Salesforce.com Sponsored Event for High School Students

Posted inPhilanthropyLeave a comment on Salesforce.com Sponsored Event for High School Students

In my involvement with the BizWorld Foundation California Advisory Board, I met today with the Suzanne DiBianca, the executive director of the Salesforce.com Foundation at the Salesforce.com offices. My friend Marc Benioff is the CEO of Salesforce and has made the Foundation integral in the company – I’m a big fan of his vision of integrated philanthropy in businesses.

Along with the director of BizWorld, a Salesforce employee, a couple Salesforce interns, and a fellow board member, we kicked off the planning for the summer BizWorld S-Academy – a multi-day event for high school students in the Bay Area to learn about business and sales & marketing with the salesforce.com application as the tool of choice.

We are looking for two high school age girls in the San Francisco area to be on a youth advisory board for this event. Please email me if you know some girls who could be interested in this community service project.

Comment

Core Values

Posted inPhilanthropy5 Comments on Core Values

After giving some thought to the issue, I have realized that the four core values of the Ben Casnocha of today (I’m sure they’ll change as I get older) are:

1. Excellence – For things and people I care about, I will give nothing less than 100% effort. I want to strive for excellence in every aspect of my life and hold a higher standard than most of my peers. I will never get on the treadmill of mediocrity.

2. Health – I will feed my body, feed my mind, and feed by soul. Staying in good health (physically and otherwise) is a commitment I will uphold. If I feel like my physical or mental health is ever being compromised, I will seek help. Happiness is founded on good health.

3. Humor – This is a weird one. Most people wouldn’t think of “humor” as a core value. But it is for me. In our finite amount of time on this planet, the chemicals released during a laugh are among the most pleasurable. Committing myself to finding humor in the mundane and infusing humor into my work and life is a priority.

4. Knowledge – I believe the hero’s journey is premised on the spirited pursuit of knowledge. I want to acquire knowledge – not through filling my head with facts – but through passionate interactions with people and the reading of books. A close corollary to this is the constant asking of questions (think Socrates).

Lofty values like “integrity,” “generosity,” and “friendship” crossed my mind but I didn’t feel like they are core. What are your CORE values?

Comment

Do Not Prolong My Life

Posted inCurrent AffairsLeave a comment on Do Not Prolong My Life

Let this be the official word:

If I am unable to make or communicate decisions regarding my health care, and IF (i) I have an incurable or irreversible condition that will result in my death within a relatively short time, OR (ii) I become unconscious and, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, I will not regain consciousness, OR (iii) the likely risks and burdens of treatment would outweigh the expected benefits, THEN I direct that my health-care providers and others involved in my care prolong my life as long as possible within the limits of generally accepted health-care standards until ANY member of my immediate family decides that the medical treatment costs would outweigh the expected benefits. I direct that the best medical care possible to keep me clean, comfortable and free of pain or discomfort be provided at all times so that my dignity is maintained, even if this care hastens my death.

Link: All Law – Forms – Wills and Trusts – Power of Attorney for Health Care.

Comment

"I'm Going to Break Ben Out of His Shell"

Posted inSchool / Education5 Comments on "I'm Going to Break Ben Out of His Shell"

A friend told me a minute ago, “[Redacted] told me that she’s going to break you out of your fucking shell this summer.” I get this a lot. I don’t have time to build social relationships with a lot of people at school. Instead, I’ve surrounded myself with a small group of guys who I trust and enjoy and for everyone else my relationship is very surface. One particular jarring incident this year is when I told someone flatly, “I am not going to commit to building a friendship with you.” Insensitive? Probably. But what my high school peers don’t realize is that building a relationship takes significant time and effort and I’d rather be upfront. I find a lot of value in my social relationships at school – but not enough to divert more time from my other endeavors just to climb the social ladder.

The downside to this is that I have a reputation to a lot of people for being…mysterious, unaccessible, or unemotional. This doesn’t bother me; in fact, it makes me laugh, because I don’t care what they think.

Comment

The Education or Diploma?

Posted inCollege Process3 Comments on The Education or Diploma?

In a not-too-enlightening review in the NYTBook Review today, there is a provocative question at the end:

In ”Harvard Rules,” Bradley describes the case of Joe Green, an undergraduate disillusioned by his experience as a student representative on the committee evaluating the Core Curriculum. ”Green kept thinking about a question one of his professors had put to him: ‘If you could either go here and get no diploma, or not go here and get the diploma, what would you do?‘ ” Bradley writes. ”It bothered Green that he couldn’t easily answer the question.” It should bother the president of Harvard, too. The answer, in the end, is the difference between a great university and a brand name.

Comment