1.
Sitting on the front porch, you see your neighbors. You say hi to people walking by. You feel the breeze and hear the raindrops. Life happens on the front porch. When is the last time you invited someone to sit on the front porch with you?
2.
Neighboring is the best way to impact those around you. It is hard to influence without a relationship. How have you structured your life to be a great neighbor to those around you?
3.
Every day we offer something to the world. Is what you offer sweet or is it sour? Does it invite in or repel people away?
|
|
1.
“What this world needs is more front porches. Where folks converse, live, and laugh more.” -Anonymous
2.
“Make your front porch a part of your home, and it will make you a part of the world.” -John Sarris |
|
|
|
|
Last week, I led an IMPACT trip to Abaco, Bahamas, working with our Many Hands for Abaco team. After one hard day of working, our IMPACT Manager took us to get ice cream. We drove our 12-passenger vans to a Bahamian residential community, weaving through the neighborhood, and pulling up to a typical Bahamian house. Parking on the street, we walked right up to the front porch. All of a sudden, this very normal-looking window popped open, and the homeowner handed us an ice cream menu. We were ordering homemade ice cream through the front porch window of a regular house! And to make it even better, the address for the home was 321. How could I not write about this experience?! Needless to say, my rum raisin ice cream in a homemade waffle cone was delicious and the conversations with new friends on the front porch were fantastic. This got me thinking, how is my front porch looking to others these days? Do I welcome conversations and relationships with an inviting front-porch attitude or do I put up a fence to keep people out? Do I have something sweet to offer people, drawing them to me in conversation? Or do I do the opposite? I loved my 321 ice cream experience, as it surprised me in a good way. What is a way I can surprise and delight my neighbors at home or work this week? Spend more time on your front porch and less time in your fenced-in backyard and see what happens. You never know where some delicious ice cream might come your way.
|
|
If you enjoy this, please share with others. Share this newsletter on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, or via email using this link: 3...2...1 Impact: Front Porch
Tim Brand
Founder and CEO, Many Hands
|
|
|
|
|
|
