knowabundance.com

Happy Monday (night!) I’m a bit slow on today’s Know Abundance blog post. I’ve been prioritizing hanging out with people in person, face-to-face, instead of connecting via words on a computer screen.

There’s just something about seeing someone’s eyes and having the chance to hear a laugh that trumps any Facebook or Twitter update.

A friend gave me a book recently that I love. The message is simple and yet profound.

The author, Cami Walker was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 33. She spent months immobilized by depression, unable to stop thinking about how the disease would ruin her life and dreams. She became addicted to her meds and self-absorbed in her problems.

She had a friend and spiritual adviser, Mbali Creazzo who told her that she needed to stop thinking about herself. “If you spend all of your time and energy focusing on your pain, you’re feeding the disease. You’re making it worse by putting all of your attention there.”

She encouraged Cami to spend some time focused on others – and to do this by giving away 29 gifts in 29 days. But Cami insisted that she needed to focus all her attention on her own healing, she was worried that focusing on others would sap energy she needed for herself.

Mbali replied, “Healing doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but through our interactions with other people. By giving, you are focusing on what you have to offer others, inviting more abundance into your life. Giving of any kind is taking a positive action that begins the process of change. It will shift your energy for life.“

And it did! You can read Cami’s inspiring story in her book: 29 Gifts – How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life. Or watch a video of her on the Today Show as she describes how the simple act of giving transformed everything.

Now, 29 Gifts is a global giving movement with nearly ten thousand members in 42 countries. I joined today. My first gift was $5 to the man who sings love songs at the train station entrance in the evenings. His music is always a gift to me after a long day of work – a reminder of the joy of giving and sharing without expecting anything back.

What do you have to give?

Substitute, “What’s in it for me?” with “What do I have to give?”

“By giving, you are focusing on what you have to offer others, inviting more abundance into your life.”

- Mbali Creazzo, who inspired the 29-day Giving Challenge

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

As fund raisers we can often feel the awkwardness that comes with asking for money.

We know that our donors want to support our causes and are willing to put their checkbook forward when we do our yearly appeals. Yet, even knowing that we are channeling money to something worthwhile does not make the awkwardness go away.

What would money say? “Don’t be afraid to ask for me”. The more clarity you have on what you need, the more you can accurately communicate that to the world around you and the more you can relax into knowing that there is enough.

In the work I do with individuals and groups, the scariest moment often comes when I ask people to look at their money flow- how exactly does money flow into and out of their lives? This feels terrifying at first because it means looking, it means knowing, and it means facing up to any discrepancies that arise.

But when we go through the exercise and put the numbers down on paper we see that the numbers really just want to talk- they tell us what we need to make our projects and lives a reality. They give us a cornerstone on which to base our plans.

By looking at numbers and doing the “budgets” (or what I prefer to call conscious spending plans) we can then take a deeper step into our projects, our organizations and our lives. We can move beyond the fogginess of “not knowing” into a place of clarity and empowerment where asking becomes more of a spiritual practice of communicating to life that you do know what you need in life.

The question then becomes- how can the flow of abundance provide? (The trick here is then to let abundance flow to you without being attached to what that looks like.)

Ask money to come to you. Look at the dialogue you are currently having with it. Don’t be afraid to invite more into your life- you are big enough to hold it.

Happy Monday!
- Elizabeth

Substitute, “Not asking” with “Asking for what you need.”

“Very often, when campaigns fail, it’s not because people didn’t give, it’s because they weren’t asked. In fundraising, asking is the name of the game.

The problem is, only for the rarest person is asking for a gift easy. For most of us, the discomfort is so strong we’ll invent 100 excuses to procrastinate.

Despite any training, despite any inspirational send-off, asking will always be the biggest challenge.

What can temper the fear to some degree is keeping in mind that prospects, who are usually more sensitive than we expect, respond favorably to solicitors who are dedicated and genuinely enthusiastic about the causes they represent.”

- from Guidestar’s: 20 Biggest Fundraising Mistakes

(Happy Monday! Today’s post is from Tuti Scott, our leadership expert.)

What an interesting time to be in the job market!  I have had the opportunity to speak with many people over the years about how to “create your dream job.” Now, more than ever, it seems that new practices and ideas for job search and creation are needed.

I spoke recently at Ithaca College (my alma mater) on a career panel and the following points resonated with many:

1.  Discipline, focus, and visualization are undervalued and underutilized. So much can come from follow up, follow through, and attention to detail.  Taking the time to reflect on your conditions of satisfaction and actually writing out the values you want in a work space helps to manifest what you want. The more people you share these conditions and values with, the more opportunities for visualizing and expressing the setting and context of where and how you want to do your life’s work.

2.  Follow the Four Agreements.  In short, (1) be impeccable with your word, (2) always do your best, (3) don’t make assumptions, and (4) don’t take anything personally (adapted from Don Miguel Ruiz’s book The Four Agreements). I love applying these ‘practices’ to personnel and work transition conversations.  They always seem to be so fitting!  This is especially true when speaking with groups of women where there may be an overabundance of estrogen creating the tendency of ‘taking things personally’.

3.  Demonstrate your balance of feminine and masculine power traits. These qualities are not assigned to either gender but merely reflect the ability to be inclusive, fluid, and exterior focused (feminine) as well as being goal oriented and linear (masculine).  Think about how in an interview you can express your capabilities or work efforts from a linear, driven space as well as defining yourself as a team player who is in tune with others and incorporates a variety of opinions and goals.

4.  Build relationships outside the traditional circles of connection. What if you made it a point to meet someone each month that was not from your college, your generation, your race, or your professional field?  And what if you asked them three questions about their life’s goals and shared yours?  I have heard so many magical stories of people who mentored across generations with a connection that was formed by someone taking a risk and inviting someone new into their dreams.

5.  Volunteer for a nonprofit. If you have time on your hands, reach out to the 1.8 million nonprofits that are in need of staff support and expertise.  Offer up your skills for a period of time to help with a specific effort.  Within this space you may have the opportunity to meet some folks (see point 4) that you would not normally interact with as well as build your skills and resume.

Some helpful sites for job searching;

USAJOBS.GOV (remember, the government is the largest employer in the country)

ChronicleofPhilanthropy.com (a breadth of opportunities across nonprofits and foundations)

WorkforCongress.com (jobs all around the DC area and not just in congress)

Idealist.org (great site for volunteering and job postings)

Substitute, “Doing the same thing” with “Trying something new.”

One of the saddest lines in the world is, ‘Oh come now – be realistic.’ The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride.

-Richard Nelson Bolles, What Color is Your Parachute?

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

The movie Avatar has set off quite a buzz.

For some religious conservatives, it’s a blasphemous film that advocates the worship of nature. For some progressives, it’s a film that tells the same old story of racism and colonial domination.

Despite any shortcomings, I am still deeply touched by the film – its messages and its imagery. Having seen the film a second time, one of the messages that resonates most profoundly for me is the power of collective intelligence.

When the Nav’i, the people of the planet Pandora, first meet the human, Jake Sully, the Nav’i tell him that his people are ignorant, and unwilling to learn. They say they have not been able to teach his people because you cannot fill a cup that is already full.

Sully answers that anyone will attest that his cup is empty, because he’s never been a smart man. He’s not a scientist; rather he’s a member of the “Jarhead clan” – a warrior. And he’s a broken warrior at that. A man who’s entire identity has been shattered by the loss of his legs through war. Broken, he is ready to learn a new philosophy, and a new way of being.

What heals Sully is opening up to a different kind of intelligence – one that is informed by interconnectedness. The Nav’i can physically link in to the creatures and the trees of their planet, and literally upload and download memories, sensations and insight from all living beings, past and present.

They have access to a shared pool of meaning, a phrase coined by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Greeny, Al Switzler and Ron McMillan, authors of Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes are High.

While researching why some people are more effective influencers than others, the authors found that the super-influencers excelled at managing and facilitating high-stake conversations. These are conversations where big decisions are being discussed and made: salary changes, whether or not to move a facility, a promotion, misunderstandings between staff, giving a boss feedback on how to do her job more effectively, asking a friend to repay a loan.

They found that the people who excel in holding these crucial conversations are able to find a way to get all of the relevant information (from themselves and others) out into the open. “At the core of every successful conversation lies the free flow of relevant information. People openly and honestly express their opinions, share their feelings, and articulate their theories. They willingly and capably share their views, even when their ideas are controversial or unpopular.”

Of course, that’s the key to true collaboration and connection. If I believe that I have all the relevant information, then I feel connected, trusted, part of the whole. The group mind is nourished and the best decisions can be made by drawing upon the pool of shared meaning.

The authors explain that in a very real sense, the pool of shared meaning is a measure of the group’s IQ. The larger the shared pool, the smarter the decisions. And even though it may seem excessive to have so many people involved in decision-making, when people openly and freely share ideas, the increased time investment pays off because of vastly improved decisions and greater buy-in.

The film Avatar invites us to imagine what it could be like – a community that has access to and is enriched by the knowledge that has been accumulated and cherished over generations. Any person can tap in and be simultaneously fed by and contribute to the whole.

What are you doing to make it safe for people to share their experiences, concerns, their dreams and vision? How are you contributing to the development of collective intelligence in your own family, your organization, or community?

Substitute trying to know it all yourself, with asking, “How can I tap into and contribute to collective intelligence?”

Homage to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (deity of Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism)

With body speech and mind in perfect oneness
I send my heart along with the sound of the bell
May the hearers awaken from forgetfulness
And transcend the path of anxiety and sorrow

May the sound of the bell merge deeply into the cosmos
In even the darkest places
May living beings hear it clearly
So that understanding lights up their hearts
And without hardship they transcend the cycle of birth and death.

For full passage, and a description of the sangha (or community building in Buddhist practice), click here.