PROJECT

Well, I know its been a few weeks since our last post but…boy a lot can happen in a few weeks.

The principles and energy surrounding giving and causing others to be abundant has led us on a personal journey of discovery which has impacted our lives tremendously.  We can all see the state of mind of most people in the world today.  Words like “lack”, “pulling back”, “spending less”, “people losing their homes”, “starvation”, “poverty” etc…  come to mind.  And since a growing number of people are not seeing the abundance that is around us, many have the reaction of “holding back”.

One thing we have come to discover and now know as fact, is that the most powerful way to allow abundance into our lives is to cause abundance in the the lives of others.  Without question, this principle of  causing others to experience what we seek to experience works 100% percent of the time.  And today more than ever, this principle is key to changing the trend of lack and despair into a trend of abundance and prosperity.

So our little blog of  us causing abundance in small ways for others, has really been a fun exercise in reminding us how powerful causing others to be abundant is.  Because of this principle, some incredible things have come into our lives.  Everything from dinners, money literally on the floor, unexpected tax rebates,  incredible gifts of wisdom,  to opportunities to create fantastic businesses.   And today I am here to say this is only the beginning….

Imagine a business and system built to create financial abundance in ones life, while causing other people to be abundant  around the world, partnering with organizations that save,  help and assist people  in living better lives.  When I first saw this concept, my first thought was that the I found the holy grail of creating abundance.  The power of the ebb and flow of giving and receiving wrapped up in a extremely profitable business, that’s just plain brilliant and fun.

Project GiveOpp is brilliant.

Yes fun…  Why can’t making money and helping people around the world be fun?  We are so grateful and excited to be part of such a movement. Yes , this will be more than a automated business machine, this will be a movement.  One thing I can always get passionate about is creating abundance for others.  And I feel most people feel the same way, if they allow themselves the space to do so.

So,  our journey continues.  Project GiveOpp is still in the early stages but soon it will become a household name.  As for timing, if you are reading this blog post, count yourself as one of the fortunate ones to have known about it first.  Now, if you are interested in learning more and seeing how you can join us, go to www.ProjectGiveOpp.com and get a sneak peek.

One of my favorite quotes really captures the essence of this moment in time “It’s about being at the right place and at the right time AND RECOGNIZING IT.”   Do you recognize it?

Can-Do.org is getting it done.  People like this inspire us to go to another level in our lives.  Supporting this organization and this project is an honor.

Well this is Miguel Ángel Estrada and back in July of 2009 we found this organization called Kiva.org that facilitates micro business loans to small entrepreneurs around the world.  That July we gave Miguel a loan via Kiva.org so that he may expand his business in Nicaragua.  And to date he has almost repaid the whole loan. So that means we get to assist another budding entrepreneurs with another micro-loan.

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From Kiva.org:

Kyarikunda Scovia is a friendly and very hardworking single lady with several orphans she takes care of.

Scovia’s business story began way back in 2007. She started a tailoring business in Kyinyugunyu trading centre, Ibanda district, and this earns her a profit of seventy thousand shillings on a monthly basis.

This loan is to help Scovia purchase more stock of good-quality materials that are eye-catching to bring customers into her business. With that she will be able to realize more sales and profits that will trigger her development economically, and enable her to meet the day-to-day life and general welfare of her family.

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Very cool.  We love the entrepreneurial spirit of people worldwide. It’s inspiring to say the least.

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Even though I’ve “fallen asleep at the wheel” so to speak, with updating my blog, we have been consistent with causing abundance to those around us.

At the end of October, we purchased a new car.  Now, the intention was to sell the “gas guzzling” crossover we had and purchase something more eco-friendly, but something that still provided us with the space and flexibility that we desired… we searched high and low… and found the perfect vehicle.

Next was to get it at the “right price”.  I’m all about causing abundance, but overpaying is another story   I found a local dealership that had the car I wanted in the color I wanted, but as we went through the process, I was feeling a negative energy in doing business with these guys.  Back to the drawing board…

I found another dealership, but it was in another state, about 1 hour away… do I want to do this to not deal with the “negative energy” of the local dealer… ABSOLUTELY!   I got on the phone and took care of everything but signing the papers… and the sales woman was WONDERFUL!!!!  Next was the pick-up…

We drove to get the car, and as we waited for the final paperwork to be done, we noticed that this dealership was running a promotion.  For every car they sold, they would donate a new winter coat to a child in need… WOW!!! How awesome is that?  By following my gut and finding a dealership where I felt the energy was positive, we got the car we wanted, at a better price, and a child in need got a new winter coat… Gotta Love It!

Just the other day, we got word that a friend of the family in another country was having serious health problems. Now in the US we may gripe about health care reform and the lack of stuff but in reality we live in country where all are basic needs are available upon request. We live in total abundance.  But back to the friend,  she went to the hospital and the doctors advised her she requires to take a certain medication from now on or she runs the risk of basically dieing.  So get this, she leaves the hospital and cannot afford to purchase the medicine she requires. She lives in the rural parts of a 3rd world country and the medicine cost only 50 dollars US, but that is like a month earnings for most people in that part of the country.

No one she knows locally could lend her the money and this is an emergency situation.  When we heard this story, this was another opportunity to cause someone abundance. We sent her the money via a special delivery service that get this, delivers it right to her door for 6 dollars. So for $56 US dollars this person can now get her medicine.

These opportunities are all around us. Not all us will be the Buffets and Gates of the world, looking at helping millions with billions of dollars, but the power of our small gestures affect millions.

http://www.firstgiving.com/orsiniandlisa

Clean Water…. The stuff that some people take for granted is actually very hard to come by for at least 1 BILLION people on our planet.  When we came across the TheWaterProject.org organization, we were floored by the impact that one water well can have on a community of people.  When these communities get access to clean water, a metamorphosis takes place:

1- young girls can actually attend school and get an education instead of  spending their days carrying over 40 lbs of water 7 km everyday.

2- everyone in the community can actually stay healthy and vibrant from drinking clean water instead of disease ridden, contaminated water they have access to.

3- less children go hungry because there is an abundance of water to water the crops on farms

and the list goes on..and on

But what  really struck us is that all the water these people require is right under their feet, deep underground easily accessible via the construction of a well.  A well that, get this,  costs $4500 and  provides water to 450 people for 10 years.  Wow, with $10 dollars you help one  man/woman/child get clean water for 10 years.  That is powerful.

The TheWaterProject.org takes every penny of money donated and uses it to build these wells.  So we decided to make a donation and start a fund raising page to bring awareness and give others the opportunity to change someones life .

Change a life, change a community’s future and change your life by giving the gift of water.

http://www.firstgiving.com/orsiniandlisa

“That what you give to another you give to yourself”

A few years ago, when I was thinking about Christmas shopping for my family,  I began to think… there were so many people in the world that had nothing… literally NOTHING.  If only there was a way to give to the people that could really use a hand up… to help change their lives.

Along comes Heifer International.   I took the money that I would have spent on gifts for my family, and I bought some cows, pigs, rabbits, and ducks for families in Ukraine.

I printed up some literature, purchased some stuffed animals, wrapped them up and gifted these to my family… letting them know that we, as a family, purchased these animals for families we didn’t even know, to help improve the quality of their lives.

Heifer requires that each recipient pass on some of the offspring from the animals they receive… this ensures that each participant in the program become a donor, and help their community become self-sustaining.

Just today, I decided to purchase flocks of chicken and ducks… this time around, I allowed Heifer to determine where these animals would go… 

Below, taken directly from Heifer’s website, read about how ducks and chicken impacts entire communities.

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Flock of Ducks

Ducks are delightful creatures – good for both people and the environment. Ducks add protein to a project partner’s diet from eating eggs, money in their pockets from selling eggs and ducks, and better crops in the fields, as ducks remove weeds and bugs and add fertilizer.

In Xiang Qian, China, ducks are as much as tripling some families’ incomes. People like Zonglin Zhou began with a starter flock of ducklings, and now they manage hundreds of ducks that enable them to send their children to school and offer them secure futures – and help others achieve the same success through Passing on the Gift.

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Flock of Chicks

A flock of chicks can help families from Cameroon to the Caribbean add nourishing, life-sustaining eggs to their inadequate diets.

The protein in just one egg is a nutritious gift for a hungry child. Protein-packed eggs from even a single chicken can make a life-saving difference.

Heifer helps many hungry families with a starter flock of 10 to 50 chicks. A good hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year – plenty to eat, share or sell. With Heifer recipients’ commitment to pass on the offspring and training, the exponential impact of adding chickens to communities in poverty is truly a model that helps end hunger and poverty.

Because chickens require little space and can thrive on readily available food scraps, families can make money from the birds without spending much. And chickens help control insects and fertilize gardens.

In Tanzania, Omari and Kulwa were struggling to raise a family on just 50 cents a day. With the training and chicks they received from Heifer, egg sales have boosted their daily income to $2, so they can now buy food and still pay school fees. Now, through passing on the gift, all of the children in their village are going to school.

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When I went to get the mail today, I wasn’t expecting to receive a gift so powerful that it would bring tears to my eyes.  But that is exactly what happened.  As soon as I got in the house, I told the family to sit down in the family room, and we were going to watch a very special movie that just arrived.

As you read in a previous post of ours on entitled Helping to Empower People in Crisis, we have been financial supports of a wonderful organization called CAN-DO… Our support began way before this blog and as a result of not only our continued support, but the support of many others, CAN-DO has been able to assist many many people, for generations to come.  Which brings me back to the very special movie we were about to watch.

CAN-DO.org sent us a very nice, hand written thank you card with a photograph of a greenhouse.  In the envelope, there was also a DVD.  This DVD illustrated for us, the way only a video can, the power behind our support.  It shows footage of the fruits of the love people like us have for humanity.  It shows the love and gratitude the people of Crow Creek, SD have for CAN-DO and for those that make it all possible with continued support.

My heart overflowed with joy today as we watched this DVD.  We were so excited that we – yes, we helped build that greenhouse in South Dakota – all the way from New Jersey.  And we were so excited for the people of the Crow Creek Indian Reservation that will have a sense of basic human dignity reinstated after years of being stripped of that right.

Here’s a personal THANK YOU from the people of Crow Creek.  I challenge all of you reading this here today to go change someone’s life, to change the world, one person at a time.

Miguel Ángel Estrada is 29. He sells used furniture, a business he started with his father using savings. Now he works on his own and sells furniture and various products in a resale store for people who are not able to purchase new furniture. He lives in the Milagros de Dios neighborhood in Managua, the capital. He is married, but he and his wife have not had children yet. They hope to be able to have children soon, and therefore want to be able to expand their business. With this loan they are going to purchase raw materials such as paint, and wood to repair items and sell them in good shape. He thanks Afodenic for the support that will help him grow his business.

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We just gave Miguel a loan that he will repay and then we can re loan that money to another entrepreneur. Its like the gift that keeps on giving.

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Kiva‘s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.

There’s this family that inherited a piece of property decades ago, and they haven’t done a thing with it. In recent times, there have been numerous inquiries from industry looking to capitalize on their land – and reward them in the process.  Needless to say, this extremely appealing to them, but they require some assistance to get things done.

I gladly took on this project to help them out and have been able to negotiate and finalize an additional $65,000 for them.  In the end, this amount will be higher as the price of the natural resources increase over time.  There is also another aspect of this project that will be finalized for them in the near future.

Even though for decades, this property has been sitting stagnant – now, in the wake of these perceived economic times, as banks collapse and many homeowners face foreclosure, this family will have created wealth beyond their imaginations.  Why?  Because it’s all a game.  That’s right, you read that correctly… it’s all a game.

If we really were in economic turmoil, how is it that companies are posting billion dollar earnings?  How is it that the companies that contacted this family are not only making money on their land, but paying them handsomely for it’s use?  How is it that people are still traveling, shopping, and paying over $100 per month for Television?  I don’t see it.

What I see, is that just as during the Great Depression where people struggled, there were many more that thrived.  I see that it’s a state of mind, that it’s all what you perceive it to be.  If you look at every event in your life, at every challenge you face as an opportunity, 1 of 2 things will happen… You will either come out on top, or you will have learned a great lesson.  Either way it’s all good.

What fun is playing a game when you don’t know all the rules, or you don’t realize you’re playing a game?  It’s not.  But when you know the rules, you can utilize them to your advantage, create strategies, keep the right mindset to get you playing as long as it takes to come out on top.

When you’re the family I spoke about earlier, and you have this opportunity in front of you, you can take the initial offer in fear of losing it, or you can realize it’s a game and you wouldn’t be in conversations with someone if there wasn’t a great deal of money to be made somewhere.  You realize that even though times seem “tough”, there is money to be made everywhere.

Abundance is all around us.  All we require to do is open our eyes and see though the “fear” that the other players of this game are attempting to instill in us.