We’ve become a very consumer-oriented society. That wasn’t always the case though. Going back just 2 or 3 generations, it was a lot more common for people to give a portion of their income to a cause. Most often this was in the form of a donation to the local church, but it didn’t end there.

Neighbors would come help out when there was a barn to be raised. Women would get together and help out if one of their own got sick. And no matter how lean the years were, if someone needed a roof over their head or some warm food in their belly, you helped out. It was called being “neighborly”. We don’t do much of that anymore, do we?

That doesn’t mean we can’t work on being more giving. There are thousands of charities supporting all sorts of worthy causes. And one of the easiest ways to work on being more giving is to find a charity you believe in and start supporting them. Continue reading →

Going out and talking to people we don’t know can be quite the daunting task. It gets even worse when there is a crowd of people or we’re expected to impress the people we’re meeting. Yet it seems so easy and effortless for “outgoing” people. They strike up a conversation with the person next to them with ease and seem to make friends no matter where they go.

We on the other hand agonize about what to say, how to not sound stupid and before you know it we’ve talked ourselves out of walking up to someone and saying “Hi!”. What if I told you that there is a simple hack you can do that will help you become more outgoing. It’s simple, but it does take a little effort on your part. Are you ready?

It’s practice. Yep, you heard me, practice makes perfect. The idea with this hack is that you strike up a conversation every single day. Ideally this will be in person and in real life, but even chatting online can have some benefits. Continue reading →