Giving…and the new definition of Success!

Every New Year’s Day I like to write down Goals for myself that I will carry with me, and refer to, throughout the year.  This year was different in the fact that, especially for my writing/publishing activities, I really focused on what I want to Give, instead of what I want to Get.

Several years ago I wrote in a journal (before the days of blogging) that “the definition of maturity was when you stop looking to see what the world has to offer you, and you begin showing the world what you have to offer it.”  I still like that a lot but recently realized that too often in goal-setting, I was still focused on what I want to go get.

That changed before the holidays when I discovered John Lee Dumas’ Entrepreneur on Fire.  John’s business is podcasting, and he has implemented (in my mind) a game-changing approach to business: he shares everything with his customers, sponsors and audience.  When you search his site, not only do you find an expansive library of free podcasts, but he accomplishes his goal of total transparency by posting his financials each month!

This stopped me in my tracks as I marveled at his genius.  Traditional school of business thought is to always appear strong in the marketplace, spin every potential negative and never let ‘em see you sweat.  John’s approach invites everyone to partner with him.  His openness (much like his content) inspires you and your own dreams as well as enlists you as a supporter – you want to cheer him on and see him grow.

I thought how perfect for an aspiring author.  Search “writers” on Twitter and you’ll find scores of us, and many will be trying to present themselves as ‘best-selling’, ‘award winning’ successes even though you’ve never heard of, or read them.  What we really need is to invite the readers to walk with us every step of the way, and cheer us on as we climb those mountains.

The definition of maturity was when you stop looking to see what the world has to offer you, and you begin showing the world what you have to offer it. – JC

Back to my goal-setting:

Of my goals for 2014, I wrote 3 down for writing.

1. Publish my first novel by my birthday – July 2
2. Publish an updated/revised edition of Catholics Mean Business by year’s end.
3. Give 1,000 gifts.

Last year I gave away almost 600 copies of my books (some paperbacks of CMB, but mostly digital downloads and PDFs of my battle plan to beat stress, Catholics Have Courage).  This year I want to up that total to 1,000.  I believe my two books can help people.  I’m not content with sitting back and waiting for people to realize that and be willing to pay for them.  When I meet someone I think could benefit from one of those books, I just want them to have it.

So thanks to John Lee Dumas’ example, I’m going to periodically blog about my activities and results this year, as I march towards those goals.  Quite frankly I will need the help of my readers as I go.

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