"The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it put your whole soul into it - every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have."
     —John D. Rockefeller

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This newsletter is sent to you byCoachBenita.. Copyright © 2007, Benita Stafford-Smith and CoachBenita. All rights reserved. Nothing in this newsletter may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author and/or copyright owner.

The Coach Approach, December 2007

Week One: Giving

It is official, December 5th, the holiday season is upon us and for those of us in Canada, winter is upon us. For me, winter doesn’t have a big effect in December as I get caught up in the festivities of the season.

I love all the Christmas lights and decorations; oh what beauty this brings to the beginning of a very cold and dreary season—winter. Yes, I love to ski and skate but I still find the severe cold in Manitoba to be challenging at times.

So my thoughts this week are on giving. The season of giving is upon us. I saw an interesting ad on TV this week.

What is it that nine out of ten Canadians need for Christmas?
The answer—nothing! Nine out of ten Canadians do not need anything. Isn’t that a wonderful statement to be able to make, a cause of celebration for the abundance we enjoy on a daily basis!

So how does giving fit into this? I think an interesting challenge around giving is to not give material gifts. What would happen if you gave an hour of service to a charity in the name of one of your Christmas gift recipients? This may not work for your children, especially the young ones, but it may work for your friends and more mature relatives. Can you have an hour of service exchange at your place of work instead of a gift exchange? How about in your communities? How many associations do you belong to that need volunteers?

Instead of a cookie exchange, or the endless rounds of chocolates and baked goods, could the staff get together and donate an evening to delivering food hampers to needy families or driving for Operation Rednose to keep the overindulgent drivers off the roads.

There are so many ways to give! Please share your stories of how your family, community or company gives during this holiday season. Email your stories to stories@coachbenita.com.

“We make a living by what we get. But we make a life by what we give.” —Sir Winston Churchill

What are you giving?

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Week Two: Receiving

It is better to give than receive. Have you heard this many times? This saying has been around for awhile. Today, let’s rethink this saying. How can we give if there is no one to receive? How can we have one without the other?

Let’s change this expression to:
It is better to have a natural generosity and graciousness about receiving than to have only one.

I do love the joy of giving and the delight on the recipients face and/or the appreciation in their voice when they receive their gift. Without a receiver, I could not experience the joy of giving.

My invitation to you this week is to practice being a gracious recipient. Some may think this is egotistical or self centered but I ask you to think of receiving as the other and equally important part of the equation. Giving and receiving go hand in hand!

"There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it." —Seneca, Roman philosopher

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Here are two stories from The Coach Approach subscribers:

My employer will donate to Outreach for Hunger in lieu of sending Christmas cards to our customers and suppliers.

Myself, I have volunteered to drive for Operation Red Nose. This is a program that keeps drunk drivers off our roads. If you don’t know about it, please check out their website.

—Julie B.

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Once again a great note……I saw a recent Ipsos Reid poll that suggests 84% of Canadians would rather receive a gift that helps others and a full 8 in 10 Canadians don’t need anything for Christmas…..so this year we decided to send our clients a note that suggests instead of sending cookies, chocolates, flowers etc. we would contribute the thousands of dollars to The United Way of Winnipeg for programming aimed at our cities youth….

Just sent the notes this week so we haven’t received any feedback from the clients…..I’m expecting it will be positive.

All the best this holiday season…..

—Scott S.

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Week Three: Feasting

Feasting: To experience something with gratification or delight. From Dictionary.com

As the Christmas holidays approach, followed by the New Year’s holiday, I encourage you to feast, or experience with gratification and delight. To me this speaks of the joy and wonder of our human experience.

Is there still gratification and delight in your festivities? Or have you traded joy and wonder for stress and busyness? Do you look forward to the gatherings you will be attending and savor the abundance of food?? Or is this just another event you “have to” attend? Are you saying to yourself, not turkey again! No more tarts, cakes and dainties please.

I invite you to experience this day, this week and the upcoming festivities with gratification and/or delight—if possible, both gratification and delight.
This is an excellent time to practice gratitude actively.

It has been one year since the death of my mother. I am eternally grateful for the time we had together and eternally grateful for the healing this past year has brought.
There will be a lot more delight in the holidays this year than last and a lot more delight in the lifetime of memories I have.

In honor of all Humanity and in honor of the Divine, please experience these coming days with gratification and delight. You can make a difference!

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Here's a story from a The Coach Approach subscriber:

I am the Admin support for a group of approximately 51 people. I have organized a raffle for our Xmas get-together. Staff members have donated items, and next week all items will be displayed and staff can purchase tickets. I keep the cost reasonable ($1.00 each or 6/$5.00) so that everyone can participate.
Proceeds from the sale of the raffle will be donated to a local charity (an organization that prevents and cures blindness worldwide). Its a fun event with the chance of winning a prize, and yet everyone who participates can have the satisfaction of knowing they are donating to a very worthwhile cause.

Another Admin support person from another department is busy organizing an "Adopt A Family for Christmas."

Best Wishes to You and Your Families for a holiday filled with the spirit of giving!

—Cathy O

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Week Four: Season's Greetings!

Happy Holidays! from Coach Benita.

May you and your loved ones enjoy this holiday season.

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Want to get published? Share your stories? Please email me at stories@coachbenita.com and I will publish your stories!