Yesterday, in the rush-hour, holiday, crush of manic grocery-buying, I saw a man with one item join the long line behind me and my laden cart. I told him he could go before me. The woman in front of me offered the same, so he got right to the front of the line. He bought his item and left. The woman in front of me unloaded her cart and as she prepared to pay, the cashier said, “That man left 50.00 towards your groceries.” She was warmed and surprised. She asked if the store had a way to donate the money and then offered the 50.00 to their Food Bank drive. As you have probably guessed, when it came time for me to pay, the cashier smiled and said, “He left another 50 for you.” Ours went to the Food Bank, too. My daughter and I left with so many emotions and thoughts. Mostly a wave joy and gratitude. And the spark of play. “I wish I could have run outside and thanked him! I can’t believe this! …Read on.

If Tom Peters, renowned author of many best-selling books on business including, In Search of Excellence, were to say that he is good at anything—writing, teaching, connecting with others—he would have to admit that all of his skills come together when he is on stage giving a talk. I am honored to know Tom and often pick his brain about the skills and techniques that make him so compelling. He is always, “generous company.” Below are just a few of the tips he has shared over the years. And, trust me, there will be additions long after publication of this post! Tom is never done generating ideas! We begin here…Read on.

Just after I posted last week’s blog about generosity (thanks, Jake!), I began to think about overflowing generosity, endless outpourings, infinite neediness, The Giving Tree, boundless desire, the eternal teat, being bled dry. Yes, I am a parent. The expectation of limitless generosity that some of us might feel, is not healthy. For anyone—not the giver, nor the receiver.

So how do we maintain our abundant generosity and our whole selves? How do we balance taking care of ourselves and giving to others?

Read on…

Have you ever watched a talk, performance, or concert that felt like a gift? Like the performer is giving us something precious? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we all could harness that generosity when speaking?

Last summer, while spending the afternoon with a dear friend, writer and musician, Jake Slichter, my son asked him who is favorite musicians were. The first name Jake uttered without hesitation was Stevie Wonder. Luke asked him, “Why?” And Jake answered, “Because he is generous.”

The truth is that Stevie Wonder is always in my top three favorite musicians ever, along with Bonnie Raitt and Everything But the Girl, but I couldn’t contain myself and butted-in, “What about the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Al Green? Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, Ella Fitzgerald, Beck, PRINCE!”

Jake agreed that these are all wonderful artists. But to him, the thing that makes Stevie Wonder so phenomenal is his generosity.

Before writing this post, I reached out to Jake to dig a little deeper into his idea of generosity. Here is what he had to say…