Last week I received a very nice email from a woman named Heidi who lives in British Columbia. Check it out…
Hello Mr. Bilanich,
Just taking a moment from our glorious weekend to send out a little note of appreciation.
To thank you very much for your daily emails which you so generously send us on a daily basis.
From the morning inspirational quotes, which always start the day with confident ponder, to the afternoon posts which always, always have informative and helpful tidbits to reflect on, then aim to embark on.
Your generosity in helping us better ourselves in our personal life, as well as in our business life, is most commendable, and just would like you to know that I for one, look forward to finding your daily posts. Your caring and consideration shines through in each one received.
Having been a subscriber for about a year now, it is most admirable to receive these inspirations without so much as ever missing a day. WOW!
Wishing you continued success, along with a very relaxing weekend.
Shine on,
Heidi R
I was quite touched by Heidi taking the time to send me this email. Here is how I replied….
Heidi:
Thank you for your very kind words.
I really appreciate them.
I’m glad you find the daily quotes to be helpful.
I’m attaching a copy of my latest book Climbing the Corporate Ladder as a way to thank you for your very nice email.
All the best,
Bud
Both emails are pretty good examples of the career advice in Tweet 127 in Success Tweets. “Pay it forward. Build relationships by giving with no expectation of return. Give of yourself to build strong relationships.” I like to think that in this case, both Heidi and I paid it forward.
My daily success quotes are one way that I try to pay it forward. My goal is to inspire people and move them to action so they can create the life and career success they want and deserve. If you would like to begin receiving these quotes, go to my website, http://budbilanich.com. Sign up to get you free copy of Success Tweets and you’ll automatically begin receiving the daily success quotes.
In 2009 I participated in a writing project with my colleagues at the Creating WE Institute. We published a little book called, 42 Rules for Creating WE. The rules were short essays that contained a lot of great career advice. One of the rules I contributed was called, “There is No Quid Pro Quo in WE.” Here’s what I had to say…
WE is built on relationships; the idea that we are all connected, and that through a WE-centric, rather than a traditional I-centric approach, our collective wisdom grows and evolves. This kind of thinking creates stronger organizations and societies. It fosters mutual shared respect for the unique contribution every person is capable of making. Solid, lasting, mutually beneficial relationships are at the core of WE. Giving with no expectation of return is a great way to create these types of relationships.
This is a quid pro quo world: you do for me and I’ll do for you. While there is nothing wrong in reciprocating a good deed or a favor, there is a fundamental problem with quid pro quo. It is reactive not proactive. Too many people wait for others to go first. They adopt the attitude, “When and if you do for me, I’ll do for you.” This scarcity mentality is not conducive to creating WE, or building strong relationships. When you come from a scarcity mentality, you focus on holding on to what you already have. This can prevent you from receiving what you might possibly get.
On the other hand, giving with no expectation of return comes from a proactive abundance mentality. When you give with no expectation of return, you are acknowledging the abundance of the universe. You are demonstrating faith that the good you do will benefit others close to you and the world at large – and that good things will come back to you.
Giving with no expectation of return is ironic. I have found that the more I give, the more I receive; often from unlikely sources. But that’s not my reason for giving – and I hope it is not yours. The best reason for giving is the basic joy of making a difference in other people’s lives and in creating a WE-centric world.
I love the Liberty Mutual Insurance “responsibility” ads. They are a very visual demonstration of the ideas behind creating WE – especially giving with no expectation of return. You’ve probably seen them.
They begin with someone going a little out of his or her way to do something that benefits others; picking up a piece of trash, opening a door for another person who’s hands are full. Another person observes this and goes out of his or her way for someone else. The cycle repeats several times during the ad. The message is clear. We are all better off when we help each other.
Giving without expectation of return not only helps you create a WE-centric culture, it helps you build strong partnerships.
In the end, giving with no expectation of return comes down to your mentality – scarcity or abundance. If you come from a scarcity mentality, you will live by quid pro quo, and perpetuate the I-centric status quo. If you come from an abundance mentality, you will give with no expectation of return and begin to create a WE-centric world and create the kind of strong, mutually beneficial relationships that will help you create the life and career success you want and deserve.
I choose abundance and paying it forward. I agree with Winston Churchill, who said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” When you give with no expectation of return you will get a good life. You’ll also get a better world; one in which we all look out for one another.
The common sense point here is simple. You can build strong realtionships by paying it forward. Follow the career advice in Tweet 127 in Success Tweets. “Pay it forward. Build relationships by giving with no expectation of return. Give of yourself to build strong relationships.” Paying it forward is the opposite of quid pro quo. When you go first – give of yourself to help someone else, with no expectations of return – you are laying the foundation for a successful relationship. When you wait to reciprocate a good deed by another person, you are engaging in quid pro quo behavior that usually results in lost relationship opportunities. Do yourself a favor, follow this career advice when it comes to relationship building – pay it forward.
That’s my career advice when it comes to paying it forward. What do you think? Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us in a comment. As always, thanks for taking the time to read my daily musings on life and career success. I value you and I appreciate you.
Bud
PS: If you haven’t already done so, I suggest that you check out my career advice book Success Tweets and its companion piece Success Tweets Explained. The first gives you 140 bits of career success advice tweet style — in 140 characters or less. The second is a whopping 390 + pages of career advice explaining each of the common sense tweets in Success Tweets in detail. Go to http://budurl.com/STExp to claim your free copy. You’ll also start receiving my daily life and career success quotes.
PPS: Have you seen my membership site, My Corporate Climb? It’s devoted to helping people just like you create career success inside large corporations. You can find out about it by going to http://www.mycorporateclimb.
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