Wake Up. Kick Ass. Be Kind. Repeat.

I posted the above picture in our private Facebook group the other day… 

 …and while yes, it is a funny coffee mug and gets a few laughs every time someone sees it, but I think the message is on point. Particularly as we start planning and goal-setting for the upcoming year… 

 …BTW if you haven’t written down your goals and plan for 2018, you need to get on it…any results we want to show in early 2018 really starts in October, but I digress… 

Anyway, for many of us who are independent recruiters, or at least on the agency side, where we are just as much salespeople as we are recruiters, we focus so much on our billing goals we sometimes lose site of the difference we can make in the world. 

Think about it…we literally build companies through talent, and we dramatically impact the lives of our candidates through the opportunities we present to them… 

From that perspective, the work we do matters. We change lives, and since we’re paid handsomely for what we do, we provide opportunities to our families that we may not have had growing up. 

But can we do more? 

Can we do more than just worrying about acquiring new leads and closing deals? More than just kicking ass and growing our bank accounts? Can we be kind? 

I have a friend who owns a boutique search firm, and he makes a donation to the World Bike Relief Fund every time his firm places a candidate, in essence buying bicycles for students, healthcare workers and entrepreneurs in impoverished areas in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia, helping create new economic and educational opportunities for those who would otherwise be trapped by their geographical realities. 

Every time he, or one of his recruiters, places a candidate, they buy bicycles in their clients’ and candidates’ names. Now some would say that’s self-serving, and why not just donate on his own, but I think the real value here is spreading awareness of this incredible charity and the important work that they do. 

Seeing the positive work he's doing, it really got me thinking about my plan for the coming year, and I’m realizing that 2018 can’t just be about kicking ass, but should be about being kind and impacting others in a positive way. As a result, I’m looking at how I can integrate charitable work into my own practice. 

So do you want to have an epic 2018, full of meaning and impact? 

Then make the decision to not only kick ass in 2018, but to be kind as well. 

Because it's not just about the dolla dolla bills…. 

What will you do to make a difference in 2018? 

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