Ok, sorry, I haven't been posting because I've been Twitterin' and Tweetin'.  It's fun.

follow me.  #MattPerelstein

(wow, that's a cool statement, "follow me", for that means I have somewhere to take you…  And that I do… follow me… into the depths inside us.  our feelings, our heart, our passions and our soul.)

"No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true."

 - Nathaniel Hawthorne

"You cannot fake a relationship and feel right with yourself or anyone else. Changing yourself to fit what you think other people want doesn’t work. Pretending to be someone other than yourself only broadens the distance between the person you are and the one with whom you’re trying to establish closeness."

 - Mary Manin Morrissey

"Just as surely as distress must follow self-deceit, healing must follow self-honesty."

 - Vernon Howard

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."

 - Janis Joplin

Together, as Americans, let's create the emotional support network to teach the world that EQ > IQ. Will you help?

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.

Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself
to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

- Patanjali

that's it!
that's what I want to say to the world…

EQ > IQ !!

High IQ is cool.
High EQ is better.

Feelings are more important than thoughts.
Feelings are us.
Feelings can and will have more effect on our life.
We are our Feelings.

And we can actually Make ourselves Smarter about our feelings…
… that will effect us every second and every minute of every day.

they ain't that difficult or complicated.  (they can seem really Huge, when we don't understand ourselves, and what's happenin' inside us), but in reality, our Feelings are pretty simple, and easy to understand.  There's only about 10 of 'em to master.
They're simple and they can be fun (most things we do are Fun — in fact, that's the point!)

High IQ is great (if you were lucky enough to be born with it… I wasn't)
but High EQ is better.

High EQ I can do something about.
High EQ makes me Aware… and Alert… and Confident… and Sure.
and THAT's a wonderful feeling!

My EQ keeps me Passionate about life, gets me up in the morning, and late at night.
My EQ brings tons of Love and Joy into my life.
My EQ makes my life worth living.

With High EQ, I can succeed.  without it, I am clueless.
I can Make things happen, and I can Let things happen. 
(and the wisdom to know the difference)

I can be super Strong to push myself, and lead others, and I can be super Soft, and cry, and hold you as you release.

bottom line: I can control me, and I can control my life.

and above all, I can control my Attitude.

"Attitude is Everything"
 - Dr. Phil

so, yes, that's my point.

EQ > IQ.    period.

I would rather be aware than smart.

IQ is about knowing stuff outside of me.
EQ is about knowing Me.

T-shirts for us, not them.

I'd like to make "stuff" – T-shirts, cups, pens, etc – with some cool sayings we have.

• Feelings are Good!
• Guilt is Optional.
• Anger is second. What do you really feel?
• Don't Eat That, find something better.
• It's OK to have Boundaries.
• I am not a Control Freak.
• FEAR is Ok. Keep Going…
• This Too Shall Pass!
• Hang in there.  You're stronger than you think!

Our country is a mess.

People feel alone.
People feel afraid.
People feel powerless.

Suicide rates are up.
The economy is bad, and getting worse.
People are really hurting.

But, I believe we can do something about it.

In general, we Americans are fairly clueless about how to handle, and manage, our Feelings & Emotions, yet…

Emotional Intelligence is the #1 key to Happiness, Sanity and Success in Life!

No American Left Behind!

As Americans, we already Belong.
As Americans, we’re already on the same Team.
As Americans, we already have a duty to Help each other.

yet we don’t trust,
and we don’t even know How to Trust,
consciously, cautiously, yet powerfully.

and that makes us alone, and separate, and small.

and that’s what the terrorists want… terror.
and anxiety.
and fear.
and loathing.

Together, we are strong!

Let’s create a place where we are NOT alone!
Let’s create a place where we all work together to make OURSELVES as strong as we can be!
Let’s create the safest, most accessible, most loving Emotional Support Network ever created.

Let’s build a network of Americans. Connect those who need 2GetHelp with those willing and able 2GiveHelp.

Let’s make a place where we can call, or write, or chat, or email, WHENEVER we need to, 24x7x365.

Pain knows no hours.
Most suicides happen at night.
What if there’s a place where we’re never alone, ever again.

- Let’s design a place where people can have everything they need to feel, to heal, and to squeel! From personal reflections and journalling, to buddy lists and connecting with other members, to parties and outings to meet in real life,
- a place where we can be real, and let our gaurd down, and openly love other people (and ourselves).
- a place where we can get as much help as we need; from newbie listeners, to experienced counselors, to professional therapists, life coaches, and psychiatrists.

what do you need?
a friend to care
a kind, listening ear
a open, loving heart
or diagnosis and treatment for a disorder

Someone will be there, WHENever they’re needed and WHEREver they’re needed:
- On-Line
- By-Phone
- In-Person (where possible)

In-Person
The 2GetHelp Wellness Center already offers individual and group psychotherapy, trainings, and classes. We’re expanding to add massage therapy, a nutritionist, and soon, a chiropractor. This first center will serve as a pilot, the franchise model for a nationwide network of centers, providing a safe, effective, therapeutic environment for those in need. The Center is currently self-sustaining, and it will be designed to be both profitable and reproducible.

On-Line
Next, we’ll design and build 2GetHelp,com, the core of the on-line offerings. 2GetHelp will be a portal to network together the diverse needs of those in pain, with resources, personal journalling and blogging, ability to connect with fellow members and professional caregivers, volunteer opportunities
training
guidance
belonging
hope
encouragement
togetherness
education
skills
personal power
strength
acceptance
freedom
serenity

2GiveHelp.com will offer:
networking
clients
financial freedom
togetherness
direction
belonging
making a difference
empowerment
success

By-Phone
We’ll build the most complete global network of counselors, coaches and therapists ever assembled. Available to those in need 24x7x365. Some for free, pros charge a fee.

Please help us make this happen.

Let’s leave No American Left Behind!

10 Premises to Changing the World
1. Emotional Intelligence is the key to happiness, sanity and success in life. (EQ > IQ)
2. We all have 100% control over our choices in what we feel, and how we view the world.
3. It’s more fun if we do this life thing Together.
4. True emotional support is about being there for people, when and where they need it (24x7x365).
5. Everyone has something they can pitch in to help out.
6. Feelings and Emotions are a good thing, not a bad thing.
7. Every Behaviour is based on a Feeling (or 2 or 12).
8. Every Feeling is based on what things Mean to us or about us.
9. Personal Responsibility is a crucial ingredient.
10. Awareness is the first key to change. (Most of this EQ stuff is very simple, although it ain’t always easy.)

So, let’s design and build the most powerful, and effective, emotional support site ever created! One that covers all means of reaching people: On-line, In-Person and By-Phone.

On-Line
2GetHelp.com will be a very low cost, family-oriented membership site, offering a huge range of emotional training, guidance and support services for free, and more professional work for a fee.

2GiveHelp.com will be a networking site for both volunteers and pros to offer their services for those in need on 2GetHelp.com.

2SellHelp.com will be a place where affiliate and network marketers can make money by introducing their folks to our support network.

In-Person
2GetHelp Wellness Centers will be a nationwide chain/franchise of in-person, brick-and-mortar mental health and wellness facilities offering person-to-person therapy, coaching, massage, nutrition, chiropractic, and other body/mind/heart-based services.

2GetHelp Training Centers will include classes and workshops, as well as a computer lab available for people to get on-line to our other sites.

By-Phone
2GetHelp Call Centers will have 24×7 telephone support, including therapy, coaching, guidance, emergency services, and general TLC for whoever needs it, again both free and for a fee. Therapy laws are setup per state, so we’ll probably need at least one Call center per state.

What we need to make this happen, soon… I am getting ready to take another computer consulting job, in another town, for the next 6 months. If I do that, this whole project will be put on hold for some time.

Therefore, I need our non-profit to be able to hire me to create, design and oversee the building of this site, with some funds available to hire outside contractors, get a phone & computer network network in place, and purchase software and equipment to make this all happen. Initial expenses will include: salaries, project & content design, web and office build-out, shopping cart/membership site setup (including affiliate tracking tools, integrated learning environment (ILE), etc.

Here’s the plan:
a. research the concept
b. create the design
c. build the network
d. try it, test it, and tweak it
e. make a big splash: rollout and ramp-up
f. teach the world about EI: kickin’ butt from here on…

To do it right, it will take $250-$333K for the next 6 months. Then, around April 2009, we’ll need another influx of $3.0M in capital to get us off and running. After that, we will be able to survive and grow using internally-generated funds from operations. That’s the top… $3.3Million. (I have a 3.3 club for people who have joined me in my pledge to personally earn $3.3m, together, then we give the rest away.)

I will be applying to foundations, and for grants, but it’s getting late, and the need is INCREASING daily, with all the uncertainty in the economy and threats from abroad.

Write to me if you have ideas on how we can pull this off, together.
Thanks much.
- Matt

“Character isn’t inherited. One builds it daily by the way one thinks and acts, thought by thought, action by action. If one lets fear or hate or anger take possession of the mind, they become self-forged chains.”

- Helen Douglas

“Too often we underestimate how quickly our feelings are going to change because we underestimate our ability to change them.”

- David Gilbert

Attain new levels of self-acceptance and personal responsibility!

Aspire to inspire before you expire.

“We cannot rise higher than our thought of ourselves.”

- Orison Swett Marden

“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”

- e. e. cummings

If we don’t believe in ourselves, chances are no one else is going to, either. You first.