Radical Generosity: Unlock the Transformative Power of Giving

By M.J. Ryan and Sylvia Boorstein

The bestselling author of Attitudes of Gratitude offers practical advice and inspiring insights into the joys of living generously.
 
The more we appreciate our lives, the more we want to give to others. In Radical Generosity, M. J. Ryan encourages readers to stop giving from what she calls “the ledger sheet mentality” of obligatory gifting and to start giving from the overflow of a loving heart.
 
In Attitudes of Gratitude, M. J. Ryan taught us the inner work of realizing the many blessings we take for granted. Now, in Radical Generosity, she challenges us to find the joy and fulfillment that comes from sharing those blessings with others. Ryan explores what creates generosity, what blocks it, and what practicing it can bring to our lives. She asks us to consider where we are stingy, as well as where we are meant to give. And she reminds us that the giving of time, energy, kind words, loving gestures, and forgiveness may matter more than any amount of money.
In her down-to-earth, accessible style, Ryan takes us to the heart of what it means to truly give and shows us how we can experience joy, peace, and fulfillment when we live from a place of generosity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781633410985

M.J. Ryan

Known internationally as an expert on change, M.J. Ryan works as an executive coach to senior executives and entrepreneurs around the world to accelerate business success and personal fulfillment. She combines a practical approach gained as the CEO of a book publishing company with methodologies from neuroscience, positive psychology and asset-focused learning to help clients and readers more easily meet their goals. Her clients include Royal Dutch Shell, Microsoft, Time, the U.S. military, and Aon Hewitt. She's a partner with the Levo League career network and the lead venture coach at SheEO, an organization offering a new funding and support model for female entrepreneurs. She's the founder of Conari Press, creator of the New York Times bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series, and author of many books, including, Habit Changers: 81 Game-Changing Mantras to Mindfully Realize Your Goals.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Opening Our Hearts and Hands

Above all let us never forget that an act of goodness is an act of happiness.

—COUNT MAURICE MAETERLINCK

I was sitting in a café one day, waiting for a friend, when I noticed a middle-aged woman walking toward a nearby table, juggling three cups of coffee and the paraphernalia that goes along with them. She handed two of the cups over to two gentlemen who were sitting there. Thank you, one of them said. My pleasure, she replied and flashed such a radiant smile that I knew down to my bones that her simple act had brought her pleasure, and even happiness.

If you are like me, you want to be happy. Like me, you've probably spent a lot of time trying to be happy. Are you? As study after study has found over the past decades, the number of Americans who consider themselves happy has been steadily declining. There are many reasons for this—the world is increasingly more complex and challenging; we have all sorts of economic, environmental, political and social challenges. These are real and should not be underestimated.

The good news is that these challenges give us an opportunity to re-imagine the world and ourselves. That's why I am so excited to be involved with SheEO, as Vicki Saunders describes in the introduction. But we can't change the outside world if we don't transform ourselves internally as well. And I know that's possible, because I did it myself.

I don't profess to have all the answers. All I know is that in my twenties and thirties, I was your average unhappy and fearful person. Then, about twenty-five years ago, through a series of circumstances, I began to refocus my life on what truly mattered and stopped being miserable. And that's made all the