Dear Friends,
Happiness U celebrated it's first anniversary yesterday. I took some time to reflect upon the year, and saw how it has been an incredible year of growth, in so many ways. Today, I wanted to share with you the greatest lesson I learned (out of the many) and why we were able to grow so much.
The Importance of Receiving
Before I opened the school, I did not like to receive and wanted to do everything myself. I constantly turned down offers of help. Friends, clients, acquaintances, and even people I barely knew often offered the gift of their time, energy, resources and more, but I always said "no" thinking that I didn't want to "trouble" anyone. Plus I wanted to do it myself so I didn't have to "owe" anyone. One time, I even had a flat tire and refused help from a friend that happened to see me, because I didn't want to impose, even though I really needed help.
This year, I learned the importance of receiving, and how by receiving I was able to affect more people and grow Happiness U in a way I never could have, had I not opened up to receive help. Teachers donated their time, companies co-branded with us to extend our reach, members volunteered to man booths at expos, guests brought food and tea, experts helped us set up operational systems at incredible discounts, vendors offered us credit, media friends gave us incredible exposure, our core team donated countless hours of personal time, and the list goes on and on... Through out this year I realized that people enjoyed helping, as much as I enjoy helping, and in the giving and receiving of time, energy, talent and resources, we grew together.
This year we held over 500 classes at the school, and welcomed over 2,000 people through our doors. We were able to directly reach over 2,500 people in the community off premises, all because of people who offered to help us spread the word. This would not have been possible had I tried to do everything myself. In the receiving I was able to give so much more.
You can't exhale if you don't inhale
Life is about inhaling and exhaling and one cannot exist in balance without another. I have come to see it is the same way when it comes to giving and receiving. I always thought it was all about the giving, but in receiving, I have seen how I can be of service to many more people and affect a greater good. You may have heard the phrase, "It's better to give than receive" or "give and you will receive" - after this year, I see that being open to receive is as important as giving, and the two need to be balanced in order to move forward in unprecedented ways.
Is there somewhere you can receive from others in order to make a bigger difference?
Blessings,
Alice
