Go Giving

Before the holidays, I happened upon a book called The Go-Giver. It is a small volume, a quick read (attractive to a person like me with limited free time!), designed, I figure, for business training. The idea behind it is that you end up doing better in work and life if you are focused on what you are giving TO people and situations, rather than what you are getting FROM those people and situations.
 
Now, I am not a corporate type. I am not a salesperson or a marketer. But I AM a person who has spent many years being ambitious in work situations and these last few years being as driven as possible in a job search--definitely a go-getter. Yet, these past few weeks, a number of the things in the book have stuck with me. Things like networking being more about who you can connect than about what you can get from the people in your network. Like how your value is directly related "to how many people you serve and how you serve them." And like how being yourself, and giving of yourself--authentically--is ultimately the best thing you can do.
 
Perhaps none of these is such an earth-shattering idea--or perhaps they all are. Either way, they are new ways to think about both our work and our everyday situations, and for me, any opportunity to mix things up with a new way to think is a good opportunity. So, in this new year, I am thinking about being a go-giver. Check it out--it may appeal to you too!