January 26, 2016
JoyDrop: Choices!
I hope this JoyDrop finds you full of joy. I want to thank you for sharing each JoyDrop with your friends and family. It’s so great to hear from all of you. This week I’m writing about the power of “choices”. Each day we make choices in our lives that influence the level of joy we live with.
I was reminded about this last week. I had the honor to speak at a grant reception hosted by Pacific Life, which is one of the most compassionate corporations I know of. Last year, they gave over 6 million dollars in grants to many worthy causes. Watching their President speak with such passion about the choices Pacific Life leadership continues to make about “giving” to others was incredible. They not only give money but man-power through their Good Guys program.
After he spoke, I was invited to share for a few minutes. The room was full of amazing charity leaders who choose to make their world a better place. I tried my best to encourage them to adopt Jessie’s NEGU motto knowing they too will have hurdles in life this year. After speaking, I made my way around the room and met some of the most joyful people. Each of them talked with such pride and passion about their work.
On my drive home I thought to myself, “What makes some people so full of joy and others not?”
While I wish everyone could experience great levels of joy each day from their work like the people I met. I do believe there are a few common choices the leaders at the reception had made, which I believe we can all make no matter if we work in the “for profit” or “non-profit” sector. I hope you agree!
- Make a difference over a dollar! Every person in the room was driven to make a difference in their world over just collecting a “dollar”. None of us would have been in the room if Pacific Life hadn’t made a choice to give back and better the world.
- Serve others over having others serve you! Choosing to be a servant leader can be a touch choice to make because it goes against the mainstream equation for success. The world says success is in how many people you can have serving you. None of the people I met that night worried about worldly success. Rather they wanted to use their platforms to make others successful.
- Give a voice to those that have non! The other common choice the people at the reception had made was to stand up for those that are marginalized and forgotten. I loved hearing the leader of the Special Olympics speak about his dream to see these special athletes a “voice” and a feeling of accomplishment. So inspiring!
What I love about all of these “choices” is anyone can make them. No matter if you are working for a company or a charity. The truth is you don’t even have to be “working” to make these choices. Jessie was twelve years old and chose to use her life to help others. I also love that when we make these choices, JOY floods our lives in amazing ways.
I hope you will choose today to adopt these choices in your own life. When you do, get ready for amazing JOY!
NEGU,
Erik
