Randy Siegel builds the people who build organizations.

Organizations hire Randy to transform high-potential employees into a new generation of leaders. Randy gives them the leadership and communications skills they need to rise through the organization.

CEOs hire Randy to help them become more charismatic leaders, spokespeople, and ambassadors for the organizations they serve.

His work is based upon a proprietary process that facilitates self-discovery to clarify personal perspective, true purpose, and professional image.

For more information, contact: Randy@PowerHouse Communications.com

Asheville, NC
Atlanta, GA
Washington, D.C.
Phone: (828) 236-0045
Toll Free:
(888) 836-0045

 

Postcard from Asheville, N.C.

The holidays are in full swing, aren’t they?

Here in Asheville, the stores are crammed to the rafters with merchandise. My neighborhood is festooned with twinkling white lights, fir wreaths, and plywood Santa Clauses, and “Dreaming of a White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells,” and “Silent Night” seem to play in a continuous loop every seven minutes.

Some Christmases are better than others, and this one promises to be a good one for me. For one thing, I am filled with so much gratitude. I look at my blessings.

My family is in good health.

I have a growing group of friends in Asheville.

My business enjoyed a record year, and I had my first international gig.

I enjoyed two one-man art shows this year.

I took a wonderful trip to Argentina with a wonderful group of new friends.

My book, High Voltage Communications, was picked up by Amazon.

My list goes on and on.

As grateful as I am, I am also conscious that the season will be a tough one for some. One of my friends is undergoing a nasty divorce, another recently lost her mother, and yet another is dealing with her husband’s terminal illness. You probably have friends, too, who are navigating some pretty tough waters these days.

What if each of us pledged to reach out to at least one of these people this season? It could be as simple as sending a card or note to a friend to let that person know we’re thinking about him or her. Just one simple act could make a positive impact, and at the same time help us rediscover what this season is really about. Are you up to the challenge?

In this season of giving, we'll look at the power of intrapersonal tithing.

The Power of Intrapersonal Tithing

During my twenties and thirties, I attended Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church in downtown Atlanta. I was active in the church in a variety of ways including teaching second grade Sunday school (I would get the kids in a hyperactive frenzy and send them home to their parents!), serving on the associate vestry (which was enough to make me want to give up organized religion), and making calls for the church’s annual fund drive.

Year after year, my friend Kitty and I would schedule appointments with parishioners, meet in their homes, and ask them to tithe ten percent of their income. These calls were not easy for me. In fact, I would have preferred eating glass, but I knew it was important to make them.

Those calls forced me to look at my own patterns of giving. I believe tithing ten percent of your income is a good idea, but I still don’t do it. To be honest, I’m afraid that one day I will need the money. But I don’t like focusing on scarcity, instead of abundance, and I don’t like living in fear. So each year, my giving creeps closer to ten percent.

Tithing money is important as are other forms of tithing, such as tithing our time in the form of volunteer work and a new form of tithing I read about in The Power of Giving: Creating Abundance in Your Home, at Work, and in Your Community by Azim Jamal and Harvey McKinnon. It’s called “intrapersonal tithing.” (You can download a free copy of the book on http://www.thepowerofgiving.org.)

I met Harvey McKinnon at a workshop I gave at The Giving Institute’s summer conference in Napa Valley, California, this summer. Harvey formulated the idea of intrapersonal tithing. He says there are 8,760 hours in a year, and the average person sleeps eight hours a day or 2,920 hours. That leaves 5,840 waking hours. After subtracting other essential commitments such as:

Work: 40 hours x 50 weeks = 2,000 hours a year;

Buying, preparing, and eating food: 2 hours x 365 days = 730 hours;

Housework, washing clothes, etc.: about 200 hours; and

Commuting: about 300 hours. . .

We have 2,610 hours left, or approximately 2,000 hours. Ten percent of that would be 200 hours. That’s a little less than four hours a week. Think how different your life would be if you committed four hours a week to yourself and your personal growth. You could:

  • Read fiction and nonfiction that inspires, entertains, and/or educates you.
  • Spend time with your loved ones.
  • Journal.
  • Take a course at your local community college.
  • Do something creative such as paint, sculpt, cook, or write.
  • Meditate or pray.
  • Meet with a mentor, coach, spiritual guide, or therapist.
  • Spend time in nature.
  • Exercise, lift weights, or do yoga.

“When you enhance your knowledge, learn new ideas, and gain new skills, you have much more to offer others,” Harvey says. “Great knowledge can lead to better jobs, higher income, and more personal satisfaction. (And your mental, psychological, spiritual, and emotional health improves, too.)

Many of my clients complain that they have no time for themselves. They feel stretched and stressed. They worry that they are burning out, and they are. I counsel them to take time for themselves to recharge their batteries if they are going to be any good for their families and work.

Many initially say that designating ten percent of their free time to themselves is daunting. “I don’t know where I would find the time,” one client remarked. Another said, “Ten percent feels so self-indulgent.”

If you share similar feelings, Harvey recommends “escalator giving,” increasing the time you devote to yourself by one percent a year until you reach ten percent. There are few of us who can’t commit to that.

Could you commit to designating more “you time”? If so, consider completing this pledge, cutting it and pasting it in the body of an e-mail, and sending it to me at randy@powerhousecommunications.com.


Today’s Date: ____________________

I commit to designating _____ percent of my free time, or approximately _____ hours a week, to myself. Activities that I would like to do during this time include _______________, _______________, and _______________.

____________________

Your Name Here


Still not sure? Try intrapersonal tithing for a month. I believe you will find that you’re a happier, more productive person for it.

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Copyright Randy Siegel 2006. All rights reserved.