P26: The Generosity of Giving What You Love Away

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Welcome back!

Here’s this week’s challenge:

What do you love that you keep to yourself because it’s not quite ready? Because it’s not perfect or feels too close to your heart?

I’ve been writing a lot lately. Not just because I have something to say, but because I’ve realized how much I’ve kept to myself over the years.

Years of reading and reflecting. Passages highlighted. Quotes copied onto index cards. Marginalia scribbled in the quiet between coaching calls and late-night thoughts.

I’ve loved reading and writing for as long as I can remember. But aside from the book I wrote—and the thousands (maybe millions) of words poured into academic papers and ghostwritten work—writing has mostly been my secret love.

This year, I’ve stopped keeping it secret. And the response has surprised me.

People have written to say, “I needed this today.”

One morning, my daughter called me and said:

“I read your Stop Calling Them Soft Skills piece three times. It put into words something I’ve been trying to name for a while.”

That alone would have been enough.

It reminded me that the work we hoard doesn’t help anyone. The moment we release it, it becomes a gift.

PIVOT POINT

Holding on to what you love most isn’t always humility or procrastination. Sometimes, it’s withholding the very thing someone else needs today.

THE SHIFT

Perfectionism convinces us our work isn’t ready. But what if “ready” isn’t the goal?

What if your next act of generosity isn’t something you give, but something you release: a note of encouragement, a poem, a song, an idea, a story, a moment of reflection that’s been quietly waiting for an audience?

You don’t need a bigger platform to share it. You just need the courage to believe it might matter.

As I prepare to celebrate Easter this weekend, I’m reflecting on generosity from the foundations of my faith.

For me, the life and love of Jesus is the ultimate example of generosity—not given because we earned it, but because we are loved.

That truth has shaped how I think about the gifts we’ve been given, not as things to hoard, but to offer from love.

What inspires generosity for you?

Whether or not you share my belief, I am convinced of this:

Someone is waiting for a nudge of clarity, a burst of courage, or a flicker of hope.

Your words, your song, your art, your insight—however imperfect—might be the spark they need.

PIVOT CHALLENGE

What if you released one idea or something you created this week?

Not your masterpiece. Just a fragment. A spark. Something you’ve been hiding.

What you share doesn’t need to be final to matter. It just needs to be available.

And remember… generosity is a gift in itself that always gives twice: to the recipient and the giver. It blesses the one who receives and transforms the one who lets go.

What will you give away this week?

Until next week,

P.S. Since I stopped keeping my writing to myself, I’ve been sharing regularly on Medium. It’s where I’m releasing ideas, reflections, and stories that have been quietly building for years.

If you have an extra 5–7 minutes, I’d love to invite you there. You can read, listen, highlight, save, and share—whatever fits your rhythm. Here are my first three pieces:

• Is your writing too good to be human? (A reflection on writing in the AI era)

• Stop calling them “Soft Skills” (a call to elevate the essential skills that set us apart in the AI era)

• What if you hit send? Rethinking perfectionism (the long form version of this week’s Just One Pivot issue)

P.S.S If you’d like to explore how I can inspire your group or support your progress send me a note and let’s chat.

Note: I’m experimenting with affiliate book links, which help support my writing at no extra cost to you.