To Give or To Get, Cost, Reward, Opportunity
August 29, 2012
I'm kind of in a funk deciding what to make next and have been listening to a lot of negative voices inside my head and from other people. Why do I do this? Why do I try so hard? Why do I care so much? Accusations that I put too much work into my volunteer efforts?
I'm reading the book The Tools: Transform Your Problems into Courage, Confidence, and Creativity
"We've lost the universal language of the heart, and with it, any sense of an all-inclusive human community. We've lost the sense that we're on the same team and that we have a duty to something higher than ourselves. Public officials no longer feel bound to place the public interest over their own...Our public discourse has degenerated into a no-holds-barred attack zone, where nothing is off-limits-whether it's an opponent's patriotism, appearance, or private life."*
This paragraph recalls the current political discourse...but actually my mind goes to something more personal. My community. When I say community, I mean my neighborhood, the local Metal Arts Guild, SNAG, and the larger arts community. These communities to which I devote a tremendous amount of time. Much to my dismay, I hear that people don't join because they don't get anything out of it. They don't volunteer, they don't pay their membership dues, and they won't bend over and pick up a weed, or sweep the street. It is always someone else's job.
It isn't what you get out of it....it is what you have to contribute. Until that realization becomes a core understanding, one will never think they get enough out of it. But, if you give your time, your ideas, energy, or goodwill, then actually, you will get something out of it. What you give will be returned to you many times over.
"As a society, we tend to associate influence with important people in positions of power." "This assumption is understandable---but it's a costly mistake. It means we ignore the ordinary, prosaic opportunities to encourage, connect with, and inspire one another. You can use Inner Authority to become a positive force for the people around you..."**
Listen to the authors of the book The TOOLS on Charlie Rose. This is why I decided to read the book.
**The Tools by Phil Stutz & Barry Michels on page 125.
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This post was updated on June 17, 2022, to provide current links.