This may be the best Christmas ever for us here at Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems. Anne, Molly, Sheila, David, Pat and I all have the spirit in this season of giving and it's because of the approach we took to our 25th anniversary this year.
In 2005 we decided we'd try to give back to our community in thanks for all the wonderful blessings we have received over the years. It has turned out much better than we could ever have imagined.
We started with the premise that we'd give at least $25,000 to 25 non-profit agencies, and we did that. But then things began to snowball.
Next, someone had the idea to give away 25 copies of The Million Dollar Toolbox each month to our email subscribers as thanks for being loyal readers. By year end, we will have shipped 300 copies of the book to subscribers on four continents.
The ideas kept coming. What if we helped teachers find their voice? Sounded like a good idea, so we delivered training to 75 teachers from public and private schools and community colleges.
We took the idea to the business community, too. We taught 50 chamber of commerce leaders to find their voices, and we did a session for WFAE, our local public radio station.
Giving, we've found, is a whole lot more fun than getting, but we don't want to give up either one of them! There were so many little paybacks, ranging from reconnecting with old friends who were inspired to call or write when they heard about what we were doing to making new friends.
Yes, it has been a great year for all of us, and I'd recommend that you put a little giving into your life. Now, we look forward to exceeding our 25th in the year to come.
Are you doing any giving? Tell us about it
. 
