Search Results for: how to make a big difference

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7 Reasons Why Generosity Is Missing and Why It Matters

Most people are looking for the cue from others when it comes to giving. Consider some of the recent campaigns for various causes that have gone “viral” – people follow leaders in giving. But many don’t know what it means to enjoy generous living. Despite the viral campaigns that catch our attention the facts remain, tax returns show only 23% of Canadians give anything at all. Truth is generosity brings contentment. Generosity breaks the bond of materialism and discontentment.

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Generosity provides meaning and purpose……that means that 77% of Canadians are discontent!

 

Generous living directs your focus on one goal: Be rich towards God.

Consider the clear picture Jesus portrayed in the parable of the Rich Fool.

 

 

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

‘Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’

‘But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

‘This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.’

Luke 12:16 – 21

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7 Reasons We Should Be Generous Givers

Being generous is often overlooked as one of the greatest attributes of a human being. Achievement and status are the measures of our culture. Being truly generous involves self sacrifice and giving to make a difference. But sometimes I wonder why I should give. I wonder, will it really make a difference?

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I imagine there are times where you weren’t sure why you should give either. We think it’s usually just a small amount of time or money and the world is so big, the problems and challenges so daunting. The truth is we can all make a difference.

Go to www.GenerousGiving.org to watch stories of inspiration, meaning and hope on giving. Or visit www.ilikegiving.org to watch more stories like… I Like My Dad. Or take the 3 Day Giving Experience.

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Creating A Vision For Your Life

Can you imagine what your life would be like if you didn’t imagine? Seriously, complicated or simple our lives can be influenced by what we imagine. Strategically we call this vision. Our vision, passion and purpose are of utmost importance. Most people’s biggest deathbed regrets could have been avoided if they’d thought about vision, passion and purpose.

But what if you are doing your best? Isn’t that good enough? NO! This isn’t about effort or intentions, it’s about your vision, purpose and passions coming together to guide your efforts.    

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Everyone ends up somewhere. Few people end up somewhere on purpose. Many people spend their days and even lead organizations with only a sense of plodding along and not working with vision, passion and purpose.   Are you ready for a change?

God through King Solomon, the wisest and richest man who ever lived provides us with truth.                              

Where there is no vision the people perish

Proverbs 29:18 KJV

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How To Get Over The Fear Of Public Speaking

If you are making a presentation to 5 or 500 – you are speaking in public. You have an audience and a message. What if your fear is crippling and hinders your success? You will fail to make an emotional connection with your audience and the important message you want to share will be lost.

 

Studies show people fear public speaking more than death. World class presenters like Nancy Duarte used a resource before her TED talk Uncovering Common Structures Of Greatest Communicators. The book version of this resource helped me overcome my fear of public speaking. I needed some new skills for the task of building up people instead of homes.

 

Recently when I was asked to rewrite half my speech the night before, told I wouldn’t have the comfort of a podium to rest my notes on and hide behind – these strategies made a big difference. Understand and use this approach and you will make a big difference!

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Paul who used to hate Christians, until he had an encounter with the risen Jesus provides illumination about fear.

 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and of a sound mind.

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

 

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Five Keys to Achieving Your Goals

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals works! Many people want to achieve goals and as an executive life coach I work alongside them. But success is never an accident. It starts with a goal and it’s only by studying the success of others that this pattern emerged and was crafted. As a homebuilder our company success was based on setting and achieving goals. This strategy worked as the net profitability increased 10 fold.

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We thrive when we set and achieve goals. God gave us these desires in the first place and He wants us to take action to achieve His purposes.

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See How Easily You Can Achieve Your Goals

Coaching people I help them uncover their opportunities and obstacles. The single biggest obstacle for people is unclear goals. Why aren’t they clear – they’re not written down! Sounds simple right, but when you miss this important first step it’s easy to drift aimlessly in generalities without the capacity to look 3, 5, or 10 years ahead with focused direction.

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Opportunities are often missed when your goals are vague and not in writing!

God gives us clear direction on this topic:

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

Proverbs 21:5

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One Book You Must Read Before Starting A Business

One of my greatest joys is giving to others and seeing their success.

When I started out, working as a homebuilder superintendent, I had one boss. When self-employed I had many bosses: clients, banks, tradespeople, suppliers. To take back control and grow my business I needed systems and procedures for everyone to follow.

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We all dream of being our own boss … but it’s not that easy. Learning from others’ successes, and failures can save you a lot of headache!  Become and avid reader of resources that can help.  When we learn from others, and we can grow faster and move farther.

Having grown my business to great success, I want to inspire and motivate others to do the same. One key principle used in life and business is to treat others the way you want to be treated.

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Balance Work and Life

There is a lot written about gaining balance in your life. Everyone has their story and I’m happy to share mine.

In the early years of starting our home building business, 60 hour weeks were the norm! When we hired staff 10 years later, long workweeks were STILL the norm. There was never enough time to get everything done at work. Work was cheating my family time. It was nearly impossible to achieve the elusive work life balance.

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Picture the work life balance like a scale…one side wins and the other side loses. We need to learn to “cheat” at work and stop cheating at home. We often cheat our family by spending too much time at work, or on fitness, or a hobby. Cut back on being so “busy” and be balanced!

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Who Else Wants To Be A Millionaire?

As a luxury homebuilder, I observed something very odd. People buying million dollar homes often didn’t have much wealth – they just had large incomes.

They pulled into the sales office in a luxury automobile and coveted the appearance of wealth. But wealth is much different than income. Wealth is what you accumulate, not what you spend. (Remember my Italian mentor from my first job….. )

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Have you dreamed of owning a nicer home? We all love things of beauty. I made my living in the housing industry by identifying a profitable niche. I loved building big, great quality, beautiful homes and neighborhoods. They were my art. However, there is a balance in being able to afford things in the short term and being able to accumulate wealth in the long term.