While returning home from a business trip on the Friday before Christmas, I read two quotes on Twitter that caught my eye. The first one read, “There are three stages of a man’s life: He believes in Santa Claus, he doesn’t believe in Santa Claus, and he IS Santa Claus.” How true! I’ve experienced all of these stages and am now entering the “I AM SANTA” stage. My children, two lovely girls, are cycling through these stages as well where my youngest is in the “believe” stage and the oldest in the “doesn’t believe” stage. As I see their excitement as Christmas draws near, I suspect it is based mostly on the gifts they expect to receive (in addition to being out of school for two weeks). But, I have to say, I get far more satisfaction being Santa Claus than being the recipient of the gifts he provides. Which makes me wonder…are there stages of giving in life?
The second quote by Charles Dickens read, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year.” This triggered more thought. Why do we play Santa only once a year? Why not honor the spirit of Christmas all year long by adopting a “giving” mindset. I can hear my kids now. “Awesome, Dad thinks we should have Christmas every day, woo hoo!” Sorry girls, that’s not what I mean!
What I mean is whether we apply this in our personal or professional lives, BE Santa Claus everyday and strive to give without the expectation of getting something in return. This will have an exponential effect on those around you and make a profound difference in this world! At MJ, our purpose is to “Inspire the Success, Fulfillment, and Well-Being of each person we serve.” Those we serve consist of our associates and their families, our clients, our business partners, and our community. One of our passions in support of our purpose is to create an Exponential Effect one person at a time. We simply cannot fulfill our purpose if we aren’t first and foremost operating with a giving mindset regardless of our financial performance. In fact, our financial performance takes a back seat to our purpose and frankly is a by-product of living our purpose of inspiring people, again one person at a time.
So, why not keep your Santa suit out after the holidays as we enter a new year and give every day in some way?
On behalf of all of the associates of MJ Insurance, we wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season!
