Personal Contributions

I had spoken at a leadership seminar not too long ago and received a great message from one of the participants afterwards.  She was pledging to use her skills to make written contributions to a newsletter as a way to give back to the development of her peers and association members. During my discussion with the attendees at my seminar, I spoke about the need to make contributions towards others and to aid worthy causes, as part of their leadership journey.  In those instances I never know how much of what I am saying will hit home with the attendees, however, I am always grateful to hear from someone that can add validation to my message.  What I shared with the group that day, was an amazing lesson that I learned during my lifetime of taking yourself out of your own equation as the benefactor and giving that priority to somebody else.  When I was younger I do remember that I was not very good at putting others first, as many young adults think that the world revolves around them.  For that matter, I have come to know many adults who still have this mentality, which saddens me a bit when I have the opportunity to observe it.  Although I had great examples in my immediate family of how we should treat others, the lesson was learned over the course of many years.  My grandmother was among my greatest teachers in showing me that you give to those that are in need, even if it is only home cooked food or collecting the change in your pockets to help and be a shining light to someone who has a greater need.  One does not have to look very far to see the needs within their community, extended families, neighbors and friends who can provide lots of opportunities to assist.   I believe that the question that most people contend with is, where to begin?  I think the easiest place to start is to locate where you find your most compassionate emotions on a particular subject and allow for that to be your compass.  Whether it is at your community church, senior center, child's school, animal shelter or any number of worthy non-profit organizations that speak to your heart, think about how you can provide even a couple of hours a week of your personal assistance to someone that can benefit from your gifts.  I recall having someone who worked for me for sometime in a managerial position and she enjoyed working with kids and among her personal attributes was that she enjoyed cleaning.  During the course of our working relationship, she told me about how she put the two together and decided to sign up to work as a volunteer a couple of times a week at the local Children's Hospital.  She volunteered to clean the visitor rooms where the healthier siblings of the ill children spent a lot of their time waiting and playing, while the parents tended to their ill brother or sister.  I thought it was a great contribution and although she always had a tough story to tell me about a sick child, she always beamed at the end when she had the time to talk to the healthy siblings waiting for their brother or sister to get better.  In her own way, she gave of herself without any expectation other than to potentially see a smile of a young child that she was able to make comfortable, during an unstable and sometimes disorienting experience.  Although you may be in need of some type of breakthrough in your life due to your own personal circumstances, remember that there is always someone with a greater barrier to overcome and in the midst of your trying situation, you can still be a light to somebody else who finds themselves in a darker place than you are.