What is sad about this picture is that if you look at the reflection in the droplet, the world is upside down, and it looks as if the ant is trying, with its own might, to set it the right side up. No matter how hard it tries, it will never succeed. And no matter how monumental a task, no matter how futile it may seem, it will not stop trying. And neither should we.

The solution here, if we wanted to help this ant out, is not for us to help it roll the droplet, but for us to flip our world around.

* Image shared by Sherry Boyd through We Are Here To Inspire

These days, because I’m juggling a full time job, fatherhood and my book’s promotion, I barely have any free time at my disposal. At present, things aren’t going so hot for me on the financial front, and it will be a matter of time before my bank account loses its final comma. But Christmas is around the corner, so there should be an increase in sales for FUEL. That should help plug the hole.

Yesterday, I peered out the drenched window of my car and saw a family of four squished on a single motorcycle, each soaked to the bone. The children, Oreo-ed between their parents, were no older than 6. Like the outside of my car window, my eyes started to bead and stream.

I looked at my own life, and realized how privileged I was. Felt guilty actually, that I had more to give, but was choosing to keep it all to myself. I was saving up for a rainy day.

I looked out the window again.

“I doubt it’ll get any more rainy than this,” I said to myself.

Today, I’ve made up my mind to donate all of my book’s profits for the month of November and December to charity. Depending on where one purchases it, I make anywhere from 49 cents to $2.66 from the sale of a copy of FUEL. From that, a portion already goes to a kids’ charity I volunteer at in Malaysia. The balance will now go to the Mother Theresa Children’s Foundation.

Be the change you want to see in the world. Be that miracle for someone else. I hope you will join me in this effort.

Ways you can help:
1. Purchase FUEL online. All profits for Nov and Dec will be donated. www.amazon.com/Fuel-Jeremy-Chin/dp/145388615X
2. Help me spread the word. https://www.facebook.com/events/250175248373823

In other words, when you’ve burned all the charcoal, burn the bag that housed it.

I saw this graphic on someone’s Facebook wall the other day and decided to paste it on my own. On several fronts, the words really hit home.

Filtered to the core, you will find that this is the very principle upon which FUEL was built… a test of one’s ability to persevere on heart alone, after all your energy reserves have been depleted. “Is there more to burn?”

These fiery words, when superimposed on my own life, penetrate more deeply, maybe because not a day passes that my needle doesn’t dip below the E. It would be nice to only have to set yourself on fire in that one dénouement moment that requires a Fourth of July finish, but sadly, this “Hot Guy” stunt has become a routine thing for me. Each day is a struggle, to find new ground to stand on, and failing that, new vines to cling on to.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned on this journey, it is that hope is a renewable energy.