Yesterday I talked about some of my first ideas in a new series I’m planning for the summer at The Gathering called, “Generous Wins.” I talked about living in the flow and letting the flow become your overflow, and out of the overflow you contribute the energy of being overjoyed. And that over-joy and overflow helps you overcome what’s overtaking you.
That being said, let me also say this: generosity is not about money. Generosity is so much more than that. Think of the ways in which you can be generous.
You can be generous with your time. Return a phone call. Write a “thank-you” note. Take some time to show someone that you care personally. That’s being generous.
You can be generous with your words: kind words, loving words, words that build other people up. Show the overflow of your own sense of well-being.
Acts of kindness demonstrate generosity. Out of the flow and overflow of your life, you give in kind to others what you’ve been given: grace, peace, joy, a second chance, a new beginning, a leg up, a word of encouragement, help, support. All of this is what it means to be generous.
How about generosity shown in your attitude; an abundance mentality and mind-set? This spills over into your attitude every single day in how you enter a room and interact with other people.
One of the most important ways generosity wins is through sharing your connections; helping people get connected. One of the greatest compliments I received just the other day was a guy saying to me, “You’re like a hub, putting people together.” That’s it. That’s how generosity wins. The more people I know, the more generous I am connecting the people I know, and they get together and contribute and help each other prosper, and then the more prosperous I become.
So here’s what I want you to understand. Generosity wins. In these times of downsizing, and global transition, and in these times when the President can demand the resignation of the CEO of GM (isn’t that weird?), generosity wins. It always does, always has, and always will. The question is, “Do you have the capacity to live out of the overflow, to create the kind of generosity that creates abundance?” And the answer is “absolutely.” If you don’t now, you can.