Start a Chain Reaction [Day 21 - 30 Days to Changing Your Game]

This is Day 21 of 30 Days to Changing Your Game. Only 1 more week to go – woohoo! Yesterday Elizabeth Marshall taught us how to JUMP using herself as a fantastic example. One of the things I am loving about this series is watching my friends who are the guest posters really stretch themselves in what they share with you. Today is no exception. Kyle Lacy makes an EXTREME departure from his usual subject manner and invites us all to start our own chain reaction. AWESOME!

Start a Chain Reaction

by Kyle Lacy (@kyleplacy)

Sometimes it is nice to step away from social media marketing. I am going to do that today. Many of us are extremely busy. We get caught up in the everyday occurrences in life and ignore the things that are truly important to us. Well.. maybe I am just talking to myself (which is completely possible).

I have begun to find myself losing track of everything other than business. I am extremely focused on running a company but there is no balance.

Good Thing: We are growing and clients are satisfied. Bad Thing: You negate everything else in life. I have put it upon myself to start living a little less selfishly. How am I going to do that??? What a great question! My cousin has an organization called Krochet Kids International. The organization is built around the concept of:

To create sustainable economic development programs that support holistic growth of individuals and communities within developing nations.

To inspire the knowledge of a generation about their ability to bring change to a world that is in need.

I began thinking… I read business books and I get inspired… I read autobiographies, blogs, and watch shows about people who have done amazing feats…and I get inspired. The question is… have I ever sat down and thought: I am going to start something that inspires an ENTIRE GENERATION to live and believe in their ability to bring change to a world that is in need. My inspiration is more along the lines of… I am inspired to make the next sale.

I can watch the Krochet Kids video and BE Inspired. I can read a book about Mother Theresa or Ghandi and BE inspired. I am tired of constantly going up and down, hot and cold. Isn’t it time to live an inspired life instead of constantly BEING inspired?

Start the chain reaction.

Kyle Lacy is co-founder and CEO of Brandswag, a social media and marketing consulting company with offices in Indianapolis and Oklahoma City. Kyle and his team have assisted businesses in the development and implementation of social media campaigns and strategies and has worked with companies such as Ruth Chris Steak House, Interactive Intelligence and Make a Wish Foundation.

Brandswag focuses on helping companies achieve results through their web site, blogging and social media strategies, raising the value of their client’s business in the eyes of the customer. Named by Indianapolis Business Journal as 40 Under 40 and author of Twitter for Dummies, Kyle is a recognized leader in creating ideas that infect business and producing intentional campaigns and dialogue that move customers to buy.

If you don’t want to miss out on the 30 Days to Changing Your Game, please sign up here.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Share and Enjoy:

No related posts.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 at 7:45 am and is filed under 30 Days to Changing Your Game. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

SpiritusShelagh

In my business, I decided that instead of having the usual affiliate programme, I would let whoever introduced the most new members each month donate 10% of our income to "an organisation that does good for others" of their choice.

And one of the most exciting parts of this for me has been seeing just how many organisations there are that are each doing something really special in the world.

So that's my way of making difference - giving money to inspired people who have transformed their inspiration into action!
Susan

"Isn’t it time to live an inspired life instead of constantly BEING inspired?" love that!

I love making cards & people love receiving them. For my birthday (in 2 weeks) I've decided to send 'Happy Birthday to Me ' cards to people who have impacted my life, hoping to inspire them for making me more of success as a result of their inspiration. (I sublimely send one to everyone who has posted, commented, and to you Sarah ~Thank you, all)

Inspired life? that's what I'm going after. A whole generation? I'll start with a few at time and look for great results.

Thanks for a wonderful post, Kyle.
lorilatimer

Thank you for sharing your cousin's story with us. How uplifting!

Your comment "Isn’t it time to live an inspired life instead of constantly BEING inspired?" really hit home with me. I have a lot of people and things in my life that inspire me, and I've tried to do the same for the women I work with who are going through divorces and are just lost by showing them that there is life at the end of that difficult process.

But your words make me realize that there are other ways I need to find to live an inspired life... you've definitely given me a lot to think about.

Thank you again!
mckra1g

"The chain reaction" portion of today's post is the kicker for me. Whether engaging in a "pay it forward" action or just being "who we are" when we think no one's watching - these are opportunities for starting that chain reaction. It's social physics and momentum. The positive repercussions from one pure act are unknowable and immeasurable.

When we take the time to be mindful and choose the highest form of action at any given time, we are infusing our action with power. Rote, mechanical, habitual action also has the potential to affect change, but when we take the time to really think about what we are doing, why we are doing it and what we hope to achieve, we bring the power of focus to the task. This power is magnified by not on the increased effect of our own action, but the collateral positive energy we exude (which is picked up by others).

Focus on the good. Trust in its effects. Thanks for a thinker. :)
giulietta

Hi Kyle,

(BTW, Sarah, great music choice!)

I like this post because it touches on something I talk & blog about: our abnormal obsession with work/careers in this country. It's easy to "hide" behind work and not really live while you are alive. Pushing careers is now starting in elementary school! People are being sold a bill of rotted goods when they're told to immerse themselves at all costs in a career. Work is one slice of the pie of your life. Most people who are dying will tell you that they wish they worked less and lived more.

I say be a George or Georgana Plympton of sorts! Try new things, lend a helping hand to others, see the world, take risks and blend work into your life -- not vice versa.

thanks!

Giulietta, Inspirational Rebel
StephanieCorum

I couldn't agree more. There are lots of things that inspire me but I haven't focused on inspiring others. A couple of months ago I became so disgusted with politics, society, wars, 24 hour news channels and all the negativity in the world. I decided I would focus on making the small corner of my world as good as I could make it. I hope that will include inspiring someone. I truly believe that if each one of us focused on our piece of the universal we all could make a huge difference in this world.
JoyFull_deb

I started my "chain reaction" years ago in Charleston, S.C. I had a full time job, a part-time job AND I was going back to school to finish up my degree. All of that didn't fill the need that I had to make a difference in a BIG way in the lives of others. I began volunteering for "The Hotline"...a 24 hour Crisis/Suicide line. It was a BIG commitment because they required me to volunteer for "X" amount of 4 hr. shifts AND 2 weekend shifts a month!! But, I was INSPIRED by what they were doing to make a difference and to educate the public re: suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.

The work that needs to be done nationally & locally to end the stigma of suicide; raise awareness/educate/advocate is GIGANTIC!! But, hey, I'm all over this one. Generations have suffered because of the taboo that surrounds suicide. My hope and purpose is to change that stigma!! As some of you know, suicide has touched my family. And we were fortunate to have the support and love of a caring community here in Baton Rouge via the Crisis Intervention Center. I have volunteered my time with the Center since 2002. Do I think that my one voice can make a difference locally & nationally??? YOU bet!! Has it changed my perspective about "living in the now!" ?? Right again!!

I think sometimes we get wrapped up in our little corner of the world. We fail to "step out" and take a look around. Inspiration is everywhere, IF we are looking!! Inspiration to change the game for our children's generation and beyond. This is what feeds my soul!!

Look around today......be INSPIRED.....take action!!! It will change your life, I promise!!
Shelly

I am definitely guilty of letting myself be inspired and not returning the favor! Most of the time I think "who cares what I think" or "they don't need my help - someone else will help" - next time I think something like that - I will think of this post and this series and just do what I wanted to do originally to help or inspire... Thanks
Heather Gray

Kyle, Beautiful post and thank you for sharing about your cousins work in Uganda with Krochet Kids Intl. (I love the "purchase a hat" campaign, simple and sweet).

I had the opportunity last October to travel with a man named Don Smith to Malawi, Africa with his organization "Village Empowerment." (villageempowerment.org). Don Smith is living what I believe most would see as an "inspired life"(and he started in his late 60's, "the retirement" years)

I am still figuring out how Africa and my experiences in Malawi will weave their way into my own small coaching biz. I have learned that sometimes to "live an inspired life" I need to just fumble around a bit, stay true, hang with inspiring / like-minded others, and take the next most motivating step that feels right and maybe not worry if the "big plan" isn't clear yet.
GinaParris

The question about inspiring a generation haunts me pretty regularly, as I spent so many years in full time youth ministry and miss it in so many ways - especially seeing their lives change from visiting 3rd world countries or just taking time out regularly to go serve. It was always amazing how getting dirty for a cause was always more satisfying to the students than their regular pursuits into "hedonism."

Right now a small group of us meet regularly at a coffee shop to ask how we live inspired in real life - now that we're raising kids and working and being so "normal." Ultimately we challenge ourselves each week to see how we can take time, not to do Big Things, but to do Little Things for others with Big Love. So far, its been do-able, I think.

Thanks for asking the hard questions.
Teresa Romain

Hey Kyle!

I resonated with several things you wrote... including business consuming your life and losing touch with other important parts of my life. But the things you wrote that jumped out at me the most are these:

"I am going to start something that inspires an ENTIRE GENERATION to live and believe in their ability to bring change to a world that is in need." Now I'm asking - what would that look like? What would that be? And - in the process of even going there - I hear and duly note the "chatter" in my brain - "Who the heck do you think you are to think you can inspire an entire generation?" And it's not even about inspiring an ENTIRE generation... it's about inspiring ONE person, ONE group, ONE community... that would be powerful too.

Which leads to the second thing I'm taking from what you wrote: "Isn’t it time to live an inspired life instead of constantly BEING inspired?" And the answer to that is YES... whatever that looks like (which I am in the midst of discovering).

Thanks!
Shelly

I also saw myself in letting other things consume my life and letting the other things fall to the wayside - been working on that! :)

I'm with you on discovering what living an inspired life looks like!
michaelleiter

Kyle
You certainly are setting a high bar.
But why not? I agree that living life to the fullest does require going for broke.
I've found that setting up a small research project takes a large proportion of the time and effort necessary to set up a large project. So, best to go for the big ones.
Good writing requires knowing the audience and when the audience is global, you gotta get to the essence.
tobias tinker

Definitely. I think it's not uncommon for people who are busy with their own stuff to take a little side trip into someone else's 'inspiring' project, take a little energy and perspective, maybe think how great it would be to do something like that someday... and then turn back to our busy lives without really changing anything.

However, I think that often the people that actually DO the 'inspiring' things are not necessarily better, more selfless, more inspired, or less busy with their own stuff than us; the principal difference is really that they had this idea and are doing something with it. Late last year the comedian Eddie Izzard ran around the UK, a marathon a day, raising money via pledges, and Tweeting madly the entire way. He is not known as a runner or a philanthropist, it was just something he decided he wanted to do and he did it. Then he went back to his tour.

It was certainly inspiring, and probably did no harm to his public image in addition to raising consciousness and tens of thousands of pounds for a good cause. Now, while I'm not suggesting that we should all go and do exactly that, I think it's worth pointing out, as this post does, that maybe once in a while instead of saying "Wow, that's amazing, what a great guy, I could never do that in a million years"... what if we try this instead: "Wow, that's amazing, what a great guy - now what could I do, not just dream about but really do in the context of my life and my abilities and limitations, that could change the world for the better?"

Thanks, in short, for the little kick in the pants...
Shelly

I like stories like that - someone took time out of their busy schedule - probably time marked for downtime or getting other things done and just went off the radar and did something not like them and amazing...

Definitely a kick in the pants to think about putting that in the context of our own lives!
Nate St. Pierre

Happy to see this post today, Kyle. You're right - there's a difference between BEING inspired and actually living an inspired life. One thing I see a lot is that people think, "I don't have time to run a business AND live an inspired life to make change in this world." And that's true, if you treat them both as full-time jobs. But our group has demonstrated that you CAN make a large difference in this world even at the rate of 15 minutes a week, which anyone can do.

Focusing on using just that small amount of time to make a difference in the lives of those around you does something amazing: it trains you to keep your eyes open to the good you can do around you ALL THE TIME. You'll pick up on opportunities to help that you may have missed before. The difference in your own life is small but consistent, and after six months or so you realize that you really are living an inspired life, even if it's just a little bit of time each week.

But hey, it's a start. :)

Thanks, man.
Shelly

You're right - it doesn't take a lot of time to do a few things that could inspire others (and yourself) - and I agree that after a while your consistency will really pay off - both for yourself and for the chain reaction that you started... :)
sarahrobinson

Notes to the Tribe for Sunday:

1) Today’s theme song is: Fire Burning On The Dancefloor by Sean Kingston: http://tinysong.com/d8pw
2) Next Wednesday, I am holding an open Q & A call about The Gamechangers Roundtable. You can ask me anything about the event – or gamechanging in general. Get the details here: http://www.gamechangersroundtable.com/q-and-a-c...
3) If you like a post please RT it to share it with your Twitter community. Thank you!!
4) If you are getting true value from this series, please make a small donation to 12for12k’s Haiti campaign. Scroll down on the right of this page: http://www.escaping-mediocrity.com
5) If you have signed up to be on the email list (you get little extras from me), you MUST complete the double opt-in process to get them. Look for an email from me in your inbox or in your spam folder and click on the link inside it.
6) I have set up a Face book Group for us: http://www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=2460148...
7) I built a list on twitter of all the guest bloggers to make it easy for you to follow them: http://twitter.com/#/list/SarahRobinson/thirtyd...
8) There are also two twitter lists of participants in 30 Days. You will find them here: http://twitter.com/MirkoGosch/escapingmediocrity and http://twitter.com/The_Promo_Guy/game-changing

Love,
Sarah

Escaping Mediocrity

Start a Chain Reaction

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Log In