The Tyranny of the Too Much

Recently I was at a meeting with a friend of ours, Robin Jones Gunn. We were talking about many interesting things related to our writing, global publishing, marketing and such. During one of our conversations, Robin said something like this, "We have gone beyond the Tyranny of the Urgent and now we struggle with the Tyranny of the Too Much."

That was a simple and powerful way to describe the way most people feel every day. We feel overwhelmed, inundated and unable to process all that comes our way. Just following twitter can make your head spin as the articles, quotes and news come flowing in.

One of the questions we have asked ourselves with the Generous Mind cause is this, "Are we simply making the problem worse by challenging people to create even more ideas and information that no one has time to read or process?"

What a question! Are we part of the problem or presenting a solution? I sure hope we are part of the solution. But how can more information and ideas being shared generously be a solution to anything???

One common misconception about the Generous Mind cause is that it is a challenge to simply be generous with "your" ideas. We think of the world very individualistically so we immediately assume that we must be generous with what we possess.

However, generosity of ideas can apply to things developed by others. Unlike with money, you can be generous with what others are creating. This makes idea generosity a bit unique and very exciting. One of the key ways to be a Generous Mind is to be on the lookout for worthwhile ideas that others are sharing and help get them out to more people.

So as you wake up tomorrow and start your new week, be on the lookout for important ideas that others are sharing that deserve a wider audience. Look for them and then, with appropriate attribution, send them along to your audience. This is something that we do every day on our twitter feed in our effort to be generous with the ideas of others. We hope you will join us in this essential part of the cause.

As a good way to get started, find one great idea out there and share it as a response to this blog!

Comments

Global Nomad said…
Thanks, Jon and Mindy for your many excellent posts.

Will seek to catch up with those I'd like to read.

Yes, sharing others' ideas can be a great way of networking and a real channel of blessing.

"Think on the affairs of others" is a mandate from a Wise Author

Global Nomad