“For it is in giving that we receive.” ~St. Francis of Assisi

Good morning and happy Friday from a bright and sunny New York City!

It’s been a pretty damp and dreary spring since I’ve moved to the Big Apple, but I’ve been completely adoring living amongst the people and energy of ol’ Gotham.

New York has been helping to fuel my will to give, my wants to create unique and brilliant work in conjunction with awesome collaborators, and simply to meet more and more amazing people.

So, what better time to share a bunch of great announcements, positive developments and share a new Social Good Friday cause to you? :)

 

The Hrostoski Brothers’ A Summer to Serve

“Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.” ~Albert Camus

What do you get when two brothers, 12 years apart, decide to dedicate their summers to traveling across the United States to be in the service of others?

You might call it the Great American Road Trip meets the Peace Corps. And that’s exactly what Mike Hrostoski and his brother David Hrostoski are embarking upon this summer.

They’re calling it, A Summer to Serve:

A Summer to Serve is a terrific example of a couple of regular guys using their everyday lives (and embracing the gift of the present moment) to pursue experience and deep meaning on very personal levels, and in ways that truly help others.

That’s one thing we always hit on here in our discussions on alternative leadership: that giving is a two-way street, not a zero-sum game that only benefits the recipient of the giving — and at the cost of your “loss”.

Giving benefits the self as much as it benefits others  — maybe even more so.

But oftentimes, really, you have to really dig deep and challenge that static, stagnant, long-entrenched mindset that we are told to believe from childhood that says, “My loss is someone else’s gain, and someone else’s loss is my gain.”

When you really push yourself to love (smiling at a stranger on the street), to give (donating $10 to that friend’s fundraiser that you saw them post on Facebook) and to really be of service to others (volunteering locally or donating blood), you begin to unravel that zero-sum lie and experience the true depth of your humanity: your endless capacity to love — your natural human condition!

 

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Giving…

  • is leadership because it empowers, enables and inspires others to give, love, serve (and also to lead, themselves)
  • can create an endless cycle of giving, because you never know how far your giving can go to inspire more giving, selflessness and love
  • improves your mental-emotional and physical health according to dozens of scientific studies, and is used by Positive Psychologists to create a new foundation of happiness in patients
  • deepen your capacities to love, empathize, and feel compassion for others… in other words, giving literally expands the depths of your natural humanity.

 

Announcing: New Charitable Partnerships with OneGirl and The Young Leadership Committee

“There is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving.” ~Henry Drummond

Since moving to New York, I’ve been pushing myself to find new, creative and deeper ways to give. That means giving more financially, even giving quietly, and giving in ways that really help people on a daily basis.

With that in mind, I’m so excited to officially announce a pair of new relationships I’ve made with two great organizations that work to improve the lives of young men and young women in two very different communities across the globe: Sierra Leone, West Africa and New York City, USA.

Firstly, OneGirl is a wonderful international charity that provides educational scholarships for school girls in Sierra Leone, and further raises awareness of pressing social issues in the West African nation, advocates women’s social and health rights, and much more.

The new partnership with OneGirl means that the nonprofit will receive regular donations from every coaching client I work with!

So, any time you sign up for coaching with me, you can know that a portion of proceeds will be directly donated to children in-need.

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With that in mind, you can still sign up for a Pay-What-You-Can Coaching Session with me, but there are only about 5 slots left until the offer jumps back to $120/session. You can find the offer at bottom of the post:

In the last week alone, I’ve brought on three new coaching clients — and I’m so happy to not only work with new unleaders (like you!), but also help contribute to this great cause.

And, if you’re not in need of any unleadership mentoring today, you can always shoot over and consider donating to OneGirl during their huge fundraising effort to help 250 girls in need this year.

Secondly, serendipity led me to join a great new team of leaders called The Young Leadership Committee within just days of moving to New York City.

The YLC is a small organization of young professionals that raises funds, builds awareness and volunteers in support of Boys Town of New York, an incredible organization that helps to provide education and housing to young men in New York who come from broken homes, impoverished neighborhoods and other disadvantaged backgrounds.

I’m excited for these two new partnerships, and can’t wait to see where it all leads!

 

Update on Natalie Sisson’s The Ride Of My Life

“They who give have all things; they who withhold have nothing.” ~Hindu Proverb

In the last edition of Social Good Friday, we profiled Natalie Sisson, the Suitcase Entrepreneur and her bold thousand-mile bike adventure through sub-Saharan Africa to raise $10,000 for charity.

This week, I’m so happy to announce that, with all your support, Natalie has exceeded her incredible goal and has raised well over $12,000 for Women Win, which empowers young women to greater social, political and economic rights throughout Africa through the power of sport.

How great is that! If you donated to the cause, thank you. You’ve literally helped create positive change in the world.

 

A Final Thought on Giving

“If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.” ~Tenzin Gyatso

It’s remarkable how much you can learn when you simply push yourself to experience more of life:

  • Mix up your routine.
  • Explore new places.
  • Take new routes to an old destination.

And when it comes to encountering new people all around you, the more you listen, the more you can grow.

Since moving to N.Y.C., my daily mantras (really, simple personal goals, which I certainly haven’t always met) have been something like:

  • Never say no to a brand new experience;
  • Deeply experience people (stories, faces, words) every day;
  • Make new friends wherever you go.

Three weeks later, I feel really great. Positive. Emboldened. And maybe a little sleepy!

Ideas are a plenty, and I’m feeling very determined to execute on them in bold ways — all to continue delivering my message and mission to awesome and inspiring folks like you, and to truly make my own life in the Big City work, for as long as it feels this right for me.

That’s all I’ve got for you today, friend-o. Keep giving, keep leading, and keep shining. Thanks for all of your amazing support, as always — I’m beyond grateful for you. And let me know how I can help you out in any way. We’ll speak soon!

P.S. – Remember, for a short time I’m accepting new coaching clients! There are only a few slots left to Pay-What-You-Can for a single jam sesh (scroll to the bottom of this post for the offer).

As a natural connector, visionary-minded idea-sparker and unleadership mentor, I’ll help you develop your own leadership offerings, connect you with brilliant collaborators or possible clients, and fuel you with some money-makin’ idearz. Let’s do it!