November is "Take the Challenge" month, where each person sets a goal and attempts to achieve it in 30 days' time. Animal Life invites its readers to focus their goals on animals, wildlife, and the environment. The objective of this exercise is one of self-growth. This is not a contest, rather a personal challenge to enrich each person's journey.

The 30-day challenge starts from the time a person reads this initiative. This means once this information has been read the challenge begins, irrespective of the November start date. Create a post in the Animal Life forum that reads, "Take the Challenge" with your corresponding interest, be it animal, wildlife, or environment. An example would be "Take the Challenge Animal." Write about your personal challenge for the Animal Life community to receive feedback and encouragement. If you do not already have a forum account, you will need to sign up for one in order to post. This is a free service. Your information is kept confidential and never sold. Feel free to share your challenge link on social sites and see how many others get involved. This invites others to participate in the powers of positive change. For this goal, people are encouraged to think for themselves and come up with a constructive personal goal best suited to their individual interest and personality. Here are a few suggestions to get the ball rolling.

Artist Challenge:

Research the artistic talent of Julian Beever, also known as "The Chalk Man." Imagine how much practice he put into creating these stunning pieces of art. Create a wildlife and/or nature setting and share it with Animal Life. Use whatever medium best suits you, or push yourself to try something new, like chalk.

Writer Challenge:

Can you create a short story that includes wildlife, the environment, people, and a mythological or extinct animal? Post your outline to receive feedback. Feel free to post your story and learn how other people respond to your style of writing.

Music/Video Challenge:

If you can create stunning videos like the She's Alive video, post it. This is an excellent challenge for visual artists and musicians. Include a description about the message you believe you are conveying and receive feedback on what others see.

Humanitarian Challenge:

Use the forum as your daily journal and let the Animal Life community know your goal progress. You can even include photos demonstrating your progress. There are countless ways to participate in this challenge, volunteer or collect donations for animal shelters, clean a beach, park, or community, remove negative graffiti, write politicians about your concerns over wildlife and environmental issues and provide constructive solutions. Start an awareness club at school, in the neighborhood or community, and turn your challenge into a positive party with like-minded people. See how much you can reduce plastic intake and refuse. The sun and wind are amazing sources of Earth-friendly energy, be creative and put them to use. If you live in a country, like America, which utilizes genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a food source, find ways to stop purchasing and consuming these harmful products.

The world is your canvas; push your creative good, the positive results could be endless. When people show real depth of humanitarianism, others learn that humans achieve more by applying positive efforts to issues. As a motivator, people who put forth great effort are rewarded with more media exposure. Animal Life will include a link to forum posted projects in the weekly newsletter and the Facebook fan page to maximize publicity of varied abilities. When creative talents are combined with concentrated efforts, we change the reality of our existence.

Connect to the Animal Life Forum by clicking on the Forum button located on the right. If you need assistance, use the Contact button on Animal Life's homepage, review Forum FAQ, or send a private message by clicking on the Moderator link at the bottom of the forum page.

Ready? Set. Take the challenge!