25 Days Update

A 25 Day commitment of any kind is hard to keep. I have to admit I did not keep it. However, I am not without lessons to share. I have compiled 10 lessons learned from the experience.

1. Forced Giving does not feel real.

2. I must practice giving and force myself to do it even though it does not feel natural. Dichotomy Alert!

3. 25 Days of anything everyday is hard to keep up with.

4. You pretty much can't go wrong with a Starbucks' Gift Card. They are almost cash equivalent.

5. It's best to be prepared. I now have a goody bag of things ready to give away at a moments notice.

6. My heart hurts when I give rich people a gift card to Starbucks but there are people starving on the streets which I feel like there is nothing I can do change their plight.

7. It often feels funny to do something for somebody out of context with no strings attached.

8. I noticed my giving muscles have grown. Even little things like taking out the trash or picking up the house can be a gift to my wife. All day long there are numerous service options that can be real gifts.

9. I felt a little self righteous when I started writing about my journey.

10. Something I learned a long time ago, but have to remind myself about, is when inspired to give to the homeless I cannot be "taken" despite what they do with the money since I am "giving."

December 4 - Grande

I feel like a "pusher" handing out my Starbuck's gift cards.

I remember I started by drinking Frappuccinos and graduated to Cafe Mocha's. Eventually I got a taste for the High Test "Yukon." Now I am a coffee junky.

You just can't go wrong with a Starbuck's gift card. The only way to improve on it is to include some M&M's.

What is your favorite?

December 3 - M&M's My Favorite Gift

Long before I thought of the 25 Days of Christmas Challenge, I have always considered M&M's the perfect gift.

You can learn a lot about a person by asking this simple question. Peanut or Plain?

I have preferred Peanut M&M's for a long time but recently made the switch to plain.

Kelly a new employee at the office, who I have not had an opportunity to talk with much likes plain M&M's.

She smiled when I brought them to her. That's cool.

December 2 - The Fuzzy Math

The gift giving fuzzy math is still working.

One insight I had this week is planning would be an important part of this challenge.

If I have things to give already in my possession, it will be easier to find situations to give.

I was writing my post today at Starbucks and decided to pick up some gift cards for my gift bag of sorts.

I started by buying eight $5 cards. I didn't know it but if you buy a $5 gift card you get a fuzzy stocking to go with it. So, once again my theory about generosity had rung true. Its cheaper to be generous. I got more for my money.

Armed with my 8 gift cards, I felt confident. A trip to the grocery store was up next. While standing at the deli, I noticed a worker and thought maybe I should give her a gift card but did not. When I went to check out she was my bagger. I figured that was a good sign she was the one.

I asked her if she like Starbucks. She said she was not much of a coffee drinker. I asked if she knew someone who liked coffee. She said, "Yes." I gave her the gift card in the stocking and she smiled.

It was fun but I must admit, it was crazy that I felt nervous to offer somebody something for free.

It just so happens it was pouring down rain tonight. When we pulled in the drive way, I told my wife to just go in the house and I would handle the groceries. I am starting to feel myself opening up to ways to serve others.

Feel free to join my challenge and share your insights.

25, 24, 10 or even 1 day of Christmas is enough to make somebodies day.

December 1 - 25 Days of Christmas "Opening Day"

4 Pints of Ice Cream at $2.79 equals $5.00???

So where do I start. I have noticed over the last 10 years of my life, I have lost much of the Christmas spirit. I don't feel like a Scrooge or anything but with the high speed of todays world coupled with the loss of innocence as I get older, I just have lost that Christmas Feeling.

Recently I was reading a blog post from the founder of the Vineyard Community Church of Cincinnati, Steve Sjogren. Steve as the founder of Cincinnati Vineyard has a motto for the church; "Small Things Done with Great Love, Will Change The World." Steve is known internationally for the "Servant Evangelism" movement which believes that serving others is why we are on this earth. I really relate with this concept on many levels.

Even my business guru's (Jeffrey Gitomer, Seth Godin, Robert Greenleaf) have similiar philosophies with Concepts such as Value First, Permission Marketing and Servant Leadership to name a few, respectively. So, When I was reading an article in Steve's blog/newsletter titled "Serve," I was inspired to try something different this Christmas.

I decided, I would give some small gift for 25 days leading up to Christmas. I must admit. Although, I agree with this concept and way of life, being a bit shy at times, I feel funny just doing something for somebody I don't know. So yes this is a challenge. I am not a "Servant Evangelism" holy roller so to speak.

So, I thought of this about a week ago and found myself to busy to plan for my idea. Yesterday showed up after a hectic week of work. I was feeling a bit stressed that I would not be able to carry out my idea. It was already the first of the month and I had not taken the time to create my blog, to track my progress. OK, I must admit I like a little attention and figured I should post this to the web.

Yesterday, I needed to go into work to finish up some billing for a client (I work in Audio Visual Rentals) and their program was finishing up yesterday. When I got to the office a co-worker said we had received a nice tip. I was excited, not so much about the money but the fact that a tip in our business means we did a great job. It ends up it was my largest tip ever, $250. This generally is the most my team might receive combined.

My coworkers also received large tips as well. However, a couple of the members of the team did not receive tips, mainly because of behind the scenes support roles. I immediately decided to tip these team members well. It was kind of interesting. The act of sharing the tip actually sparked my energy. In that moment I made a decision that I would follow through with my idea about the 25 days of Christmas.

As the day wore on, I found more opportunities to give. My wife and I have been going to a new church and I have not been tithing. I went ahead and donated most of the rest of my tip for the offering. It felt good but represented more of a debt to me than a donation. Tithing has become harder for me as I continue to make more money in my career. Interesting!

After the service we ran into a friend who is looking for a job and he is a former client from my personal coaching business. He was looking for networking tips. I shared a few ideas, even though I wasn't sure how I could help him. His career is not one I have many contacts in 3D design. While I shared my ideas, I stumble upon a concept that I want to develop on how to incorporate the value first principle into networking. (more to come on that in the new year). I realized that I was giving my ideas freely and it actually sparked me to some clarity on a project I have been working on for a few months. Interesting!

My wife and I went to dinner at our favorite Pizza Joint Betta's Italian Oven. It's pretty much a weekly visit for us. On our way home we decided to pick up Ice Cream at our local convenience store (UDF United Dairy Farmers.) While walking in the door a kid was purchasing some milk and ice cream and had a counter full of change, the cashier said "your going to need to put a pint of ice cream back." I immediately said, "How much is he short" she said $1.89 or something. My wife whipped out $2 and we went on our way.

The interesting thing about this interaction is almost every time I go to this convenience store somebody is counting pennies and are short for a small purchase. Often times I hold back not wanting to embarrass the person instead of just jumping in and offering to pay the balance. Tonight, I just jumped at the occasion. It's as if my muscle of giving is already growing.

So, that UDF did not have the ice cream we were looking for so, "luckily" we are within a mile of 4 UDF stores. For those of you who are not from Cincinnati, think of UDF as a sort of Starbucks for ice cream.

In the winter time often times UDF offers specials on its pints of ice cream like 2 for $3 or last night they were 4 for $5. A very good deal compared to $2.79 per pint. I tried to buy the 4 at recommendation of the cashier but the wife said no. I don't blame her, we know if we put it in the freezer, we will put it in our mouth. I asked the cashier if she wanted two pints of ice cream for free. She said "No" but her co-worker said "Yes".

If you are good with math this is a no brainer. 4 pints were cheaper than 2 pints. And "Yes" I am good at math so I don't get full credit for my generosity but I do think God is putting a Christmas spark or spirit in my heart.

What I learned yesterday is sometimes its cheaper to be generous.