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Guest post by: Melanie Benson Strick Become an Author

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The other day my friendly Trader Joes check out guy said, “Are you doing anything cool for the holidays?”

I think I shocked him with my answer of “Why yes, we just dropped some toys off at the Holiday Drive and I’m enjoying finding unique ways to give this year.”

Stunned, he responded, “I leave all that giving stuff to others. I think others can do more than I can.”

As I smiled and turned away I thought, “I wonder how many other people miss out on the amazing internal buzz I feel by doing what little I can.”

When I got my first corporate job at Motorola I remember feeling so excited with my first holiday season. I bought a Barbie and a toy car to donate. It wasn’t a lot but it was what I could do.

I’ve always been a softie for helping out families in needs during the holidays. But recently two good friends of mine stirred me up and had me rethink my holiday ritual. Why wasn’t I making this an all year practice?

My friend Jim Palmer,the Newsletter Guru, recently shared how once a month he goes out to build houses with an organization local to him. Jim is one of the biggest giver’s I’ve ever met. The phenomenal insight he shared was that he’s donated more this year than ever before…and interestingly, his business is thriving when most people are struggling to get by right now.

Then there is my dear friend Cynthia Kersey, founder of the Unstoppable Foundation. Cynthia recently shared during this week’s episode on New Era Success TV how she left behind her lucrative corporate consulting practice to focus full time on her philanthropic ventures building schools in Africa. Cynthia has experienced one of the most fulfilling years of her life!

So why does giving make such a big difference?

Here’s my take on it:

1) Giving gets means we are focused on something bigger than just ourselves. When we stop focusing only on ourselves and get connected to a “why” that’s bigger than ourselves, our priorities can shift and our little problems will all of a sudden become small in comparison. Getting connected to a bigger cause also causes us to play a different game – when we do something that has a big impact it pulls our entire vibration to a new level of impact and success.

2) Contributing to a cause sets up an invisible “good will” cycle with the flow of abundance. Its kinda of like the tithing practice – giving a portion of our income to help others in need creates a positive energy. Positive energy expands and will generate more positive energy …and financial abundance tends to follow!

3) Helping others just plain feels good. When we feel good we are more inspired, happier business owners. Happy business owners like to do more things that make them feel good. So we tend to want to do the things that generate money.

This year I donated a pretty big chunk of money to a cause I feel passionate about, LEAP. It’s a training and development program to help young people activate their potential and learn how to lead themselves to greater success. I never felt soo good in my entire life! And it helped knowing that my contribution was going to go towards young people like my 18 year old “adopted” niece.

What do you think…could giving give you that boost in your spirit? Even if it’s a $10 toy or a $5 can of food for a food drive, what would it be like if you shifted outside of yourself this season and stepped into the joy of giving?

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