Are YOU worth it?

What is your value?

What do you bring to your work? What to you contribute to your professional and personal relationships?

What difference do you make?

If you are like many non-profit professionals your value is HIGH! You deepen and enrich all of your relationships! The work you do literally transform lives daily – in education, healthcare, social services, the environment, religion and more!

Yet do you really recognize and appreciate your value? 

October 7-9 I’ll be hosting my MORE Major Gifts intensive workshop in Nashville for about 20 folks. (You can register here) At $597.00 this is an incredible value -small group, highly interactive experience. Yet I am often ask if I offer scholarships or discounts.  Now I DO offer scholarships and early bird pricing (and I do it to GIVE first) and I understand we are all working to get the most value for our investments. But, because our mindset determines everything…because our inner world creates our outer world, I wonder when this whole process reflects our lack of self-esteem?  When does our attraction for a “deal” deplete us rather than lift us up?  It’s almost begging. We can’t afford this. It’s not in the budget. It’s out of our reach.

Do we focus more on a free lunch than how the experience will help us grow, enrich our connections or deepen our skills?  Do we have some ceiling on what level of experience we could ever really manage – I mean, we could only go if our organization paid for it, right?

Or perhaps it is this marketing that pushes through the noise in our lives – all the email, social media posts, deadlines, meetings and obligations.  Early Bird Pricing, Discounts, Time is RUNNING OUT! Sale, today only!  DO IT NOW! Must we get pushed into taking action by these sales gimmicks pouring into our inbox and appearing on social media?  I know I react.  Do you “get what you pay for” or are some experiences simply not worth the price of admission?

In the end, wouldn’t it be great to just go for First Class?  What would happen if you just decided you were worth it and paid for it?

You see, I believe this is really a question about living a life of abundance.  When we harbor fear around running out of money, or that there is not enough money “out there” to fund our mission or pay for the workshop, we contract our actions, our thinking AND OUR RESULTS!

Think about setting fundraising goals, attendance goals, enrollment goals – how many of us “play it safe?”  “Well let’s not shoot too high in case we don’t get there.” “Better to aim lower and get past our goal rather than miss it.”

I say it’s better to get SOME or even MOST of a BIG GOAL, than ALL of no goal – nothing.  Are you failing if your goal is $1,000,000 and you reach $850,000?  That’s $850,000 you didn’t have for your mission – and nothing is stopping you from continuing to work toward the $1M.  Or that’s 258 students enrolled instead of the 270 you were shooting for, but it’s also 23 MORE than you had last year – and you have 23 more to grow as well as those new tuition dollars in the budget.  I’d say that’s a success!

You see, you reap what you sow. It is really so simple.  You get what you give.

If you sow anger, you get anger.

If you sow joy, you get joy.

If you sow fear, you get fear.

If you sow love, you are loved.

If you sow learning, you get smarter.

If you sow investment into your growth, you will grow.

If you sow action, you will reap results.

You’ve got to put the wood in first, to get the fire.

Big donors want big visions. They want to see you on fire with what you want to accomplish – how your organization or institution will make that difference. So if you want others to give money – you need to give money.  If you want others to give time, you need to give time.  If you are reluctant to give, you demonstrate your fear and belief that there is not enough. Resources are scarce. You have to hold on, hunker down, be conservative, contact…..play small.

Have a big vision for yourself! Invest in yourself. Start talking about what is RIGHT! What you are on fire to DO! Read books, listen to podcasts and surround yourself with positive messages.  Sow giving, kindness and abundance with a vengeance – then look out! You will reap what you sow. Expand your thinking about what is possible for YOU.  I appreciate you and I believe in you and all the good you are sowing in the world! Thank you!