I would love to someday go to Haiti to experience what life is like and help out in some way. Several people that I know have traveled there to help bring hope and restoration to this country.

Laity Lodge Youth Camp went on a second trip to Haiti last summer, and plan to return on spring break this year. Dan King AKA Bible Dude has chronicled his involvement in The Unlikely Missionary. He will be returning to Haiti in February.

Ellen Palmer has been a committed board member and activist for International Child Care for many years, traveling to Haiti and Dominican Republic countless times. She was on the island, though not in Port-au-Prince, when the quake happened.

Thank you for all you do to help bring hope and restoration to this country. Perhaps someday I will be able to travel with you!

1. Took six months and two hospital visits to get over pneumonia. (Never again I pray!)
2. Managed the blog and Facebook for Laity Lodge Youth Camp (LLYC), visiting camp in June.
3. Looked for another full time job to no avail.
4. Redesigned the website for Work Hard Work Smart, a local initiative of the Chamber of Commerce.
5. Released a book about charity raffles with my friend Jim Berigan. Later sold it to a new publisher.
6. Welcomed new members to our family, great niece Anna, and great nephews Jackson, Issiah, and Noah.
7. Launched a new consulting business, Bounce Back Mobile.
8. In October Troy and I went on a retreat at Laity Lodge.
9. Led my first full day workshop on Facebook for small businesses.
10. Micah’s 2nd Birthday was on Thanksgiving Day.
11. Transitioned from being a web editor for LLYC to The High Calling.
12. Began a Facebook page called Living Micah 6:8.

I have not been particularly healthy with food and eating in my life. It’s been a little secret of mine, this bad eating. I have a tendency to see every meal as an opportunity for pleasure and escape. Lunchtime comes and I say, “Hmm, what do I most want to eat right now?” Then I go and get that food, whatever it is. I also tend to eat compulsively, cramming cheetoes or some other horrible processed food into my mouth in a ridiculous attempt to silence a demon or deal with my anxiety. And even when the food has lost its taste and clearly is making me feel worse and not better, I keep eating.

Like so many people I have a very fickle commitment to eating healthy. Rationally I know I need to eat healthy. I’m an ardent proponent of the real food movement, tell all my friends to watch Fast Food Nation and Super Size Me. In daily life, it is such a struggle. As a long time IBS sufferer, the wrong foods are seriously my mortal enemy. Yet I continue to give in to impulse.

I was thankful for the humble and encouraging way this post concluded: “I don’t have to become perfectly well with eating and food right now. I just have to peel back a little dead tissue, find something alive and well on the inside, and make one small move toward health and goodness.” – Pilgrim

At my next meal, I’ll have the opportunity to make a better choice.

Recently Joe and Joanna MacDonald poured all of their cause marketing expertise into a 316 page book, Cause Marketing For Dummies.

It’s primarily written for nonprofit organizations who want to create cause marketing programs. Businesses would gain valuable insight as well, learning how partnering with a cause can boost sales and provide a “halo effect” of being seen as supporting a worthy cause.

The authors do a great job of leading the reader step-by-step through the creation of a successful cause marketing campaign. In true Dummies style, the book is easy to read, and features numerous tips and sidebars. They tackle some of the toughest problems that marketers face such as cold calling and getting past gatekeepers.  There are even sample scripts for when you call on prospects.

While it’s a practical book, it’s far from being a dry read. They occasionally throw in some humor to keep you engaged and entertained. (Comparing cause marketing to the Borg was one of many chuckles as I read this book.)

What amazed me most about the book was how many great examples are included. There’s nearly a dozen real-world cause marketing campaigns in the first chapter alone!

The examples aren’t just from the “big guys” either. They show how even small businesses and local nonprofits can partner for mutual benefit. Where needed Joe and Joanna comment or explain why the campaign worked so well or why it failed. These examples show strategy, tactics and ideas that other organizations can use themselves.

The authors are expert at the art of “pin-ups.” You know, those cards you sign when you donate a dollar or two at the checkout counter? They prove that even small local orgs can run these programs successfully.

You’ll also find many unusual and cutting edge strategies here, including QR codes, location based marketing (i.e. Foursquare) and other online and mobile strategies.

One of the oddest examples of a successful cause marketing campaign came from White Castle. They sold a hamburger and onion scented candle, benefiting Autism Speaks. (I love candles but hamburger and onion? Really?) They sold out all 10,000 candles in less than 48 hours. Amazing. The screenshot included in the book was of Autism Speaks blog promoting the candle. While Joe and Joanna don’t go into the details on this campaign, I suspect that online marketing had a lot to do with the success of this project.

While the authors have boundless enthusiasm for the subject, they temper this with level-headed advice. There are sections that explain why cause marketing isn’t for everyone. They also insist that cause marketing be a part of the overall funding strategy.

I’d actually love to see a series of short videos based on this book. I know from my own board service that educating board members, staff or volunteers about an in depth subject such as this can be a challenge. They have a limited amount of time and may not be likely to read the whole book, nor would they need to. But for an organization to succeed at planning a cause marketing program (including adding staff or consultants) they will likely need buy-in from decision makers. Having short videos to show would help sell this as a winning strategy for the organization to pursue.

If you are interested in how to promote your cause or business using cause marketing, I’d highly recommend picking up a copy of Cause Marketing For Dummies!

Here are a few quotes that have reminded me of this recently:

“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.” – Anthony Robbins

“I’m often asked how you can start doing work you love — how you can make a living doing something you’re passionate about…Do one thing really well.” – Leo Babauta

“High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.”- Charles F. Kettering

Do you have a favorite quote about focus or achievement? Leave a comment below:

I’ve noticed something about my blogs and business over the past couple of years.

The more I open up and share my real self with the world, the more successful I become.

There’s just something about connecting with people on a genuine and human level that makes everything about business easier.

This might sound simple, but it took me years to figure it out. In the corporate world, I always had a vision of what the ideal “businessperson” was, and tried to emulate that. By doing that, I ended up living someone else’s dream instead of listening to what I really wanted to do (and probably came off a little stiff or calculating).

Keep reading… Getting Paid to Be “You” from Corbett Barr

It really doesn’t matter where you work, giving to others with an open heart can make a world of difference for you and for those around you.

I was reminded of a story I read recently from elementary teacher Hugh Atkinson.  He relates working with a challenging child and how their lives changed over the course of the school year.  The lesson he learned from this experience was the value, and yes danger, of having an open heart.

This boy who took every ounce of my strength and patience was chipping away at my heart.  I learned that you can’t fight anger with kindness and acceptance without opening up your heart.  When your heart is open – I mean wide open – you don’t get to choose the people you’re going to let in.  If the door is open, all kinds of people – good and bad alike – come shuffling in.

Read the full story at The High Calling: The Faith of a Teacher

Sometimes I really just want to support the cause.  I know door to door selling by kids is frowned upon, but the high school kids often stop by our house with raffle tickets, discount cards or some other fundraiser and I’m happy to help.

A raffle was one of the first kinds of fundraisers I did when volunteering for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  The raffle prize was a big screen TV (this was years before flat screens though!).  I took my packet of tickets and hit up every cubicle dweller in my office.  The reactions I got from people when I asked them to buy a ticket usually fell into two categories.  Some people got stars in their eyes over the prize.  Others said “that’s a great cause” with a few relating their own stories about friends or family who had leukemia or other diseases.  It seemed like these reactions were about half and half, those who wanted the prize and those who acted more interested in the cause.  I suspect that it was often a combination of both.

Some people thought I was crazy but I really loved asking people to support the cause in this way, and found their motivations for buying a ticket quite interesting.

Even though raffles can be a great fundraiser, sometimes nonprofits have a hard time striking this balance.  Finding a great prize is important and can be one of the most challenging aspects of planning a raffle.  There are so many other details that, if done right, can mean a blockbuster raffle.  The charity raises a lot of money, reaching its fundraising goal so it can continue to do good work in the community… and the winner goes home with a great prize.

When I was publishing Step by Step Fundraising, raffles were one of the most asked about types of fundraisers.  (And some of the most popular articles on the website, garnering lots of comments.)

To help organizations reach their goals my co-author, Jim Berigan, and I have just published a new e-book, called Raffle Secrets. This is a thoroughly comprehensive and step-by-step guide on how your organization can plan and execute the most successful raffle fundraiser your group has ever had.

In addition to the fifty page e-book, we are also including three FREE bonus e-books. These are:

• 18 Unusual and Amazing Raffles You Can Do to Raise Money for Your Cause
• Drive into Fundraising Success with a Car Raffle
• House Raffles – The Big Time Prize

Jim and I have done a lot of research on raffles in the past few months.  And we are still learning more!  I am looking forward to hearing the success stories that result from groups using this book to plan a great fundraiser. You can find out more about Raffle Secrets here.

When I read the story and saw the photo of Salay behind a pile of bricks, I could not help but think of my own son, now just 1 1/2. I saw his own innocent face in place of Salay’s. How could such a young child be forced into manual labor? No child should be in that position.

How do you react to this story? To the stories that your nonprofit, or ones that you support, tell?

The One Away campaign is highlighting personal stories of people who are going through such struggles.

U.S. Veteran Kerry Simmons is faced with a frightening balancing act: providing 24/7care for his wife, who suffers from Dementia, while trying to find a job. Potential employers continually ignore his resume despite more than 40 years of electronic and computer experience. The couple is in the midst of a financial crisis.