Who inspires you? Who makes you stop your normal routine of the day and take notice? Who makes you want to change (yourself, the world)?

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr is one of those individuals who - when hearing or reading his words - will stop me cold in my tracks and make me reconsider what I am doing, how I am doing it, and my motivation for doing so. Part of what makes me take notice of his words are the words themselves - powerfully written and poignant. But the other part of what inspires me is the delivery (style and manner) of his words.

I regularly look at the MLK quote on my wall - positioned just above my monitor so I see it all day - whether I'm designing a new Fair Trade soccer ball for Fair Trade Sports, or working on our abolitionist website, the Not For Sale Campaign. Dr. King is the one individual whose recorded words pull me out of the minutia of the day and gets me to think again about the big picture.

And now, there is another.

For more reasons than just the repetitive use of a key phrase, I'm reminded alot of MLK when I watch this video of Barack Obama's early January speech, created by Will.i.am from the music group Black Eyed Peas. Whether you agree with Obama's politics or not, watch and be inspired...

Can we make positive change in this world...and ourselves? Yes, we can.