Written on January 21, 2023 11:45am. Published January 24, 2023.
Since July 3, 1989, I have been a high school music teacher. I can not think of another profession that needs to be as giving or generous than a high school music teacher. The number of hours high school music teachers give to their students is incredible. For an example of this level of generosity with time, I will give you one day. When I was teaching at Granite Bay High School in Granite Bay, California, for every Saturday marching band competition, we had to travel outside our county! EVERY SATURDAY! One Saturday, we left Granite Bay High School to travel to Pleasanton, California. Granite Bay High School is about 20 minutes north of Sacramento. Pleasanton is in the East Bay Area. Darn near two-hour bus drive. In order to get to the parade competition in time, we had to leave Granite Bay High School by 5:30AM. We competed in the parade. Later that evening, we were scheduled to compete in the field show competition. We did not return to Granite Bay High School until 2:30AM. That was a 21-hour day! There are very few other teachers who spend 21 consecutive hours with their students. I believe that day is an example of being giving or generous of time.
To be a successful music teacher, you MUST be understanding and willing to be generous with your time for your students. Your generosity does not have to be a 21-hour day. Yet, after school rehearsals. Lunch rehearsals. Evening rehearsals. Concerts outside the school day. You need to recognize greatness takes generosity. When you choose to be a successful teacher / a great teacher or successful / great in your job, your relationships, you are going to needs to say and do, “I will live to give.” Think about that phrase: “I will live to give.”
As a believer in Jesus Christ: I will live to give.
As a spouse: I will live to give.
As a parent: I will live to give.
As a sibling: I will live to give.
As a friend: I will live to give.
As an employer: I will live to give.
As an employee: I will live to give.
Every role you have, the role has to be so important / so special for you that you are willing to say and do I WILL LIVE TO GIVE!
In Dr. John C. Maxwell’s excellent little gem of a book MAKE TODAY COUNT, he gives us ways to being generous and making generosity part of every day.
Give Others Your Money
Give Others Yourself
As with the previous articles, I will choose one of the ways Dr. Maxwell shares with us. Being generous and making generosity part of every day, I will give others myself.
Give Others Yourself
I just said to one of my former students who was bumming about life, “You want to improve your life? You want to be happier? GIVE! GIVE! Be generous to others. And here is the thing, “Steven” you don’t want to give or be generous to others in an evil or bad way. Therefore, you need to improve yourself so you can help others improve themselves! GO FOR IT. Make yourself better. People need to be around others who want to be better!” From MAKE TODAY COUNT, “Rabbi Harold Kushner said, “The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you brought to other people’s lives when you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them.” When you invest in another person just for the sake of seeing that person blossom, with no thought to any benefit you might receive, you will be the kind of generous person others want to be around. And your days truly will be masterpieces.
In our world today, I do sense the level of narcissism has increased. Even though we have more abilities to connect with one another, there are studies that showing there are more and more people who are expressing the feeling of loneliness. Okay! Let’s take care of that narcissism and sense of being lonely by, ADD VALUE TO OTHERS. Literally say, “I will add value to others.”
Again, from the book, how do you add value to others.
- Value people: This means treating everyone with respect.
- Know what people value: This means listening and seeking to understand others.
- Make myself more valuable: This means growing in order to give, because I cannot give what I do not possess.
- Do things that God values: Since he unconditionally loves people, so must I.
When you value people, you open the door to generosity. And it becomes much easier to plan for and model generosity daily. Think about these four ways to add value to others. These four ways need to be intentional! Don’t Wait for Prosperity to Become Generous. Give what you can. Again, referring to my understanding of the Christian faith that I practice, 10%. Tithing 10% is going to happen. My wife and I need to generous with our prosperity. Make room for the prosperity! Find a Reason to Give Every Day. Be the next Ben Franklin. Before you leave your home, ask yourself, “What good am I going to do today?” And before you go to sleep, ask yourself, “What good did I do today?” Setting a goal to do “good” with give you the reason to give! Find People to Receive Every Day. From MAKE TODAY COUNT, “D.L. Moody, founder of the Moody Bible Institute, said, “Do all the good you can, to all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as you can.” When it comes right down to it, the recipients of your generosity are never causes, institutions, or organizations. Ultimately, the recipients are individual people.
Make being generous intentional. Make generosity like a hug – the only action two people can take that is simultaneous is a hug. With a hug, you give and receive at the same time. So is being generous. When you give, you receive at the same time. ENJOY BEING GENEROUS!
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I would love to go over this book and other John C. Maxwell books / materials with you. Please contact me and hire me for private lessons or group lessons. Here is my email address: band2gether@comcast.net Let’s connect. And … PLEASE BUY DR. MAXWELL’S BOOK Make Today Count: The Secret of Your Success Is Determined by Your Daily Agenda: Maxwell, John C.: 8601404837890: Amazon.com: Books