Posts Tagged “Pay It Forward”

Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Categorized under Uncategorized

Pay It Forward with Random Acts of Kindness

How to Pay It Forward

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
The world can seem like an unfriendly, threatening place, yet we all want safety, health, and happiness for ourselves and our loved ones. How can one ordinary person -- you or me -- make a positive difference in this world? One way is the practice "paying it forward." While the steps might be simple, the outcome could change the world.

Steps

  1. Be attentive wherever you are for opportunities to help someone. Perhaps you have an elderly or disabled neighbor who is too proud to ask for help with their yardwork or maybe you're in a restaurant and see someone who looks like they could use some kind stranger to pay for their meal. You can change people's attitudes about the world through your unobtrusive acts of kindness.
  2. Do something nice for someone you don't know (or don't know very well). It should be something significant, and not for a person from whom you expect a good deed -- or anything at all, for that matter -- in return.
  3. Spread the word. If the person thanks you and wants to "repay" you (that is, pay it "back"), let them know that what you'd really like is for them to pay it "forward" -- you'd like them to do something nice for three people they don't know, and ask those three people to do something nice for three more people. The idea is to consciously increase the goodness of the world.
  4. Pay it forward. When you notice that somebody has done something nice for you, make a note in your mind to practice three acts of kindness towards other people, as described in Step 2.


Tips

  • The "pay it forward" concept was popularized with the book Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde, which was later made into a movie with the same title, starring Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, and Kevin Spacey.
  • Even small acts, such as paying the bridge toll for the car behind you when you pay for your own, counts. If it makes the world a friendlier place, you succeeded!
  • Practicing the "pay it forward" principle will make you alert to unexpected kindness from strangers toward you, and you may find yourself becoming more grateful for everyday kindness and consideration from people you don't even know.


Warnings

  • Most nice things done for strangers will be one-time efforts, so use your head and don't give out your name or phone number; if someone seems to expect you to provide ongoing help but you don't want to go that far, smile and tell the person that you prefer to remain anonymous.
  • It can feel risky to help strangers, but trust your own good intentions and don't be afraid to go out on a limb if you believe your actions can help the person.
  • Some people will not act grateful, but the benefits may still come around when you are not there to see it. Let your beneficial action be enough in itself and don't expect profuse thanks, or even any thanks at all.
  • Do take care of yourself. If you have excess then share with those in need, but don't give away your last dollar. The stronger you are the more good you can do for others.


Related wikiHows


Sources and Citations

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Pay It Forward. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

Thursday, July 23, 2009 Categorized under Articles

Treat Them Like They’re Right in Front of You

Today I’m interviewing Chuck Hester about his soon to be published book ‘Linking In to Pay it Forward – Changing the Value Proposition in Social Media” .

Be sure to tune in and enjoy this extract:

Online social media etiquette

‘Here’s the scenario: A person contacts you and would like to get to know you better, on a business level. You agree and start a conversation. As the relationship develops you find that you have more things in common than you originally thought. You want to deepen the relationship. You look for ways to help this other person and become good friends. Oh, and by the way, you’ve never actually physically met.

Welcome to the world of online networking. For this old-fashioned guy, it took a while to get used to meeting and talking to folks for months, sometimes years that I never actually met. Until I decide to apply a very important principal to my online relationships:

Treat your connections like they’re standing right in front of you.

By using your inherent sense of respect for others, you can develop some amazing relationships online.

Here’s a few tips to help you can treat your connections like they’re standing right in front of you:

  • Be open to new relationships. I often get invitations on LinkedIn from people I have nothing in common with  an IT administrator, a blogging mom in New Hampshire and for the most part I always accept those invitations. Why? Because I never know what may come out of that relationship in the long run.
  • Be polite but be honest. Respond back to invitations honestly. IF you don’t want to pursue the relationship, then say so.
  • Be yourself and be who you are, not who you want other to think you are. Don’t put on an online “identity” to impress or try and influence.
  • Remember the other person is real “ not just a computer connection. Respond in a reasonable time, don’t ignore them and be sure to follow through on anything you commit to do.
  • Listen, don’t just talk. Listening is an art not easily mastered, especially in the white noise world of online networking!
  • Finally, look for ways to develop an online relationship into a physical one. Do you like the person you’re connected to either as a friend or business associate? Then take the time to meet them if you can. Make the face to face connection.

So, my question to you is simple: Who are you connected to online that you don’t know well but who may make a difference in your life? More importantly, who are you connected to online that you can make a difference in THEIR lives?

Sunday, January 11, 2009 Categorized under Articles

This is how trust begins in networking

Is the prime motivation of  social networking behavior  an attempt reduce risk when making those important decisions that affect our lives? Success in professional services depends on developing and retaining the highest quality relationships. Having a benchmark for what qualitative exchanges look like, is where we are today, in so far as each of us seems to be learning more about.

Reaching out to trusted friends or peers for guidance, information or recommendations around topics that bring confirmation and confidence, such as someone you might need to build a website or provide a service, has been generally restricted to people we have known or met socially. However, since the exponential expansion of virtual socialisation, it is now commonplace to solicit the opinions of those who exist within your extended network despite the fact you might barely know them. If you are lucky enough to get worthwhile responses from people who take the time to reply and guide you to some valuable providers or some new opportune connection, this is the genesis of a trusted relationship. They have stepped up and generated some ‘relationship capital’ with you.

It is important to understand how relationship capital is developed because it is along the same lines as Keith Ferazzi’s clear vision of enterprises as networks. It is a daily practice of providing a goodwill gesture to someone who maybe a friend or a complete stranger, a sort of ‘pay it forward’ philosophy at work. Trust is a beautiful yet fragile creation. Guard it well by only commiting to that which you truly believe you can execute or recommending an excellent service, person, business. This is what makes the world a better place and restores our confidence in one another against a tide of lies and corruption that have driven us to the brink of cynicism.

Trust-based Networks In this first of four segments, Myra Gorman, President and CEO of Community Analytics, explains how trust plays a role inside networks. You can find all the videos in this series on the same Blip TV link.