Category: Philanthropy

Anything related to my lofty goal of giving generously.

Career Cliques

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

One of the easiest ways for me to meet new people has been at my new job. I’ve only been there a month, and there are plenty of new faces around.

There are RTE and Agile Communities of Practice (CoP) at my office. The RTE community is still fairly small, so I have gotten a lot of face time with the other RTEs at the company. The Agile CoP has a much wider audience, and by attending their bi-weekly sessions I have met most of the other agile practitioners near me.

My office also has a Women with Drive group. I went to their session about Negotiation, and there was a fantastic networking game at the end. They also have a book club element to the group which is exciting. I liked it so much I signed up to volunteer with them.

I’m also a member of my local Project Management Institute (PMI) chapter and have attended a few of their breakfast meetings. They don’t have high attendance at breakfast, but that allows me ample opportunity to interact with the speakers and network. The agile manager at my office and I will also be attending an agile professionals meetup in a couple of weeks. I’m excited to bring someone else along with me on my networking adventures.

Joining these groups have allowed me to meet a lot of new people. There is also great content shared in these meetings. There are so many intangible benefits to getting out of your comfort zone so I’m excited to keep my momentum going and to find new groups in my city.

What is your favorite way to improve your professional network? Please share your experiences in the comments!

TED Talks on Social Ties

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

My action plan focused on networking, but that wasn’t exactly the inspiration I was looking for. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted so I browsed TED’s Friendship and Relationships categories to find these talks.

“…villagers lives constantly intersect.”

This is one of the best talks I’ve seen in a while. It’s funny, Pinker is well spoken, and she has a plethora of data to back up her assertions. She starts with her study of longevity in Sardinia. These anecdotes from the village bring the data alive.

One study shows that the most powerful predictors of long lifespans are close relationships and social integration (how many people you interact with throughout the day). She also sites resources that show in person interaction engages more of your brain and different chemical reactions than online interactions produce. One conclusion is that in general women live longer than men because they prioritize these face to face relationships. As few as 3 stable relationships would be enough to see benefits in your health.

“Come back to me.”

Menon’s talk is engaging and full of practical tips for expanding your social horizons. It won’t happen by accident. You need to go out of your way to allow yourself to bump into new people. We also have natural filters so her next tip is to interact with people you initially find boring or annoying. There are also times when it’s easy to reach out to your network, but we should be brave and also reach out when times are hard. Her assertion that people are partners, not resources is especially poignant.

“…genuine emotional connections…”

Strangers are not always dangerous, and we don’t need to be afraid of interacting with people we don’t know. Stark maintains we should try to see people as individuals and get others to see us that way as well. Fleeting intimacy with strangers can have profound impacts and help to positively disrupt our everyday lives. She provides a number of examples of how to approach strangers without completely breaking social norms, and challenges us to try these out in our own lives. 

These talks have given me confidence in continuing this habit. It’s hard to introduce myself to new people, but these talks lay out all of the benefits I could realize if I step out of my comfort zone.

Have these videos inspired you to talk to new people? Please share your thoughts in the comments!

Friday Friends – The Start

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

I’m in a new job and a new city. Now I need to make some new friends!

Habit: Introduce myself to a new person every day for 66 days

Start Date: Friday, 04/13/2018

Projected End Date: Monday, 06/18/2018

Action Plan:

  • Attend a community event
  • Attend a professional event
  • Join a local book club
  • Read 2 books about networking
  • Volunteer with a local association
  • Watch 3 videos on networking

Incentive: Host a game night for all my new friends!

Lofty Goal: Attain enlightenment, give generously, and be healthy enough to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Things are finally starting to settle down after our move. We’ve gotten into a new routine, and we’re both happy where we’ve landed. I am ready to explore my surroundings and hope to meet interesting people.

I miss my midwestern friends dearly, and I want to build some equally strong relationships now that I am back in sunny SoCal. Friends help with our mental and physical health, and they improve the quality of our lives. That seems like a lot of pressure right off the bat, but I’m sure to find people I enjoy having a drink with!

Clayton thinks this habit sounds exhausting, and I must admit it is a little daunting. It’s difficult to make new friends as an adult, but introductions are the first step! Since I’m still the new person at work, it should be pretty easy to meet people around the office. It will be harder to meet new people on the weekends, but my action plan should help.

I am somewhere in the middle of the introvert/extrovert spectrum. There are some days when I am so mentally drained that the last thing I want to do is interact with other people. Most of these introductions will take place in person, but I am going to give myself a little wiggle room and count online introductions as long as they potentially lead to in-person interactions.

What’s your favorite way to meet new people? Please share your tips in the comments!

 

Planned Preoccupation Check In

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

Happy New Year!

The new year is always a time for reflection, so let’s have a check in. I started this blog in the summer of 2015 and have cultivated 6 new habits and achieved 2 specific goals.

Writing

I have not been as strict about daily writing as I was with my initial habit. There was a point where the weekly posts were starting to cause me some anxiety so I took a few breaks over the course of the year. I want my energy focused on the habits themselves, not on this blog which should support the habits.

Meditation

Even though I don’t sit and meditate intentionally everyday this habit has helped me to manage my stress more effectively. I often focus on my breathing and clear my mind before I go into a meeting, or respond to a contentious email.

I have also completed 2 Headspace packs since I started this habit, and have the Motivation pack teed up as we dive into 2017!

Smoothies

I’ve got a freezer full of smoothie packs. It’s difficult to start the morning with a frozen drink when it is below freezing outside, but it’s still our quickest breakfast option. I also learned that if I freeze my ingredients on a baking sheet before I put them in the freezer bags they don’t turn into a big hunk of ice and are much easier to blend. So I’ve got that going for me.

8WW Meals

I have not kept up with this habit very well at all. I am often reminded of the Sharma quote, “knowing what to do and not doing it is the same as not knowing what to do.” Here’s to better food choices in 2017!

Spanish

This was the only habit I failed at during the initial 66 days, but it is the one I have kept up with the best since then. My mom started using Duolingo to learn Italian, and it is fun to check in with each other on our progress. I also have so many friends who try to engage my new found Spanish skills that I feel compelled to keep going!

Random Acts of Kindness

A great thing that came from this habit was learning about the generosity of my friends and family. Once I started talking more about philanthropy more people started sharing their good deeds with me. It has been a wonderful learning experience.

The structure this blog provides also helped me to organize our move to Red Wing and to get my Project Management Professional certification. Action planning focused my efforts and I was able to achieve my goals.

The support, suggestions, and encouragement you have provided in the comments have been invaluable! I am excited to continue on this journey of personal development, and know that 2017 will bring great things.

Here is a sneak peak of my next habit…

guessagain

Care to hazard a guess?!

Good Will Wednesday – The End

Cori Casner2 Comments

I’ve made it through another 66 days. Here are the stats from my random acts of kindness habit.

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – Volunteered at the RW Food Shelf
  • DONE – 3 online volunteer opportunities found
  • DONE – 1/1 documentary watched on philanthropy
  • DONE – 3/3 TED Talks watched on philanthropy
  • DONE – 67/66 days of random acts of kindness
  • DONE – Read 2 books philanthropy
  • DONE – Volunteered at the pumpkin carving display set up by a Red Wing artist
  • DONE – Tracked my random acts of kindness on Twitter
  • DONE – Completed the Headspace Gratitude pack
  • Unable to find a volunteer opportunity with the Project Management Institute
  • Posted 7/10 weekly progress updates

Grade: B

Incentive: Clayton and I will attend the Warm Up in the Wild event at the MN Zoo.

Lessons Learned: My first philanthropy habit was a lot of fun. I found the random acts of kindness I performed for Clayton to be particularly enjoyable. It showed me that I should be sure to keep those closest to me in mind when I set out to change the world.

One change that needs to be made is planning my posts up front. Vacations and illness impacted my progress updates. It is hard to find motivation to write some days but if I outline my posts up front it would be easier to keep up.

I fully intend on keeping up with my random acts of kindness, but I don’t feel like this habit warrants a 6 month check in.

I’m wrapping up at the perfect time and I look forward to spreading the joy over the holiday season. Best wishes to you and your families!

Book Breakdown: More or Less

Cori Casner2 Comments

It isn’t easy to find quality books on generosity. A lot of the lists that I perused were overly religious, hokey, or geared towards children. When I read the synopsis for More or Less it seemed in line with what I am trying to accomplish.

This book is the practical application of generosity. It is told through a series of anecdotes about what has worked for Shinabarger and his family and friends. The “Enough Talk” sections help the reader to stop thinking about being generous and start being generous. There were a number of times that I put down the book, and did SOMETHING. It was fantastic!

Through the course of reading this book I made a clothing donation, meditated, and sent my gift cards to Gift Card Giver. It is amazing what can be accomplished in a short amount of time when you confront your excess.

With as much focus as there is on practical application, I was expecting more from the “Your Enough Experiment” section. It could have been more straight forward, but does seem to align with my habit building, so that’s a plus.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for inspiration during the giving season. It is also a great read for anyone else with a minimalist bent.

What books inspire your generosity? Please share your recommendations in the comments.

 

Good Will Wednesday – The Middle

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

The weeks have flown by since I started this habit! As always lets start with the stats.

Action Plan Progress:

  • DONE – Volunteered at the RW Food Shelf
  • DONE – 3 online volunteer opportunities found
  • DONE – 1/1 documentary watched on philanthropy
  • DONE – 3/3 TED Talks watched on philanthropy
  • 32/66 days of random acts of kindness
  • 0/2 books read on philanthropy
  • Find volunteer opportunities in the RW art community
  • Find a volunteer opportunity with the Project Management Institute
  • Complete the Headspace Gratitude pack
  • Tracking my random acts of kindness on Twitter
  • 5/10 weekly posts on my progress

Grade: A

Lessons Learned: I realized I was over complicating this habit. My friend reminded me that smiling at strangers is an act of kindness. Not everything needs to be a real production.

I look forward to spreading the joy. Please share your favorite random act of kindness in the comments!

TED Talks on Generosity

Cori Casner1 Comment

On Generosity is a curated TED playlist. These 7 talks provide 1.5 hours of content, and explore different aspects of philanthropy.

“…stop thinking about which product to buy for yourself and try giving some of it to other people“

How to buy happiness – Michael Norton

In most of the world there is a positive correlation between donations and happiness. Norton demonstrates that even trivial donations improve our happiness levels.  In life, leisure, and the professional arena prosocial behavior provides positive returns.

He highlights the Donors Choose site as a place to focus your giving, and I am excited to donate in the future.

“…set a higher bar for how we help individual families improve their lives.”

Should you donate differently – Joy Sun

I found Sun’s talk particularly interesting because she confronts some long held assumptions about aide head on. Not all people in poverty are in that situation because of their poor choices and they don’t always need third party intervention to improve their lives. She discusses the idea of unconditional cash transfers as a model for delivering aid.

Sun sites studies that show across the board cash transfers are used to improve the the lives of people in the lowest levels of poverty. Give Directly allows you to provide cash transfers efficiently and free of corruption.

“Philanthropy is the market for love.”

The way we think about charity is dead wrong – Dan Pallotta

This is my favorite talk because it made me see the non-profit sector in new light. Why should we have a different play book for the profit sector when we can all agree that non-profit causes should also enjoy the benefits of scale.

Pallotta focuses on the limitations we put on compensation, marketing, risk tolerance, time, and funding in the non-profit sector. We are asking the wrong questions when it comes to the success of a non-profit and are conflating morality and frugality. The goal should be solving problems, not keeping overhead low.

I hope you will give these video a view, and please share your thoughts in the comments.

Movie Madness: Billions in Change

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

billions-in-change-official-film

This documentary focuses on how Manoj Bhargava, the creator of 5-hour Energy, is using 90% of his wealth to help change the world.

Billions in Change is a 40 minute movie that focuses on the work of Stage 2 Innovations. They are trying to dramatically improve the world’s access to sustainable energy, clean water, and health care. It is a fascinating overview of their most promising products and general ideas for implementation.

It’s short, sweet, and inspirational. Manoj sums it up nicely at the end, “if you’re given more, more is expected from you.” If only there were more people in the world concerned about lessening the suffering of other.

I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, especially since you can watch it for free online.

Please share any philanthropy movie recommendations you have in the comments below. I’d love to take in some more films.

Digital Deeds

Cori CasnerLeave a comment

It is hard to find time during the work week to volunteer, so I knew it would be important to identify ways to perform random acts of kindness online.

UN Volunteers

Finding volunteer opportunities that fully utilize your skill set can be difficult. This website matches organizations and volunteers based skill and interest. Once you create a profile you can apply for opportunities. The application process seems overly involved, but I’m sure it helps the organizations select the right people.

Catchafire

Similar to the UN website, Catchafire utilizes the volunteer’s unique skill set. They seem to have a different scope for their opportunities, and it could be a great way to build your resume since it has more of a business focus. I haven’t found an opportunity I want to apply for yet, but I am keeping a close eye on the site.

unite4:good

I have been posting my random acts of kindness on Twitter, and unite4:good tweeted at me about likes4:good. It’s a great source of inspiration. I cannot wait to post about some of my good deeds, and support worthy needs.

This list is a great starting point as I build this philanthropy habit. It will be fun getting involved in these online communities.

If you have some spare time tonight, check out my all time favorite feel good website, Free Rice!