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Listen to many success gurus today and they’ll preach about establishing an “Hour of Power” in which you completely devote 60 minutes of uninterrupted time toward the completion of a vital task every day.
The gurus promise uncommon success, wealth and everything that comes with that.
There is nothing wrong with working hard, or with success for that matter. But, a friend of mine takes an entirely different approach and he’s finding tremendous value and success it that.
Vincent Pugliese calls it the “Hour of Giving” and it is based on the idea that whatever energy you put into the world is what will come back to you.
It makes sense. If you are negative and worrisome all day, then you’ll probably have one negative or worrisome experience after another. By flipping that around being joyful and supportive, you’re likely to be on the receiving end of happy, joyful encounters with others.
My friend asked himself what type of energy was he investing each day into make other people’s lives better? He didn’t like the answer. I know I fall way short of that ideal.
Vincent dedicates the first hour of each working day toward doing favors for other people. He might leave reviews of books and podcasts. He might promote a friend’s service or business. He might create a handwritten note of appreciation to people in his life, or offer a little emotional support to someone online.
Either way, he is investing his time and his energy into making the world a better place for others. In doing so, the world becomes a better place for him!
Best of all, it requires no money, outside of a postage stamp or two.
My youngest daughter LOVES to write handwritten thank you notes to people and jot notes of encouragement to them out of the blue. Those unexpected, uplifting notes can really make your day! I’ve been the fortunate recipient of several of them.
Vincent promises that if you are looking for one area in your life that will improve all the other areas of your life as well, then create an Hour of Giving.
I intend to do that, too. I might not be able to start with a whole hour, but I can certainly invest 20 to 30 minutes providing encouragement to other people.
The world is extremely dark these days. I can only imagine how a glimmer of hope and appreciation will really stand out in people’s lives. It’s a feeling they are likely to cherish themselves and pass it on to others.
Who knows, we could spark a chain-reaction of goodness.
