I have always had a passion for giving back and serving others. I think if we all really reflect on our purpose we will find that deep down our purpose involves selflessness and servanthood.

When we are living our purpose there is evidence all around us because not only are we more happy but those around us are happier. When I was in college I had an amazing blessing happen to me. I came home one day from school and there was a sealed envelope in my door. The front of the envelope read, ‘to the owner of this house.’ So, since I owned the house, I opened the envelope. Inside contained a letter and a $100 bill. I began to read the touching and beautiful letter and it contained the words, “random act of kindness,” “giving back,” “generosity,” ect. The only request from the sender was that I use the money to help my family and/or make a difference and help someone else. I was speechless that some stranger would leave $100 cash in someone’s door that they didn’t even know. I began investigating and asking all my friends if they did this or knew who did this. Everyone denied it and to this day I still don’t have any idea who wrote that letter and left that money.

I couldn’t possibly imagine using that money to pay a bill or give to a family member to pay a bill. Nothing like that has ever happened to me so I knew I had to do something great with it. At the time my basketball team was looking for an opportunity to give back to the community during the holidays. So after pondering on it for days we finally decided we would visit the local nursing/assisted living home in downtown Waukesha. We knew that the holidays were a tough time for them and that the residents must get lonely so we wanted to do something special for them. So with the money we visited the Dollar Store and purchased as much ‘stuff’ to fill as many goodie bags as we could. From notepads, to playing cards, candy, teddy bears, snacks, ect we must have been able to fill about 35 bags to hand out to residents. But even more fulfilling was not just handing out goodie bags to residents but the time we were able to spend with them. We met an elderly lady that was in a wheelchair and it happened to be her 100th birthday that day. You would have never known it because she had a mouth on her like a sailor and a smile on her face like a child. A group of 5 of us got our picture taken with her and her friend that day and several weeks later that picture appeared in the Waukesha Freeman, our local newspaper.  It’s amazing because I can look at $100 and realize I spend more than that in a week on gas for my truck. But the value of that $100 was priceless that day as we were able to stretch that out to make a difference and put a smile on many people’s faces. The entire process was so rewarding for myself and my team and it’s all because our hearts were focused on serving others and giving back.

I once read a quote, “love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” Barbara de Angelis

In a society that appears to be selfish and complacent, I believe there are still millions of people who sense the need to make a difference. What perfect timing for the soon to be released best seller Leadershift. And our mission is so critical right now. LIFE founder George Guzzardo states, “Preservation of freedom and liberty has always required men and women to stand up and lead.” In addition to many important qualities, leadership requires a servant heart and a passion for change. I believe Orrin Woodward and Oliver DeMille are starting a movement with their new book. People will finally know what to do and how they can play their part in making a difference. Don’t miss the launch on Tuesday, April 16th and make sure to get your copy of Leadershift and let’s go out there and change the world together.

God Bless,

Kristen