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I've started my day on twitter with this same tweet nearly every day for more than a year.
Morning, Friends. Who Can I Help Today?
That single line has gotten a lot of reaction.
Some people have tried to correct it, grammatically and contextually, arguing that it's confusing and the proper question should be "how can I help you?"
And, where's the "good" before morning?
How can I call myself a writer?
But, far more often, people have asked me some variations of the following four questions:
- Do people really ever reply?
- What do they ask for?
- What have you done for them?
- What's in it for you?
So, I figured I share some answers...
1. Do people really every reply?
Yes, people respond with requests for my help all the time, pretty much every day.
2. What do they ask for?
They ask for everything from a latte to money to business advice to content promotion to relationships, marketing, creativity advice, interviews, introductions and beyond.
Some of the requests are downright fast and easy, some are for favors that'd require serious work and some are just plain hysterical...especially if they come from Naomi Dunford.
3. What have I done for people?
Answer, all the above. As long as:
- I have the ability to help,
- The ask resonates strongly with my beliefs and preferences and I can honor it in a way that adds value to all who would be impacted, and
- I have the time/resources.
I love lending a hand. But, even if I have the ability to help, I won't do things like promoting a business, website or content that I either don't agree with or wouldn't add value to the experience of the people I have the capacity to share it with.
Want specifics of things I HAVE done?
Nope.
Why not?
Two reasons.
- One - Many of the asks come as DMs or emails and I'd never compromise the integrity or privacy those modes of communication imply.
- Two - The most powerful gives come with the least connection to credit or acknowledgment. I'm not doing it because I wan't people to know what I've done.
Then why DO I do it? Or, put another way...
4. What's in it for me?
Everything. I do it because I can't really think of a better way for me to set up my mindset and my karma for the day than by offering to help someone, often someone I don't even know, in some random way. So, while I do it to help people, truth is I think the bump to my karma and my head-space benefits me more than anyone I help.
My Challenge - What about YOU?
Since I started asking this morning question, I've noticed something cool happening. Some of the people who follow me have begun asking their own variations of the question to start each day.
My friend, Adam King (@AdamKingStudio) asks...
Another friend, Mark Silver (@MarkHeartofBiz) regularly asks...
And, it's all got me thinking...
I wonder what might happen if this became a movement?
How cool would it be if a growing army of kindness-marauders poured onto twitter and Facebook every morning to ask their own special-sauce variation of "What can I do for you today?"
Then committed to helping at least a single person.
So, that's my ask of you today.
Try it on for size. Commit to starting each day this way for just the next week and see what unfolds.
Feel free to link back to or share this post to rally others to explore the impact of this single daily offering of kindness.
And, as always, share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below...
Jonathan Fields is the author of Career Renegade: How to Make a Great Living Doing What You Love. He writes and speaks on meaningful work, being a lifestyle entrepreneur and creativity at JonathanFields.com and is a twitter heavy-user at @jonathanfields
