Up & Cool-Down
• Marine-Style Pull-Up Challenge
• Awards Ceremony with great prizes, and more!

The distinctive spirit of hundreds of military and law enforcement officers is pervasive throughout the day. Groups will be running in formation, local honor guards will be onsite, as well as Marine Corps Cadets to help warm your muscles up. Race participants will include active duty officers and veterans from all branches of the U.S. Military and local law enforcement groups. But don’t be fooled this event is for EVERYONE. We welcome beginner runners, walkers and elite athletes alike. All you need is your sneakers and patriotism!

The Honor Run is held in cooperation with the Semper Fi Society and the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation. Formed in 1995 by former Marines and law enforcement personnel, the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation has awarded over 40 million dollars in scholarships and bonds to children of Marine Corps and law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The Honor Run aims to raise awareness for this great work and to recognize the sacrifices of our nation’s men and women in uniform.

For more information visit webpage.

The world around us in full of inspiration and beauty, and all too often it goes unnoticed.  We get caught up in our daily activities and forget to take a moment and appreciate all of the simple joys that make our life amazing.

From a blooming flower, to the the wonders of urban development, Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg has spent a large portion of his career focusing on filming everyday objects to inspire us to reflect on the true joy of life.

This 10 minutes clip is well worth the reminder of all of the wonder that constantly surrounds us.  Take a few moments to enjoy.  We think you’ll be as glad to “re-discover life” as we were.  b Grateful. b Inspired. b Positive.

All too often we hold on to certain things that hold us back from being truly happy.  We may not even realize we’re doing it.  But taking a few minutes to think about the real causes of our unhappiness, gives us the power to change them.  Here are 15 things we think you can “give up” in order to make your life a little happier…

Purposefairy.com:

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.

“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

Cancer survivor Wendy McCoole’s message is one from which we can all learn. For most of her life she tried to be what everyone else wanted her to be. Ignoring her true self, she often morphed into other persona’s to please those around her. “It’s wasn’t until I reached the age of 40 that I was able to truly remove the chameleon in my life and be true to myself,” McCoole, now 50, said.

Looking back she said her poor self-esteem stemmed from her childhood. As a child she saw herself as chubby and plain. “I didn’t really have a sense of purpose,” McCoole said. “I would do whatever I needed to do to fit in” That negative attitude carried over into her adult life. She married and divorced twice. After her second failed marriage, she began some soul searching. “I made the decision to look deep within and try to understand who I was and what I wanted out of life,” McCoole said.

As her attitude shifted, she began to feel strong and empowered. Positive things started to happen. In 2002 McCoole met her husband Kevin online. The two married in October of 2003. Two months later she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 42. Instead of playing the victim, she relied on her renewed sense of self and found positive energy. She fought back. “Our first year of marriage was tested profoundly,” Mccoole said. “But the experience is one I would never give back because it brought me clarity and gratitude. It changed my life in a profound way.”

Wendy McCoole from Breast Cancer Stories.Org with Steve from b Positive Project

What got McCoole through was her attitude. “It is extremely important to have a positive attitude,” she said. After her personal experience with cancer, McCoole knew she wanted to give back. She wanted to help others in their struggle with breast cancer. In the summer of 2006, McCoole launched BreastCancerStories.org.

BreastCancerStories.org gives breast cancer patients and care-givers access to virtual hugs and support from family members, as well as support from people across the globe going through similar experiences.

“I understand first-hand how critical is it to the healing process, any healing process, to focus our energy in a positive manner,” McCoole said. While her own breast cancer story drove her to start the non-profit organization, McCoole’s true motivation was her mother. Her mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 42, the same age as her daughter. She fought cancer off and on for 34 years.

“She was a true advocate her entire life,” McCoole said. “Unfortunately she lost her fourth battle with breast cancer this past February. She was a founding member of our organization and my hero. “I miss her more than I can even express and I am more determined than even to continue our mission of helping breast cancer patients to stay on a path toward wellness.” It is McCoole’s family along with the knowledge that she is helping others that keeps her going.

“Knowing that I am able to help people through my work and my teachings… ‘giving’ is the best motivator there is,” she said. “Nothing feels better than saying, ‘here-take this gift’ and having the recipient’s life change because of that gift…even if it’s just for a moment. It makes me smile.”

While the thought of the cancer returning has entered her mind, she does not dwell on it. “It’s not living,” she said in regards to worrying. “At least not in a healthy and positive way.” McCoole’s personal motto has changed over the years, from negative to positive and everything in between.

There is one motto that resonates with her now. “Be yourself,” she said. “Everyone else is already taken.”

McCoole is a perfect example of how “b-ing positive” can make a difference.

For more information about Wendy and her organization visit Breast Cancer Stories.Org

The Strawberry Shortcake Road Race began in 1987 with the Plympton Senior High Youth Group. It was started as a means of earning money so the youth group could go on various field trips, including whitewater rafting, downhill skiing, and camping trips. The youth group also donated part of the money to the church, for lawn maintenance and other groundskeeping.

As the event grew a committee was formed under the leadership of race director Wes Chadbourne. The committee took care of all the publicizing and registration before the event. On the day of the event, the committee and the youth group worked together as a team. Youth group members were active in water stops, split times, registration, and finish line. To read more CLICK HERE

Date & Time of Start

and Registration Info

Saturday, May 19, 2012

10K Walk: 9:30 a.m. ($23 pre-registration, $25 day of walk)

2 mile fun run: 9:30 a.m. ($13 pre-registration, $15 day of race)

10K Race: 10:00 a.m. ($23 pre-registration, $25 day of race)

$52.00 Maximum fee for family (3+).

To REGISTER CLICK HERE

Author: Kelly Clinton

February had an extra day for us this month, but it seems to have flown by!

We would like to thank all our fans who purchased product from us as well as the following organizations: Evolve Fitness and Cambridge Athletic Club for welcoming the project into their amazing wellness centers in the month of February for our first b Fit Tour. The tour brought b Positive Project apparel into these gyms where we spread our positive message and at the same time raised funds for some amazing non-profits.

We would also like to thank Boston College Campus School, Run Against Cancer Events, Starlight Children’s Foundation, and Yoga Reaches Out, who all used the “b” to print their apparel and raise money in their communities.

“It was a great month—the movement is spreading like wildfire throughout various communities. I’m really excited for the upcoming months and really looking forward to connecting with even more businesses in the community and working together to continue to inspire others and make a positive difference for great causes,” said Steve Martin, creator and founder of the b Positive Project.

If your business, non-profit, or movement, no matter what the size, is looking to make a positive impact on the community, contact the b Positive Project and find out how your business can get more involved in the community.

For press inquiries or to find out how to get involved email Kelly@bpositiveproject.com