knowabundance.com

Happy Monday dear Know Abundance readers,

I was busy all weekend hanging art and covering my windows with black trashbags and black curtains for the next Frisbie St. Art Show: Illuminating Shadows – Art Show in the Dark.

So today’s post is fairly short. I’m excited about a new book that just came out by Kathy LeMay called The Generosity Plan.

I heard Kathy speak about the book on Friday and was inspired by her vision of a world transformed by everyone, “Doing what they can, with what they have, where they are. (This is a Teddy Roosevelt quote Kathy used to sum up the heart of her book.)

Kathy says, “There’s no single dollar amount, no particular activity or cause that is better than another, no income level or demographic that matters to generosity, no set variable that is best for giving one’s self to another in time of need.

It’s about finding your passion, envisioning a better world, and putting yourself on the path to making that vision become a reality.”

The Generosity Plan can help us all learn how to better share our “time, treasure and talent” to improve our communities and the world.

Substitute, “I don’t have enough to be generous” with, “Everyone has something to give.”

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
- Theodore Roosevelt

Happy Monday! The outpouring of support and donations for Haiti has been incredible.

In less than one week, millions have been raised from individuals, corporations, governments, foundations and religions institutions around the world.

Everyone is giving.

Over $500 million pledged from Europe, $100 million from the U.S., $5 million from Canada, $1 million from India and China. And the list of government support keeps growing.

Corporations have also been pledging millions of dollars: JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanely, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Google, McDonalds, Comcast and many others.

More millions are coming from the NFL, Hollywood stars and from individuals worldwide who have made donations to various charities. The Red Cross has raised $20 million through text message donations alone -  a new trend that fundraisers are sure to be talking about for months to come.

Seeing how quickly we can mobilize to help each other on a global scale - setting aside our national and business interests, our politics, our racism and classism and our obsession with ourselves – is truly inspiring.

A week ago we were focused on what we didn’t have: a robust economy. Today we are all focused on what we can give and how we can help.

Do we have to wait for tragedy to work together in this way? Is there another impetus besides catastrophe to activate the power of our collective compassion and to motivate us to stand unified in our efforts to end human suffering and help those in need?

Where is all this money coming from? What were we spending these millions of dollars on before the earthquake in Haiti?

Substitute, “What does this have to do with me?” with “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?‘” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a “thing-oriented” society to a “person-oriented” society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand we are called to play the good Samaritan on life’s roadside; but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway.

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.”

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

(Happy Monday! Today’s post is from Elizabeth Husserl, our money expert.)

As fundraisers, money comes with the territory. We are constantly asking for it, receiving it and hopefully finding enough of it to support our good causes.

We all have a unique money personality. And the people who fund our causes have them too.

Why is it important that we know our money personalities and the money personalities of our donors?

Because our money personality determines our relationship with money, how we ask for it and how we give it away.

For example, we might have a donor who has an “Innocent” archetype or personality, they may really want to give but feel overwhelmed at the steps of following through. Will it be a complicated process? Will it mean jeopardizing their own sense of financial safety and security? The “Innocent” values safety at all cost.

A “Tyrant” archetype likes to hoard. They often have a lot of money and are great prospects for giving, but have trouble letting the money go. Their growing edge is to open the hand that holds and to connect to the deeper needs that are asking to be healed, which can often happen by contributing to causes they believe in. Both of these archetypes may have a similar difficulty in allowing their money to flow, yet require different strategies.

Knowing your own money personality will help you recognize those in others. Feel free to email me at ehusserl@hotmail.com if you would like more in depth information on various money types and how to work with them. You can also read Money Magic by Deborah Price.

For now I leave you with 5 money personality insights to illuminate your day:

1. You are not your money personality, but your money personalities work through you. If you are too anxious to look at your “money matters” or in this case your money personality, out of anxiety, paralysis or fear that it determines who you are, financial “fuzziness” will never be lifted. Don’t be fooled- you are not your money personality- your different money personalities speak through you to give you important information on how to best manage your money life.

2. Your money personality doesn’t disappear because you don’t look at. If we don’t pay attention to our money personalities they will act out in louder and more extreme ways. Money personalities continue to exist regardless of how conscious or unconscious we are to them. Like finally deciding to face your bills, if you square your shoulders at your money personalit(ies) you actually may be surprised at what’s in store.

3. Your money personality has an important message for you. For example the “Innocent” personality desperately needs more information and a financial team of support. The message here is “you do not have to do it alone.” All of the personalities have something important to say. The sooner you pay attention, the quicker your money personality will work with you instead of against you.

4. Different personalities require different strategies. We do not fit into one box. We are all too different and unique to be molded into one. Our money personalities are the same. Get to know the different personalities that you inherited or acquired along the way and understand your unique take to money. Avoid the headache of doing it blindly.

5. No matter how much work you do to better manage your money, if you don’t look at your money personality, it will rule your financial life! Like a partner or spouse who absolutely hates being ignored, so do these different parts of us. No one likes not being seen and we act out of line until we get the attention we deserve. So next time your money anxiety is knocking on the door, stop, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, put the bill down (momentarily), and ask that voice or feeling, “Who are you? What do you want? What are you trying to say?”

Like any relationship, it is conscious conversation, compassion, and love that creates lasting change.

Substitute, “My unconscious relationship with money doesn’t really matter” with “I’m getting to know my money personality.”

“It is our less conscious thoughts and our less conscious actions which mainly mold our lives and the lives of those who spring from us”.

– Sam Butler, The Way of All Flesh

(Happy Monday and Happy New Year! Today’s post is from Sande Smith, our communications expert.)

At the start of a New Year, many of us make resolutions. I certainly enjoy reviewing the past year and thinking about ways to improve my work, my health and the results of my actions.

But inspired by color, I’ve decided to approach change differently this year. For the first time, I asked my braider to weave strands of red into my black braids. After all, I told her, it’s a new year, and I have a new job, so it’s time for something different.

But what’s the point? Why does a new job call for new hair? And how much of what seems new was already present? In other words, maybe I’m bringing to the foreground something that I’ve wished for a long time: more color, more adventure, more spark.

I often think of the work that I do — communications and public relations — as a bright and fiery function that inspires action and excitement about the meticulous work and outcomes that an organization creates. My new red strands acknowledge jubilant energy, while reminding me to consciously celebrate and interweave these qualities into my activities in the coming year.

I am reminded of the field called “Appreciative Intelligence”, which encourages us to recognize and act upon what is already there. In their book, Appreciative Intelligence: Seeing the Mighty Oak in the Acorn, Tojo Thatchenkery and Carol Metzker, say that Appreciative Intelligence is the ability to perceive the potential within the present, to see the mighty oak in the acorn.

Appreciative Intelligence® has three components:

• Reframing,
• Appreciating the positive,
• Seeing how the future unfolds from the present. To learn more: http://www.appreciativeintelligence.com

Substitute, “Resolving to be something new” with “Resolve to be more of you!”

“Where there was desert, [Stef Wertheimer-Tefen] could see vast neighborhoods. Where there was poverty, he could see the unlimited human resource of collective imagination…he reframed everything.”

- Tojo Thatchenkery