Hallmark Card: $4.99

Fruit basket: $39.95

A smile: Priceless.

There are endless ways to show you care, but a smile is always free. No excuses. We underestimate the power of a smile: it can reverse and a bad mood and even brighten someone else’s day. When you smile, your body releases endorphins and ultimately makes you  happier. Sometimes it is necessary to put on a forced smile to trick your mind and body.  Next time a friend seems down, help them translate negative energy to positive! Show them the power of a smile.

Sometimes, we fear the unknown. The fear plagues us and prevents us from satisfying curiosities we have about life.

Beat the fear.

Abandon former inhibitions and take a chance. Every journey begins with a step forward. It ends with the knowledge of a life-altering (in some way, shape, or form) experience. Life is short – why not make each journey, large or small, count? Stop procrastinating and take the next step in a positive direction.

“We all have a fear of the unknown. What one does with that fear will make all the difference in the world.” – Lillian Russell.

Uniqueness can take a variety of forms – it could be sense of humor, sense of style, way of thinking, or simply a birth mark. What makes you stand out? Identify it and embrace it. The biggest mistake a person can make is trying to hide their individuality in an attempt to fit in. What the world needs is more individuals.

In business, in volunteering, and in everyday life, people can combine their unique qualities to create something beautiful. Think about how your traits can be used for good. Here’s a challenge: Each morning, fill in the blank with what makes you different from others and how you can use it to help. “I am unique because _____.” Go!

It’s difficult to stay optimistic during hard times, especially following the horrific events in recent news. We often shake our heads, our hearts heavy, and wonder what went wrong. We feel like helpless spectators and assume that our power is not great enough to overcome such issues. Do yourself a favor and eliminate doubt. Small contributions of any kind can make an enormous impact. Stand up for what you believe in. What makes you angry? What inspires you? What do you want to change? Believe in the power of your influence. There is nothing holding you back. Be the change.

1. a bold, usually risky undertaking

2. an exciting or very unusual experience.

Some people sail through life, reluctant to take risks. Be brave – you cannot make change until you are open to it. Life is an adventure. Live the adventure.

At several points in life, chances are you will be inspired by another individual. The individual might be a celebrity with unmistakable talent, an entrepreneur who is secure and satisfied with his/her career, or a volunteer who has done a priceless deed. These individuals are probably influential because of the passion they exhibit. Let them impact you and translate it to your own life. Allow yourself to become passionate about something and pay it forward – inspire others every day.

Perhaps these stereotypical resolutions have become shallow and meaningless. Although we’ve failed to meet these goals, we’re still alive, happy, and healthy – a privilege not granted to everyone. Why not resolve to make change? Instead of feeling guilty about these “goals” we still have yet to accomplish, make new goals that can have more impact.

In 2012, we survived a tremendous hurricane, and (too many) senseless shootings. We felt the pain of all the victims involved. Regardless of these tragic events, Americans banded together and prevailed. Volunteers from all across the nation traveled far and wide to aid the affected. This is what we should all resolve to accomplish – be there for others when they need it most.

It’s as simple as cooking dinner for a troubled friend, writing a letter to a soldier in Iraq, lending a hand at an animal shelter, or even donating.

This New Year’s, try making goals that have more meaning:

• Be proud of your health, your family and friends, and your life.
• Make short-term, accomplishable goals that will have long-term effects.

Stop feeling guilty about what you haven’t resolved. Eat the damn cookie. You deserve it.

If you’ve ever played a game on Facebook or a mobile device, it’s likely that you’ve been presented with the opportunity to spend real money in the game to buy items, upgrades, levels, or other bonuses. With Gramble, which will function on smart phones, tablets, PCs, and connected TVs, a percentage of these types of in-game purchases, as well as purchases of platform items that will be usable across multiple titles, will go directly to the charity of your choice.

“Publishing through Gramble is about more than just getting your games out there,” said Adam Palmer, Founder and CEO of Gramble.

“Our platform is gaming for good – players, developers and charities all benefit hugely from what we offer. We’re offering a new space from within the boundaries of iOS, Android, and others. It’s incredibly hard to optimize your games and really build a following with so much clutter around. We offer all developers maximum social connectivity plus the tools, platform, and profile to get the most from all their games. On top of this, they always know that they have contributed to helping make the world a better place. We can’t wait to hit GamesCom and introduce Gramble to the gaming world.”

The platform is supported by seed investments from Novamedia, the third largest private charity donor in the world, with ambassadors including Bill Clinton, Rafael Nadal, and Sir Richard Branson, and the Angaros Group, a Singapore-based collective of strategists, creative thinkers, and technologists.

In an age where our youth is so wired in, getting their attention through social gaming might be the way to go. Gramble also aims to encourage its users get further invested in their charities. You can choose to become a “champion” of your charity or be pronounced a “Grambassador,” which would provide you with opportunities to attend VIP events and join in on charity missions. Maybe this will lead to more people getting involved in activism off-line.

Gramble is encouraging developers to join their mission by allowing them to maintain 100% ownership and creative control over their intellectual property, while still providing them with extensive promotional opportunities.

The hope is that it won’t just be the big studios that get involved, but also that private individuals with a passion for game development who want to make a difference can release their titles with Gramble’s support. It could be an awesome opportunity if you are a developer looking for a way into the field. You can learn more at http://developers.gramble.com.

The first post in our storytelling series highlighted the reasons why storytelling is useful when promoting a cause, a project, or your organization. It also gave some examples of tools you can use to tell your story effectively. This post will gives you some more suggestions for developing your unique message.

Again, three important goals of effective storytelling are:

1. defining your identity and your mission,
2. engaging your existing network and your potential customers or clients, and
3. persuading others to take action.

According to Suzanne Smith of Social Impact Architects, there is a “hard science behind storytelling” and that 65 percent of all human communication is storytelling, regardless of language.  When telling others about your cause or organization, your reports and data can offer useful facts, but they don’t provide your audience with a complete picture of your efforts. Storytelling is so important because it creates more of an impact than dry facts alone. People are affected by stories that stir up emotion and evoke memories.

“We drink our own Kool-Aid.”

Why do so many organizations have a hard time telling their stories? “We drink our own Kool-Aid,” says Smith, meaning that the people who work for them ask, “Why wouldn’t people want to help the homeless, or anyone in need for that matter?” It can be hard to put into words a persuasive argument for supporting a cause that you already embrace and to make a case for something that you believe in so instinctively.

Another obstacle that Smith cites is that the public sometimes has “issue ADD.” With all of the information bombarding us daily, our attention is drawn from one issue to another, especially those that get the most media coverage and go viral on social media sites. Often, this is where people will focus their attention, their time and ultimately, their money.

The lesson? Nonprofit employees need to step back from their daily roles to figure out what will get people to take action, whether it is donating money, volunteering in the community, or working for the organization itself.

When developing your message, remember to:

• Identify your audience. It sounds simple but you need to specify to whom you’re speaking and what role they play in helping you make change. Are you simply raising public awareness, for example, or looking for donations? The answers to these questions will help shape your strategy.
• Choose the right focus of your story. You’ll make more of an impact if you feature the people that you serve, not just your organization. Ask them to tell their own stories, highlighting how they have benefited directly from your work.
• Utilize the right medium. Words are sufficient, but images are much more powerful. Include photos, videos, and music when necessary. Stimulate people’s senses and emotions by telling stories in different ways.

Please share your storytelling experiences and questions with us in the comments, and stay tuned for more tips for effectively sharing your story.

Related Posts

PG&E employees volunteering at the Alameda County Community Food Bank. (cc) Alameda County Community Food Bank

The cubicle farm where you work might not seem like the ideal place to make a difference in your community (unless you’re working for a nonprofit with that goal!), but you might be surprised by the wide variety of ways that businesses can encourage and promote charitable actions. Sometimes they just need someone like you to give them a little nudge in the right direction by offering suggestions. Things like…

Donation matching. Some companies encourage their workforce to give back to the community and donate to charitable organizations by offering to match whatever they give – up to a certain point. When people realize that their dollars are going to be doubled, they are far more likely to give.

Another kind of donation matching you can try to get your company involved in as well is fundraising. For example, when organizations like NPR have their fundraising drives, they often announce that donations for a specific hour will be matched by a specific donor or company. This way, your company is not only able to give back, but also build brand recognition.

Organizing community events. Maybe your company is looking for a way to foster goodwill in the community. One great way to do this is to organize events that benefit the neighborhood. If your employer pays for the event, they can be listed as sponsors. However, even if they just handle the logistics of organizing it, they’re still taking a step in the right direction and helping out where the event may be lacking in volunteers.

Encouraging volunteering. For many people, taking time off of work to volunteer just isn’t possible because they can’t afford to miss that paycheck. That’s why you should suggest that your company allow sick and vacation days to be used when employees want to volunteer at events.

Even better, they could build special paid “volunteering” days into everyone’s annual schedule.  Many companies have signature charitable events that they become involved with, even putting up sign-up sheets and organizing travel to and from the event – oh, and usually employees are paid for this day of “work,” too!

Allowing employee drives. Remember when schools would have canned food drives and similar events, encouraging students to bring in items from home to donate to less fortunate people? We tend to move away from this as adults because we don’t have that same sense of community reminding us to do our part. We can create that environment in our workplaces allowing drives around the office. Something as small as setting up a donation barrel that everyone can see will help bring attention to the drive.

Donating their products or services. Another great way to earn goodwill in a community and do something positive is for your company to donate some of their products or services to a charitable organization. You can even volunteer to be the one performing the services or dropping off the products. Most non-profits are on strict budgets and need donations from other businesses to help them achieve their goals.

Often, all it takes is the initiative of a single employee to start programs like this – and the involvement of just one business can make a big impact on the community. There are many reasons to get your company involved and spread the goodwill around your community.  What will you organize this year?