137: Cultivating an Abundance Mindset - With Joy Within Ourselves

"Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor loss of composure. Where there is poverty borne with joy, there is neither grasping nor hoarding. Where there is quiet and meditation, there is neither worry nor dissipation."

This week, I’m reflecting on Of the Virtues putting Vices to Flight by Francis of Assisi, first published in English in 1906.

Reflection questions:

• Where do you see evidence of a scarcity mindset within yourself?
• Which virtue do you want to cultivate this week?

Reflection on quote:

Last week in our series on cultivating an abundance mindset, we discussed how that mindset affects donors.  As we continue this series, for most organizational leaders, the amounts that must be raised during a capital campaign can be shocking and overwhelming, leading to a mindset of scarcity. In those overwhelming moments, we have to start the process of cultivating an abundance mindset within our team, the Board, the staff, and the campaign volunteers. And that process starts with ourselves.

In the face of leading the organization through the most significant fundraising effort likely in the organization’s history, what do these virtues do?  When we lean into patience and humility as leaders, we react calmly to the extensive time the campaign will take, knowing that cultivating an abundance mindset among our team and donors requires more intentional efforts. When there is poverty borne with joy, we as leaders communicate the reality that this capital campaign is larger than we can accomplish on our own and we invite volunteers and donors to join in the joy of accomplishing it together.  When we pause for quiet and meditation, even during the busiest seasons of the capital campaign, we calm the frantic efforts and worry that feeds into a scarcity mindset within us. As we keep practicing these abundance-building virtues, we will more quickly  escape the scarcity mindset and return to the abundance mindset.  

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To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper and to schedule an free explore coaching call, visit ServingNonprofits.com.

Music credit: Woeisuhmebop

Transcript

Welcome back. This podcast explores the beautiful space where generosity occurs through ancient and modern writings from all cultures and religions, seeking deeper wisdom for capital campaign work in small towns. If you like this podcast, please rate or review in your favorite podcast app.

Last week in our series on cultivating an abundance mindset, we discussed how that mindset affects donors.  As we continue this series, for most organizational leaders, the amounts that must be raised during a capital campaign can be shocking and overwhelming, leading to a mindset of scarcity. In those overwhelming moments, we have to start the process of cultivating an abundance mindset within our team, the Board, the staff, and the campaign volunteers. And that process starts with ourselves. This week, I’m reading Of the Virtues Putting Vices to Flight by Francis of Assisi, first published in English in 1906.

Quote

Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor loss of composure. Where there is poverty borne with joy, there is neither grasping nor hoarding. Where there is quiet and meditation, there is neither worry nor dissipation.

Unquote

In the face of leading the organization through the most significant fundraising effort likely in the organization’s history, what do these virtues do?  When we lean into patience and humility as leaders, we react calmly to the extensive time the campaign will take, knowing that cultivating an abundance mindset among our team and donors requires more intentional efforts. When there is poverty borne with joy, we as leaders communicate the reality that this capital campaign is larger than we can accomplish on our own and we invite volunteers and donors to join in the joy of accomplishing it together.  When we pause for quiet and meditation, even during the busiest seasons of the capital campaign, we calm the frantic efforts and worry that feeds into a scarcity mindset within us. As we keep practicing these abundance-building virtues, we will more quickly  escape the scarcity mindset and return to the abundance mindset.  

Let’s reflect on two questions this week:

Where do you see evidence of a scarcity mindset within yourself?

Which virtue do you want to cultivate this week?

Share this podcast if you enjoy these five-minute reflections and subscribe to receive these reflections released every week. To explore small town capital campaign coaching deeper, visit Serving Nonprofits dot com. See you next week.