Giving is one of the most beautiful gestures! Whenever I feel like my life is not moving smoothly. I immediately look around & see if I’m being selfish & blocking my gifts due to lack of sowing first; reaping comes second. It’s great to receive but like my mentor Bobi said so eloquently “Live To Give”. I wanted to share this with you from my graphic designer Jessica Krewson. She has went beyond the call of duty to assist me with the art work for The Billion Dollar Beauty. Wait until you see it. It’s so me we like to call it High Fashion Girly. In the mean time I read an article from Jessica’s Ezine & had to pass it along. Jessica practices what she preaches.
Be Passionate! The Grace of Gratitude and Giving Back.
BY JESSICA KREWSON
In these so called “turbulent times,” I find that there is a refreshing sense of coming back to simplicity and what’s really important. There is no reason to feed your fate to the media or your doubting peers because, truly, there is abundance everywhere. Sometimes in the muck its hard to see what is right in front of you and to have that passion and gratitude that makes all of our earthly actions feel like gifts. But isn’t all of life really just a shift in focus, in perception and having the right tools. We create our own realities each and every day, so when it comes to retaining the passion in what we do (be it in business or even our personal life), I have found that five core things must occur. If you are looking to expand your business you must first expand yourself. And trust me if you are not grateful and trusting of exactly where you are, then how on earth do you expect to receive any more?
Tool #1
Know Your Why.
Why do you show up every day? Why are you here? What purpose are you really serving in your business? It is so important to get in touch with this why and know it on a daily basis. Take a few moments to write down your top five “whys,” the reason you want to do what you do in the first place. I can’t stress enough for you to be honest here. Serving others may not be first on your list, that’s totally okay! Be honest and be authentic. Once you write your “whys” out make them easily accessible and know when you start to second guess, or wonder why your up late this one time, or stuck brainstorming on your next business move and want to give up…you have this list to come back to! Often this list is much bigger than any problem you face and refocuses you back to the bigger picture. Brings you back to the flower that has to break through the dark surface of the earth just to see the light. To fulfill your dreams and your purpose!
Tool #2
Know Your Values.
After reviewing your “whys” your bigger picture you can begin to tap into your core values and where you operate from. Perhaps one of your whys was something similar to one of my “whys”…. “I love the human connection and the abundance of creativity that gets passed back and forth when working with a client. There is a level of human spirit and collaboration that is so inspiring! Its like building a “home” for their ideas to live in.” Form this I pulled two values that I have to live from or I do not feel fulfilled or passionate and that is an abundance of creativity and nurturing relationships with those around me! Your values should be simple like sign posts to check in with (I would say daily). Some other examples of values would be: Personal Growth, Passion and Purpose, or Helping Others. Pick your top seven values and place them in order of importance from one to seven, one being the most essential. Post these values up where you can see them on a regular basis and at least do a weekly check in. Ask yourself…
“Have I lived from these values this week?”
“Which areas could use a little more love?”
“What inhibited me from living from my values and what support can I give myself to be more aligned with my values next week?
Tool #3
Give Gratitude
So now that you have checked in with your “whys” and firmed up your core values its important to have gratitude for exactly where you are. Listing three things a day in the morning or at night that have brought you joy, clarity or just overall sense of growth and happiness. Writing them down gives them power and you can look back over them to see what continually makes you feel grateful and then bringing those actions more commonly into your daily practices. Warning: after doing this practice for about a week you might feel a sense of overwhelming peace and joy! You might find more value in everything you do and feel less overwhelm in your day. Who wouldn’t want that!!! You want a cure all medicine, its called gratitude! Make it a daily practice…I dare you! I have recently found the website www.happier.com that tracks your daily gratitude for you (if you like keeping things on the computer like me!). This site is super cool and very self-insightful. Check it out!
Tool #4
Tithe.
So now that you have emptied yourself out with clarity and filled yourself up with gratitude, you can now begin to tithe, to give back to others from a place of abundance, gratitude and love. Tithing is a great way to expand your business. You may be thinking how does giving money expand my business? Well when we give, we show the universe that we are ready to receive. Both giving and receiving must be done in equal parts. I am not saying give away 50% of your profits, because you give every day by giving your services. But to go the extra mile and give back to the community transfers the flow of abundance. It keeps abundance and the energy of prosperity in motion. You will feel better about your contributions and your clients might even prefer to work with someone that is conscious and gives back to others. 2% to 5% of your revenue is a great amount to tithe. Perhaps you are in a place where dollars are still tight, the other precious gift you can tithe is your time. Read Tool #5 about Volunteering.
Tool #5
Volunteer.
Volunteering face to face with someone in need is one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences one could do. I think we are put on this earth to serve others with our gifts. Find out what your gifts are and what you love sharing with others and then find an organization that will allow you to give to your hearts content. Lets face it its hard to feel self loathing and self critical when you open your heart unconditionally to another. Volunteering allows you to step out of your head and really give back all the abundance that has already accumulated in you. If you’re reading this you are on a computer or maybe even a nifty phone…there are so many people in the world who have no idea what email is! Perhaps you have a personal situation that would make you gravitate towards one cause over another. For instance, I love art and think its so therapeutic and love children so I found this amazing non-profit called CoachArt! Choose something that you are passionate about and commit to volunteering at least 4 times a year. I promise, you will gain so much more abundance than any check in the mail has ever given you!
Combine all these tools and watch all the feelings of lack disappear and be replaced by intense passion and gratitude!
Happy Giving!
© 2009 Jessica Krewson www.designkrew.com
