2012 - Pay It Forward

Happy New Year My Friendly Blog Followers...

Today's post has been inspired by three recent events.

The first, It's a New Year. 2012. Michelle and I closed out 2011 on a very strong, positive & personal note: We got engaged!!! Together, we are looking at 2012 to be an incredible year, both personally & professionally - Here's hoping many of you also share this goal.

Secondly, I met and heard from many online friends and colleagues who all subtly commented on how much they enjoyed my blog, and wondered if I planned on continuing with it in the new year. - Answer: yes, I do, and I apologize for not keeping up with it during the final 45 days on 2011.

Finally, during the holidays, I received a very simple, yet powerful gift from Michelle: A DVD. The movie - Pay It Forward.

It was a movie (released in 2000) that I had not seen, nor had never heard of until Michelle shared the trailer for it on Youtube - Apparently, Michelle saw it on Daniel Correia's FB site.

There were a couple of times when I was just about to go to the mall to purchase a copy, but Michelle convinced me not to. Well Surprise Surprise, during the holidays a little package arrived in the mail. That's when we set the night - just the two of us, to watch it.

After watching the movie, I quickly realized that in both our personal & business lives, we "need" to Pay It Forward. Too many of us from the corporate world really have a difficult time with the "help people" approach. It's something that has been engrained on the brain (incredibly strong neuro pathways) - to not worry about your friends, colleagues etc., just take care of yourself. This is mostly true the higher you climb the corporate ladders.

This past year, I heard (a number of times), from some very successful people/mentors of mine, say, "Who can I go out and help today?"

I thought that it was a nice comment for these people to make, but I guess I didn't truly believe it - or maybe it was that I didn't truly understand it.

The more I heard it, the more I became curious. Then, after seeing the trailer for Pay It Forward, I became obsessed about it. So, the movie was put in.

Pay It Forward is a really "nice", "feel good" movie. But as I stripped away all of the conventional and predictable hollywood elements, I/we were left with a very powerful message. One that I want to discuss and share in today's blog. One that many of us entrepreneur's should latch on to and never ever let go.

This message is about taking on the responsibility to "help" someone. We are living in a incredibly difficult time these days. Many of our friends, family, neighbours & colleagues are having a difficult time. The increased-stress at home is because of a collapsing economy; lack of job security - or lack of jobs in general. These are the things that are making it very difficult to live the life that we are all meant to live. So what does it mean to "help" somebody? Well, maybe it starts with "listening":

listening: present participle of lis·ten (Verb)

Verb:

1.Give one's attention to a sound: "sit and listen to the radio".
2.Take notice of and act on what someone says; respond to advice or a request: "I told her over and over, but she wouldn't listen".

By listening, we can easily get to the root of the problem or issue. My question is, is if we get to the root, is it not easier to find a resolution? I think so.

So, I ask this of you...Are you committed to helping someone every day?

If yes, who are you going to help today?

Today, day two of 2012, I am committed to helping any one I can every day this year...

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