Pay It Forward

Quote: “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (& women) do nothing.” Edmund Burke

It starts with tug in your chest, a flutter in your gut and a feeling of momentum that builds until it shoots you out of the barrel of your life. It is a signal to act, to move, to go to battle.  It is a call to pay it forward.

The fact is that giving back has always been the path to wholeness and happiness–we just forget from time to time how we are made.  Unless we are investing in something bigger than our own lives and businesses, we are missing one of the great gifts of this life- a rich sense of destiny.

Two years ago, I saw a feature on the Today show about an organization called “Dress for Success.” *  I got the tug and the flutter.  So I called and said “ I love what you do, how can I serve you? A week later Pam Mason with the Oregon office contacted me about speaking. What I found was a group of women ready to bring it on. They were vibrant, alive, intense communicators who ate up every word of my “Soul Picnic” talk as though they suddenly found themselves in the middle of a chocolate buffet.  I was impressed by their professionalism, their desire to achieve, and the sweetness that comes from a room full of women who aren’t competing, but rather trying to lift each other up.  It dawned on me that in supporting these women; I would be supporting their children, their grandchildren and all the people they touch. That got me excited.

So I began thinking “What else  could I do to help?” The first thing, the smallest thing was to give a tithe from my business.  So this year I am sponsoring five women, providing life skills, education, and employment-appropriate clothing for one year. I am asking God to help me double that number next year.

We read stories every day about men and women who hear that call in large and small ways and step up to give back. I have a friend who occasionally picks names and addresses in the phone book and sends money to them anonymously.  I have friends that feed the homeless, volunteer at Food banks, visit women in prison and  counsel at women’s shelters.  I have a few acquaintances that have tasted the good life of paying it forward and have put everything they own in the balance in order to give back.  They are without a doubt the richest people I know.

I have been the recipient of paying it forward.  Numerous times in my life people who asked for nothing in return have rescued me on the side of the road.  Once I had a tow truck driver spend hours taking my car and me over the pass between Sisters and the Portland, Lexus dealer.  I had no cell phone, no money and no rental car. He drove me to a friend’s house in the middle of the night.  He never asked for money, just told me to pay it forward.  There was the time I ran out of gas on a stretch of highway between Bend and Sisters, Oregon.  Out of nowhere there appeared a guy with a gas can and a big smile.  Then there was a whole family that stopped one Sunday to help me fix a busted radiator hose.  They were on their way to a family dinner, but they drove me to get a new hose and then patiently helped me install it in my car.

In a couple of weeks we will welcome in a New Era and whatever your state, I encourage you to remember how you are made and consider what you have to offer. So the world is not in good shape–tell me something new and good.  What can you do? What tugs at your heart and fills your “what if’s?  Where will you begin to pay it forward?

I want to hear about the places and people that touch your heart and call you into action.  In the next couple of blogs we will look at the reasons we don’t act and what we can do to become people who pay it forward.

Wishing you the joys of paying it forward,

Kathy Vick C.L.C.
email: kathy@fluentlifecoaching.com
www.fluentlifecoaching.com

Call 503 886 9642  and start this year with a complimentary coaching session!

* The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. www.dressforsuccess.org

• Tweet