In Life and Business Are You the Giving Tree?
You blog, you email, you answer questions over the phone freely, without an immediate expectation (i.e. money) of coming back to you. You do this freely, sometimes invigorated by the sheer enjoyment of helping someone. Your behavior is altruistic and you cannot think of another way to be.
I believe that when I began to blog my nature changed. I don't like to consider that I was selfish, but I am 
sure I was. Helping family and friends came naturally, as it does for many. Helping strangers and extending a hand of friendship in business....well, blogging opened the window to that world for me.
I would almost go so far as to say that blogging has saved my business soul. In times now, where prospect to close time frame is much longer for me than in years past, I turn to my blog to rekindle a generous spirit so that I think not of bills but of cultivating relationships that will have impact in my life, both personally and professionally.
I have learned that while push marketing has a place, pulling, planting, cultivating, and growing my garden is worth the wait.
In times of anxiousness or concern over keeping steady business closing I try to ground and center myself. My blog is a core of this center. A wealth of self-discovery and open sharing for me.
One recent evening gazing at my family's bookshelf I stumbled across the old story by Shel Silverstein, the Giving Tree. It helped stir a bit of meaning into my doubts and reinforced my discovery that I have made a choice to be a Giving Tree, in Life and in Business.
It stirred some words in me. Please allow me to wax a little poetically,
I went outside
'Tis so sultry
Not a leaf stirs on the tree upon which I gazed
Not a breathe of wind caresses its branches
Everyday it still stands
Creatures inhabit this tree
These inhabitants rustle their limbs up this tree's trunk
They jump on its branches
They burrow in its leaves
They seek nourishment, comfort, a home
This tree. It still stands
This tree has worn grooves into the earth
Burrowed its roots
She is proud
She is strong
She rises almighty
She thirsts for rain
She still stands
There was a rainstorm a month ago
The thunder cracked her whip down on this tree
And broke one of her limbs
It tumbled to the ground
I did not know of the occurrence 'til morning
I slept through the branch cracking and twisting in the wind and rain
Falling to the ground In the morning
I surmised what had passed
This tree. She still stands
Tonight I gazed upon this tree
She is of great comfort to me
She rises to her occasion
She has burrowed her roots
She is proud
She is strong
She rises almighty
She thirsts for rain
Tonight not a breathe of wind caresses her branches
Creatures inhabit her
They rustle their limbs up her trunk
They jump on her branches
They burrow in her leaves
They seek nourishment, comfort, a home
This tree. She still stands
In Business and Life Are You The Giving Tree?
If you enjoyed inspirational stories, you'll want to read:
Subscribe to Blogging In The Rain, A Real Estate Marketing Blog
;)
;)
Rebecca, I've seen my own attitude change from the time I started blogging as well. Where I used to be afraid to voice my opinion, I'm brave (well, braver anyway). Where I used to think that those with more experience were somehow better at my profession, I know now that experience does not equal competence. And watching the sharing that goes on in our cyber community, there is no way I could take it all in and not give some of it back. Those are my changes...and they sound a lot like yours :)