Thursday, November 29, 2018

Faith in Action: Nadia Murad 2018 Nobel Peace Prize

“Our faith is in our actions. We welcome strangers into our homes, give money and food to those who have none, and sit with the body of a loved one before burial. Even being a good student, or kind to your spouse, is an act equal to prayer. Things that keep us alive and allow poor people to help others, like simple bread, are holy.” 
Nadia Murad  (winner 2018 Nobel Peace Prize)

I am in awe and tears after reading stories about what these women endured. To have the courage to stand up and speak out to the world about giving being an act of faith when everything is taken away from you ... Powerful!
It is a challenge to read Nadia Murad's story, here is a bbc report on the Nobel Prize award there are also youtube interviews you can easily find if you want to hear her voice. To see what she is doing 
check out these sites
https://nadiasinitiative.org/
http://www.onhershouldersfilm.com/
Her Book: The Last Girl: My story of captivity, and my fight against the Islamic State

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45759221

Nobel Peace Prize for anti-rape activists Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege

The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize has gone to campaigners against rape in warfare, Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege.
Ms Murad is an Iraqi Yazidi who was tortured and raped by Islamic State militants and later became the face of a campaign to free the Yazidi people.
Dr Mukwege is a Congolese gynaecologist who, along with his colleagues, has treated tens of thousands of victims.
Some 331 individuals and organisations were nominated for the prestigious peace award this year.
The winners announced in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Friday won the award for their "efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war", Berit Reiss-Andersen, the Nobel committee chair, said.
The pair both made a "crucial contribution to focusing attention on, and combating, such war crimes", Ms Reiss-Andersen added.

How have the winners reacted?

Ms Murad, 25, said in a statement that many Yazidis would "look upon this prize and think of family members that were lost, are still unaccounted for, and of the 1,300 women and children, which remain in captivity".
"For myself, I think of my mother, who was murdered by DAESH [IS], the children with whom I grew up, and what we must do to honour them," she added.
"Persecution of minorities must end. We must work together with determination - to prove that genocidal campaigns will not only fail, but lead to accountability for the perpetrators and justice for the survivors."
New Iraqi President Barham Saleh called the award "an honour for all Iraqis who fought terrorism and bigotry".
Dr Mukwege was operating at his hospital when he heard he had won the prize.
"I was in the operating room so when they started to make noise around [it] I wasn't really thinking about what was going on, and suddenly some people came in and told me the news," he told Norwegian newspaper VG.
He dedicated his award to all women affected by sexual violence.
"This Nobel prize is a recognition of the suffering and the failure to adequately compensate women who are victims of rape and sexual violence in all countries around the world," he told reporters gathered outside his clinic.

Who is Nadia Murad?

Ms Murad did not just lose her mother in the genocide. She endured three months as a sex slave at the hands of IS militants. She was bought and sold several times and subjected to sexual and physical abuse during her captivity.
After escaping, she became an activist for the Yazidi people, campaigning to help put an end to human trafficking and calling on the world to take a tougher line on rape as a weapon of war.
Ms Murad described her escape in a BBC interview in 2016, detailing how the women who were held captive were treated by IS.
She was awarded the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize by the Council of Europe in 2016 and called for an international court to judge crimes committed by IS in her acceptance speech in Strasbourg.
Ms Murad, the first Iraqi to win the award, was named the UN's first goodwill ambassador for survivors of human trafficking later that year.

Who is Denis Mukwege?

He has spent decades helping rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He and his colleagues are said to have treated about 30,000 rape victims, developing great expertise in the treatment of serious injuries sustained during sex assaults that were carried out as a weapon of war.
The 63-year-old has won a number of international prizes, including the 2008 UN Human Rights Prize, and was named African of the Year in 2009.
He lives under the permanent protection of UN peacekeepers at his hospital and has also previously called for a tougher line on rape as a weapon of war.
Presentational grey line

Denis Mukwege in his own words

It was in 1999 that our first rape victim was brought into the hospital. After being raped, bullets had been fired into her genitals and thighs.
I thought that was a barbaric act of war but the real shock came three months later. Forty-five women came to us with the same story, they were all saying: "People came into my village and raped me, tortured me."
Other women came to us with burns. They said that after they had been raped, chemicals had been poured on their genitals.
I started to ask myself what was going on. These weren't just violent acts of war, but part of a strategy. You had situations where multiple people were raped at the same time, publicly - a whole village might be raped during the night. In doing this, they hurt not just the victims but the whole community, which they force to watch.
The result of this strategy is that people are forced to flee their villages, abandon their fields, their resources, everything. It's very effective.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Arnold Schwarzenegger made his Vision happen so can I!

I woke up in the middle of the night on Sunday knowing that I had to write down the goals and visions I have for pear dehydrating or it would continue to drift with me working my butt off at a little hobby that  I would soon start to resent. Since I've already invested a lot of time and bought some equipment I don't want this to happen. I KNOW that it can do well as a business and I CAN make this happen. 
This is Tuesday morning and I wrote one short paragraph yesterday then got bogged down slicing pears, well Alex came to help me so that was fun! And then I woke up again last night thinking about the vision and writing it down and I remembered reading Arnold Schwarzenegger's Autobiography; Total Recall, and how he wrote down his goals and specific visions and then followed a disciplined path to get there. I also remember all of the coaching and courses on coaching that I've taken saying that you don't have to see the way when you start. Get the vision, believe it, start on the path any way you can and the way will appear step at a time. Yes so I'm here, got vision, got started, now drifting, not a focused action plan... there are steps but so many directions to go!! I'm doing the flit from one thing to another. Perhaps I have some reluctance to start the challenging work of getting off the farm and dealing with people and the bureaucracy and regulations that will take my simple vision into a quagmire of petty details that will make it difficult to move anywhere... (Perhaps??!!!)
So where do I go from here? 
I found this web site and this article about Arnold's process and this is how I'm going to do the model for writing the goal! Today:-) Then the next step will appear, I have faith:-)
http://www.willpowered.co/learn/arnold-Schwarzenegger-vision
How Arnold Schwarzenegger Used a Vision to Achieve Greatness - And You Can Too
February 23rd, 2015 by Colin Robertson
Growing up in rural Austria, Arnold Schwarzenegger had very little chance of achieving fame or fortune. His parents were poor and his father was set on Arnold joining the military, then becoming a police officer like him. Arnold, however, had a different idea. [1]
As a child, he picked up a magazine with Mr. Universe, Reg Park, on the cover as the star of the new movie, Hercules. As Arnold read through the magazine, the whole plan began to unfold for him. He was going to follow Reg Park’s footsteps, become a body-building champion and a huge movie star.
To his family and friends, this idea was incredibly…stupid. Body-building was not a big thing back then – especially in a little Austrian village. But, despite their disbelief, Arnold began training like a mad man, always keeping his vision in mind.
Eventually, though, Arnold had to follow his father’s wishes. And at the age of 18 he was sent off to the military. Arnold was devastated by this fate, but he still held on to his vision.
When he entered the military, he still told himself, “okay Arnold, the goal is to become a body building champion and a movie star. Now whatever it takes to get there, I will do.”
So after 8 hours of military training, when all of the fellow cadets were completely exhausted, Arnold made sure that he did an extra 3 hours of strength training at night. Then he woke up early to get in his push-ups, chin-ups and sit-ups before the mandatory 5am run.
Everybody around him would make fun of his dream. They would scoff at the work he was putting in and do their best to get him out of his fantasy world. But Arnold tuned them all out. He had the vision and he was going to make it happen.
Then he finally got the chance he had been waiting for. He had been invited to the Junior Mr. Europe competition in Stuttgart, Germany. So he snuck out of the military base at night, boarded a freight train and arrived the morning of the competition.
There, Arnold put on a show. He seized his moment, generated huge cheers from the audience and won first place in the competition.
That victory was the starting point that launched the massive success that was to follow. Arnold fulfilled his vision by winning the top prize in body-building 6 years in a row, and followed that by becoming the most famous action star of the 20th century. All because he never lost sight of his vision.

THE POWER OF A VISION

Humans have a unique ability to see the future before it actually happens. We can visualize how we believe the world will be and begin to take action to make it happen.
Throughout history, we have seen many visionaries take ideas that are decades ahead of their time and believe in them so strongly that they have literally changed the world. From Henry Ford, to Steve Jobs we have seen visionary people completely revolutionize the way our world works.
But what separates these visionaries from the rest of us? And, more importantly, what can we do to find our own visionary calling? 
There is, in fact, a science behind becoming a visionary in any field. And Arnold Schwarzenegger's story shows how each step of seeing a vision through to completion is achieved. 

1. Inspiration

With any vision, there must be an initial spark that gets everything going. For Arnold Schwarzenegger, that spark was the magazine with Reg Park on the cover. He was able to see that Reg Park came from humble beginnings, yet still built himself into the most muscular man in the world and became a movie star. 
This inspiration not only gave Arnold the plan for his vision, but it also helped keep him going through the tough times. When he hit rough points in the journey where everyone was telling him to give up, he could turn to Park’s story and remember that he wasn’t crazy. It really is possible. [1]
This type of inspiration causes the activation of the part of our brain that is responsible for our long-term goals. It gives us a rush of willpower to persevere through challenges and pursue our dreams. You may have felt this happening after hearing a motivational speech or reading an inspiring story. The more we can find this inspiration during tough times, the better our chances of seeing our vision through to fruition. [2

2. Deliberate Practice

Inspiration means nothing if it is not followed by action. The world’s top visionaries have always spent thousands of hours practicing and improving their craft. Arnold did not just believe he could be the world’s most muscular man, he dedicated himself to 3 hours of training every day on top of what he was already doing in the military.
Researchers have shown time and again that the top performers in any field have accumulated at least 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.  This is roughly equivalent to 10 years in their field before they become an expert. [3]
Deliberate practice is not simply about getting experience, it is about consistently pushing yourself beyond the boundaries of your current abilities within your domain. To become a true visionary, you must be willing to learn and grow through hours and hours of practice.

3. FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE PROCESS

There is, perhaps, no more painful journey than in becoming a world-class athlete. Imagine just how painful it was for Arnold to get up every single day and exercise for hours on end. Constantly pushing himself through pain and trying to get stronger. 
Yet, elite athletes like Arnold do not see this this as painful. They fall in love with the process of getting better. Every day is a new challenge to see if they can lift more, become stronger and get one step closer to becoming a champion. Sure, some days are harder and more boring than others. But by falling in love with the process, they are not nearly as bad as they could be.
To see your vision through to completion, you must learn to fall in love with the process to get there. It may be hard, it may be painful, and it may be boring, but there is inherent happiness found in making progress towards any goal. [4]

4. Small Wins

Winning the Junior Mr. Europe competition is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things. There have been plenty of winners since Arnold’s time that haven’t accumulated nearly the same amount of fame or fortune that he has. Yet, if Arnold had not won the competition, he may not have become the Arnold that we know today.
When it comes to seeing our vision through, small wins are more important than the actual result [5]. They are signs that we are on the right path. That if we can accomplish them, we may really be able to accomplish the huge goal we see at the end of the journey. Arnold’s small win at the Junior Mr. Europe competition proved to everyone, including himself, that he was not crazy. He really could become a bodybuilding champion.
What are some small wins you can attain in the process of achieving your vision that will prove that you are on the right path? Seek these victories and enjoy them. They are important stepping stones on the way to achieving any vision. 

5. THE Vision IS a Journey, Not a Destination

All of the great visionaries of our time are on a journey that never ends. They constantly evolve their vision and take it one step further. Arnold did not stop when he won the top prize in bodybuilding. He went on to win it 6 times in a row. Then he took that success to the next level when he was cast as Conan the Barbarian.
He then continued to learn and grow as his journey took him to becoming the most famous action star of the 20th century. Which, of course, he followed up with becoming the two-term governor of California. Even today he has not stopped. He is now leading the largest organization in charge of after school programs in the country.
All great visions are never finished. Even when it looks like you have accomplished what you had originally set out to do, you must embrace the fact that there is still more to be done. No matter how much you accomplish, there will always be another step that you can take on your journey.

DO NOT MISTAKE A VISION FOR ACTION

There is one downside to having a strong vision. When we use it to visualize the future, rather than take action, we can fall into a trap. Our brains are so good at visualization that we can see our future selves with the results that we’re trying to get extremely vividly.
When we visualize our future selves, we can get a false sense of reward as if it has already happened for us. And when we get that sense of reward we can lose the motivation to actually take action toward it. [6
We are especially susceptible to making this mistake when we first set out to accomplish our vision. Most people get inspired to make a "big change" in their lives, then set an unrealistic plan to accomplish it. Then they lose hope when they realize how much work they need to do.
Vision serves as a great motivator to keep you going when you're working toward your goals, but can set you up for failure if you're not careful. The most important thing is to make sure that you use your vision to take action.

CONCLUSION

A vision is powerful. Arnold Schwarzenegger was surrounded by people who could not possibly imagine the wild success that was about to come for him. So they did their best to get Arnold to think "realistically". Luckily, Arnold's vision was so strong that he was able to tune these people out and stick to his plan.
Many visionaries follow the same path as Arnold. It all begins with a powerful spark of inspiration, but it must be followed by a lot of long hours of relentless work. After that, you will start accumulating small wins that prove that you are on the right path to making your vision become a reality. But always remember, no matter how high you climb, there is always another peak out there somewhere. True greatness is a journey without an end. 
Sources:
  1. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Amazing Motivational Story. (2012, September 27). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJPRj19OU-w
  2. McGonigal, K. (2012) The Willpower Instinct: How Self-control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It. New York: Avery.
  3. Ericsson, K., Krampe, R., & Tesch-Römer, C. (1993). The Role Of Deliberate Practice In The Acquisition Of Expert Performance. Psychological Review, 363-406.
  4. Winfrey, O. (2015). How Progress Equals Happiness. http://www.oprah.com/own-show/How-Progress-Equals-Happiness
  5. Duhigg, C. (2012). The power of habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. New York: Random House.
  6. Fishbach, A. & Dhar, R. (2005) Goals as Excuses or Guides: The Liberating Effect of Perceived Goal Progress on Choice. Journal of Consumer Research 32.3 : 370-77.

Happy American Thanksgiving

“Drink and be thankful to the host! What seems insignificant when you have it, is important when you need it.”
Franz Grillparzer
Food for thought today
Happy Thanksgiving!!



From Wikipedia
Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who is chiefly known for his dramas. He also wrote the oration for Ludwig van Beethoven's funeral.[1]  

Grillparzer was 17 years of age when he first met Beethoven in Heiligenstadt, where he was staying with his mother in the same house as Beethoven.
He has left an account of how his mother would sit on the landing listening to Beethoven playing the piano. But one day Beethoven discovered this, flew into a rage and refused to play another note until the Grillparzers had returned to Vienna.
In 1823 Grillparzer was establishing a reputation as a playwright, and he and Beethoven discussed collaborating on an opera. The plans came to nothing.
By the time of Beethoven's death, Grillparzer was Austria's leading playwright. For Beethoven's funeral he wrote the eulogy to be declaimed as Beethoven's coffin was lowered into its grave. 

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Kindness

There is no small act of kindness.
Every compassionate act makes large the world.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher  
 

this morning I was listening to the news about the Migrant Caravan and thinking about what desperation and fear people must experience to cause them to leave their homes and everything familiar to head out to the unknown with only hope for a chance to live without fear and search for opportunity to work feed themselves and their families. What kind of a choice is this?? Will any of them live without fear and deprivation in this lifetime?? Why them, not me and what is my responsibility? This quote seemed to give me a light for something other than this incredible feeling of sadness, helplessness and hopelessness that washes over me when I think about the suffering so many of us are going though.
They are not the ones to be feared, what has created their fear is so much more dangerous!! 

here is another share as I came across this site when I was looking up background for Mary Anne Radmacher

The Borgen Project:
Mission Statement: The Borgen Project believes that leaders of the most powerful nation on earth should be doing more to address global poverty. We’re the innovative, national campaign that is working to make poverty a focus of U.S. foreign policy.
And the following is the Post that related to today's quote (which also allows me to share more quotes today😘)  
From the Borgen Project Blog: "This author’s (Aalekhya Malladi) previous post illuminated philanthropic quotes from five of the greatest male writers of our times. Here, we introduce to you five great female writers and what they have to say about giving back:
So many gods, so many creeds,So many paths that wind and wind,While just the art of being kind,Is all this sad world needs
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Wilcox was an American poet whose style was simple, but the meanings therein were often profound. Some of her great works include Poems of PassionA Woman of the World, and Poems of Peace.
I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.
—Maya Angelou, As a writer, poet, and a significant member of the Civil Rights Activists during the 1960s, Angelou is perhaps most known for her autobiographies, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Other famous works include Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I DieThe Heart of a Woman, and Letter to My Daughter.
As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way.
Mary Anne RadmacherRadmacher is a writer and artist, and teaches writing seminars. She is best known for Lean Forward into Your Life, and Live Boldly.
No one has ever become poor by giving.
Anne FrankWhile hiding with her family from the Nazis during World War II with another family in Amsterdam, she kept a diary which was discovered after her death in a Nazi concentration camp. Her diary, The Diary of a Young Girl, is well known across the world as the heartbreaking memoir of a young girl’s transition into adolescence and an attempt at understanding an adulthood she’d never reach.
Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.
—J.K. Rowling, a writer with a rags-to-riches story, is not one who needs to be convinced of the importance of giving back. After making it to the list of richest people in the world in 2011, Rowling managed to donate so much money that she failed to make it to the list in 2012. Along with her multi-faceted fantasy Harry Potter novels, JKR is known for The Casual Vacancy, and The Cuckoo’s Calling, which was written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
– Aalekhya Malladi
Sources: GoodReads, Poetry Foundation, Telegraph 
Photo: HTML Giant

Quote author's Website:  https://www.maryanneradmacher.net/

Imagination

“We lay there and looked up at the night sky and she told me about stars called blue squares and red swirls and I told her I'd never heard of them. Of course not, she said, the really important stuff they never tell you. You have to imagine it on your own.” 
Brian Andreas

Why Brian Andreas today: 
Last night I dreamed for the second night in a row that I needed to decorate my mind for Christmas... huh???  I saw endless moon fields of wreathes and santas and boxes wrapped with big red bows. I kept trying to see more and spiraled into a nebulous panic that it would never be done, then I was wide awake. The first night I couldn't get back to sleep. I thought in circles about everything I had to do, and each thing led to more to do's and I could never get "there" ...like "finished" and think that even for one second I could stop and rest.
When I woke last night I thought; this is ridiculous! I have to find a way to sleep so somehow I'm going to have to find a way to decorate my mind with something that will satisfy it. Something that is doable and not bought because how can I fill my mind with something I buy.. that just means I have to work more to make more money and I don't want to do that!! I visualized the field filled with the colour red and then lights, moved on to trees and snow, stars and angels, and then Kindness! I can fill that endless moon field with Random Acts of Kindness that like little fireflies will accumulate sparks in the void and over time... then I fell asleep
I googled Imagination Quotes this morning and discovered Brian Andreas
Cheers
Jeanne

“Most people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get too comfortable & fall asleep & miss your life. ” 
― Brian Andreas 


https://flyingedna.com/pages/brian-andreas
https://www.ahundredwaysnorth.com/about/
https://shop.storypeople.com

Most people know me as the writer and artist behind StoryPeopleBrian Andreas Studio is my wild space where you'll find my most recent stories and all the other things I'm up to...
Born in Iowa, raised in Chicago, I went to Luther College for my BA in Theater and English. Later on, after I figured out what I really wanted to do (HA!) I got my MFA in Fiber and Mixed Media from John F. Kennedy University in the Bay Area of California. Fibre? you say. I thought you told stories. Well, if you must know, I’d answer, my degree is in Stories As The Fibre of Human Community.
That said, my real education came from being in the world: short order cooking at Denny’s, apprenticing with a French chef in Chicago, running operations at a high-fashion mannequin factory in L.A., doing contract archaeology in the summer heat, dabbling as a tennis pro after college, writing plays for a small theatre company in Minnesota. I speak six languages, with my favorites being the Romance languages (not surprisingly).
For me, the thousands of stories I've written are a lot like going through photo albums. They mark specific moments & ways of being in my life. Taken on their own, they are reminders of those times. When I read a group of my stories, I get a sense of where they’ve been leading me, what they’ve been wanting me to understand the whole time. That changes through time & through the addition of further stories along the way.
I paint canvases. I sculpt wood. I write stories. I cook. I have long conversations with the people I love & much shorter conversations with people I don't. I make books - 15 so far. I devour urban fantasy on my ipad (at least, lately. I have a few non-fiction thingies I'm reading, too, but those are mainly to prove I have a broad set of interests when someone asks...)


Monday, October 29, 2018

Michael Jordan

If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome. 
Michael Jordan
I chose this quote for many reasons, but mostly for its inspirational gift from someone who time and again ignored the expectations of others to become a living legend
Cheers
Jeanne

Enthusiasm!!

“Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit.” 
Gordon Parks  

Interesting that the same is true for cynicism, pessimism and all the other isms ... what a lot of choices we have! 
Cheers
Jeanne

About the Author: Gordon Parks

http://www.gordonparksfoundation.org/artist/biography


Born into poverty and segregation in Kansas in 1912, Parks was drawn to photography as a young man when he saw images of migrant workers published in a magazine. After buying a camera at a pawnshop, he taught himself how to use it and despite his lack of professional training, he found employment with the Farm Security Administration (FSA), which was then chronicling the nation’s social conditions. Parks quickly developed a style that would make him one of the most celebrated photographers of his age, allowing him to break the color line in professional photography while creating remarkably expressive images that consistently explored the social and economic impact of racism. 
  I SAW THAT THE CAMERA COULD BE A WEAPON AGAINST POVERTY, AGAINST RACISM, AGAINST ALL SORTS OF SOCIAL WRONGS. I KNEW AT THAT POINT I HAD TO HAVE A CAMERA.  

When the FSA closed in 1943, Parks became a freelance photographer, balancing work for fashion magazines with his passion for documenting humanitarian issues. His 1948 photo essay on the life of a Harlem gang leader won him widespread acclaim and a position as the first African American staff photographer and writer for Life Magazine, then by far the most prominent photojournalist publication in the world. Parks would remain at Life for two decades, chronicling subjects related to racism and poverty, as well as taking memorable pictures of celebrities and politicians (including Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Stokely Carmichael). His most famous images, such as Emerging Man (1952) and American Gothic (1942) capture the essence of activism and humanitarianism in mid-twentieth century America and have become iconic images, defining their era for later generations. They also rallied support for the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, for which Parks himself was a tireless advocate as well as a documentarian.

Parks spent much of the last three decades of his life expanding his style; he continued working up until his death in 2006, winning numerous awards, including the National Medal of Arts in 1988, and over fifty honorary doctorates. He was also a noted composer and author, and in 1969, became the first African American to write and direct a Hollywood feature film based on his bestselling novel The Learning Tree. This was followed in 1971 by the hugely successful motion picture Shaft. The core of his accomplishment, however, remains his photography the scope, quality, and enduring national significance of which is reflected throughout the collection at The Gordon Parks Foundation.

Read everything :-)

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”   
Haruki Murakami , Norwegian Wood


Wow, this really speaks to me... another vicious circle quote... can't change anything by doing the same thing over and over... even thoughts ... time to change it up!!
I had never heard of this author before, I am looking forward to reading one of his books (as soon as I finish the Theodore Roosevelt biography lol)
Cheers Jeanne

About Haruki Muakami



MOMENT OF INSPIRATION
IN 1978 MURAKAMI WAS IN THE BLEACHERS OF JINGU STADIUM WATCHING A BASEBALL GAME BETWEEN THE YAKULT SWALLOWS AND THE HIROSHIMA CARP WHEN DAVE HILTON, AN AMERICAN, CAME TO BAT. ACCORDING TO AN OFT-REPEATED STORY, IN THE INSTANT THAT HE HIT A DOUBLE, MURAKAMI SUDDENLY REALIZED THAT HE COULD WRITE A NOVEL. HE WENT HOME AND BEGAN WRITING THAT NIGHT.

Quick Facts
Date of Birth: January 12, 1949
Place of Birth: Kyoto, Japan
Education: Waseda University, 1973
Biography:
Haruki Murakami was born in Kyoto, Japan, in 1949. He grew up in Kobe and then moved to Tokyo, where he attended Waseda University. After college, Murakami opened a small jazz bar, which he and his wife ran for seven years.
His first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, won the Gunzou Literature Prize for budding writers in 1979. He followed this success with two sequels, Pinball, 1973 and A Wild Sheep Chase, which all together form “The Trilogy of the Rat.”
Murakami is also the author of the novels Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the WorldNorwegian WoodDance Dance DanceSouth of the BorderWest of the Sun; The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; Sputnik SweetheartKafka on the ShoreAfter Dark1Q84; and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. He has written three short story collections: The Elephant VanishesAfter the Quake; and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman; and an illustrated novella, The Strange Library.
Additionally, Murakami has written several works of nonfiction. After the Hanshin earthquake and the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack in 1995, he interviewed surviving victims, as well as members of the religious cult responsible. From these interviews, he published two nonfiction books in Japan, which were selectively combined to form Underground. He also wrote a series of personal essays on running, entitled What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.
The most recent of his many international literary honors is the Jerusalem Prize, whose previous recipients include J. M. Coetzee, Milan Kundera, and V. S. Naipaul. Murakami’s work has been translated into more than fifty languages.

Influences:
Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut, Richard Brautigan.