Consider your boss suggesting you add community involvement as one of your goals this year. What comes to mind? United Way, American Cancer Society, YM/WCA, Boys & Girls' Club, school board membership, church fundraisers, etc?
The usual involvement in community is volunteering for a local non-profit group that needs help, especially those where rubbing elbows with the elite members can pay off big time in more business. Otherwise, why would the boss suggest it?
But what if you had the chance to give back just for the good of it? People do things like this. And in doing so, you gain on a personal level. Better yet, so do others. And what if you Create a community in the process?
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, community is defined in a number of ways: pertaining to location, similar interests as well as participation.
Our community may be who we live around, who also likes research, knitting, book studies or who else, other than us, has a particular professional focus and participation.
This final definition, regarding professional participation, is what led me to develop a new service I'm offering in my business. On the outside it sounds like it's for business development, yet I lose money by offering it. I am positioning it for those who can't usually afford yet really want help. What I gain is tremendous insight, trust, time around people who, like me, struggle in business. We will come together with the intent to get assistance, yet the majority of the focus is in helping others.
I could go more into it here, yet that defeats my point. The point is to be held accountable to paying it forward. For the good of it. To help and be helped, emotionally, professionally and to build community as a result. To build community as a result, as opposed to going to a community to build business.
Does anyone feel the need to pay it forward?
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