Making a Contribution

“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”

Sir Winston Churchill, British Politician (b. 1874, d.1965)

 Contribution is the fourth promise from The Self-Empowerment Pledge that is discussed in Joe Tye’s (2009) book: The Florence Prescription: From Accountability to Ownership. Tye’s fourth promise is: “I will earn help I need in advance by helping other people now, and repaying the help I receive by serving others later.” In a nutshell, Tye wants people to make a personal commitment to “help and serve others,” which is a very important pledge for employees in health and human services.

Good News: Contribution is best provided by direct service providers (a.k.a. service leaders). Some people believe a false concept that direct service providers are not leaders because they are often at the bottom of the organizational chart. They might assume that only managers and people in administration are leaders. The real truth is that the service provider can be a very great and wise leader.

Hermann Hesse’s (1932) novel, Journey to the East illustrates how the servant can be a leader. The main character of the story, Leo is the servant for a party that is taking a journey across the desert. Leo is described as being: happy, pleasant, having good rapport with others, and is viewed as a simple hard-working servant. Leo becomes a key leader because the members of the party realize they are not able to make their journey across the desert without the skills and abilities that Leo has. The party is so dependent on Leo that he ultimately becomes the “Servant Leader.” Without him, the party could not make the journey. All employees in health and human services could be this same type of leader. The organization needs people just like you to survive and strive.

Ultimately, the contribution (what you do) is more important that what a person receives (Rewards). Some experts (Scheele, 2004) argue that most of our worldly possessions that we have received will be in a landfill in 50 years from today or less. Many of our technological devices may be outdated a lot quicker. Our flat screen televisions, laptop computers, and cellphones could be in a landfill in the next 10-15 years.

Scheele (2012) argues in his book We Put a Man onthe Moon: Thoughts on Living a Better Story that people on their death bed do not look back and say I wish I had a 2^nd beach house or I wish I had more money in my bank account, or I wish I had more cars. Scheele believes that people want to reflect back and say they had lived a life story that was worth living. They will feel glad that they had made a contribution to this world.

            I Hope You Dance is a country-pop song written by Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers and sung by Lee Ann Womack on her (2000) album with the same name that best captivates the concept on doing something meaningful with your life. The lyrics are: “Time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along. Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder where those years have gone?” Dance is a metaphor to do something with your life opposed to missing the opportunity.

 You’re Invited to DO THIS Now:

            I’m writing to invite you to consider taking steps today to start making a greater contribution. Please make a personal pledge that you will give more at work, at your home with your family, with your friends, and during your leisure and hobbies. Giving it your best could help you to feel like you are living a life worth living.

Action Step:  Write down a quick checklist with 10 things you can do to make a contribution. Do it right now while it is fresh on  your mind. Sign it. Date it. Do it. Make a difference. Email me, Danny, Admin [at] DannyPettry.Com once you've done a few things on your checklist. We'll share these things at this blog.

About the author: Danny Pettry II has worked as a Recreational Therapist at a psychiatric hospital in West Virginia for ten years. He has held Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) credentials since 2003. Pettry has a M.S. degree in Recreational Therapy from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree in the field from Marshall University, Huntington, W.Va.

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References

Scheele, K. (2012). We put a man on the moon: Thoughts on living a better story. (1st ed.). Publishing City Unknown: Self-Published.

Tye, J. (2009). The Florence prescription: From accountability to ownership: The next frontier for patient satisfaction, workplace productivity, and employee loyalty. Solon, IA: Values Coach, Inc.

Womack, L. (2000). I hope you dance. On I hope you dance [CD]. Nashville, TN: MCA Nashville.