Day 56 (Giving)…

…is yet another BTL Worldview.

You can’t give away what you don’t have, and you can’t have until you receive. You must receive the gift of being built first — and blessed you are when you do. Only then can you become a BTL builder of others — but all the more blessed when you do. Together we transform, always together, is more than our tagline. It’s another part of our Worldview.

An abundance mentality gives without scorekeeping, without transacting and without give and take. An abundance mentality gives out of its abundance, not out of poverty or scarcity. This is why BTL leaders and teams give with joy, not annoyance, in their countenance.

This abundance mentality is why we say be a conduit not a cul de sac. A cul de sac is like the Dead Sea, so rich in minerals it’s toxic because nothing flows out only in. A conduit draws in water from deep reservoirs and outflows as a river of life. In the world of electricity, a conduit connects a current from a power source to whatever needs lit up. This kind of buzz is electric not just for the receiver but for the giver. As a young city-boy, I loved spending a week every summer at my Granddad’s farm, running the half-mile dirt road between it and my Uncle’s farm. I’ll never forget the time my Uncle greeted me in the barn with an outstretched hand, a huge grin on his face, and an extra twinkle in his eye. As we shook hands, the flow of 2000 mostly-innocent volts dropped me to my knees, courtesy of the cattle wire he was holding in his other hand. An old farmer’s trick, he was wearing rubber boots, so he didn’t get the buzz until we both were lit up in laughter — all ONE, distinct and deeply connected.

That’s what givers do, and it’s electric. More than a calling, it’s a lifestyle of joy, where as you give you are replenished…where as you build you are built…where as you love you are loved.

According to Mihaly, flow is the highest form of human experience. It’s not for the masses, who are always there for the taking — but it is for the few, who are always there for the giving away of the gift that truly keeps on giving.

What’s been your experience with flow, lately? When’s the latest time you had a really good buzz? How deep are your reservoirs? Are you tapped into a renewable power source, or are you plugged into some numbing bullshit? Give yourself the gift of time and come clean, please. Write. It just may be the siphon you need to get flow started.

Embrace it. Live it. Love it (Thanks, Toto)…