Paying it forward as often as possible

One of my oldest friends & I are in the initial stages of work on a big project together.

This particular undertaking is all in the name of doing something thoughtful for other people-- friends we know & love-- and I can't recommend this kind of thing enough. Seems almost silly to mention, because for all I know you're already on top of being the most giving person ever, but I'm mentioning it anyway:

Surprise people you love by being thoughtful in extremely unexpected ways. Recruit other people to help you if it isn't something you can do yourself. Do this again & again, the thrill will never get old.

Once, I surprised my sister by taking advantage of the fact that I have a copy of their house key. Read about it HERE. She would never ask me to do something like that, but it was a particularly stressful week for her. It took me half of an afternoon; I was in & out of there before she got home from work. Her phone call to me after she got home was TOTALLY WORTH IT. I'm not telling you this to get pats on the back for it. I'm the one who ends up getting the bigger adrenaline rush than the person I'm doing it for.

Look around at those you love. What do they need? What would really help them out, even if they don't realize it yet? I've often found that the things people need help with or could use a break from don't cost a lot of time or money. Think of it as the proverbial boy scout helping an old lady cross the street; something that may be no big deal for you to do, but could vastly improve (or just improve a tiny bit!) the day, week... LIFE of someone else!

As for the current large-scale project I'm working on with JJ, there are many little facets of it that have to get done in stages. I just got an email from her on something else she thought of to help the other friends we're recruiting along the way feel more attached to the end result; to allow each of them to have a personal investment to this project even though some of them don't know the friends we're doing it for. This idea she's come up with is excellent, and perfect for the tone we're trying to set.

Ultimately, it will be me who has to execute this idea from her concept to fruition because it's a design-related, creative-type of thing. I laughed forever when I read the last sentence of her lengthy email, because it shows how well she knows me. We've been friends for 20+ years, and she's aware that when attempting to add more things to my tasks list, flattery (no matter how full of B.S. it may sound) will get you everywhere:


A master at work: Flattery + Bullshit = Bullshittery.