Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the USA. While primarily about Thanksgiving, there is some career advice in this post.
For many of us, Thanksgiving is a day for football and eating turkey. But let’s not forget the real reason of the day, to give thanks for our many blessings. I know that I am blessed, and if you to look, I bet you are too.
If you read this career advice blog with any regularity, you know that I believe an abundance mentality helps you create the life and career success you want and deserve.
David McMurtry who works for my non-profit partner, the Go For It! Institute sent me this little poem by Karl Fuchs the other day. I think it does a god job of capturing the essence of an abundance mentality. Check it out…
As Thanksgiving Day rolls around,
It brings up some facts, quite profound.
We may think that we’re poor,
Feel like we are not enough, insecure,
But in truth, our riches astound.
We have friends and family we love;
We have so much more
Than they sell in a store,
We’re wealthy, when push comes to shove.
So add up your blessings, I say;
Make Thanksgiving last more than a day.
Enjoy what you’ve got;
Realize it’s a lot,
And you’ll make all your cares go away.
This poem reminds me of the importance of coming from an abundance mentality. I wrote a chapter in 42 Rules for Creating WE entitled “There is No Quid Pro Quo in WE.” I’ve paraphrased some of it below…
This is a quid pro quo world: you do for me and I’ll do for you. While there is nothing wrong in reciprocating a good deed or a favor, there is a fundamental problem with quid pro quo. It is reactive not proactive. Too many people wait for others to go first. They adopt the attitude, “When and if you do for me, I’ll do for you.” This scarcity mentality is not conducive to creating WE. When you come from a scarcity mentality, you focus more on holding on to what you have, that on opening yourself up to what you can get.
On the other hand, giving with no expectation of return comes from a proactive abundance mentality. When you give with no expectation of return, you are acknowledging the abundance of the universe. You are demonstrating faith that the good you do will benefit others close to you and the world at large – and that good things will come back to you. And that’s making Thanksgiving last more than a day is all about.
The common sense career success coach point here is simple. Making Thanksgiving last more than a day comes down to your mentality – scarcity or abundance. If you come from a scarcity mentality, you will live by quid pro quo, and perpetuate the I-centric status quo. If you come from an abundance mentality, you will give with no expectation of return and begin creating a WE-centric world. I choose abundance and choose to take an active part in creating in helping not only myself, but others as well. I agree with some career advice from Winston Churchill who once said, “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” When you give with no expectation of return you will get a good life. You’ll also get a better world; one in which we all look out for one another.
That’s the career advice I take from the idea of making Thanksgiving last more than a day. What do you think? Please leave a comment sharing your thoughts with us. And as always, thanks for reading. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends.
Bud
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