Thought This Might Help Someone: Pursuing the Greatest Version of You

By David Porter

Thought This Might Help Someone is a journey to the next great version of yourself.
It follows the dailies — David Porter’s continuing series of daily seeds he scatters to the universe. Through personal introspection, the author has created a true transformation in his life from disconnected to powerful.
As you read the book, you’ll learn how to:
trust yourself as you reach for your dreams;
find connection and fulfillment with others;
seek opportunities to look at the world differently.
After each daily reflection, the author poses questions that will allow you to craft your own “dailies.” Your answers will become the raw material that creates each greater version of you.
By taking the time and making the effort, you can create your own personal scripture as a product of your mind, heart, and soul. And from there, your trajectory is squarely in your hands.
Slow down, take time to reflect, and find the greatest version of you with the insights and wisdom in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664217065

David Porter

David Porter, a coach, speaker, and author, earned a law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School and has held certifications in health care compliance, quality management, business continuity, and business process management. He has focused on helping businesses and business leaders thrive for the past thirty years and has also revolutionized his own life. His mission is to help leaders find fulfillment and connection in their lives to become the best version of themselves.

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Copyright © 2021 David Porter.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

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except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher

make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book

and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

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Author photo credit: Four2North Photography

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-1707-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1708-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-1706-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020925407

WestBow Press rev. date: 01/12/2021

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Why Did I Write This Book?

Chapter 2 Your Experience

Chapter 3 Extracting Your Value

Chapter 4 You Can Too!

Daily Deposits

Chapter 5 Your Path Forward

Epilogue

Resources

To

two men

who created a system and lead a brotherhood

that helps me transform my life daily:

Garrett J. White

Founder, Wake Up Warrior

Sam Falsafi

Lead Trainer, Wake Up Warrior

Acknowledgments

Over my life, there have been dozens of people who have taught, guided, and directed me to where I am today. There are not enough pages to acknowledge them all. Instead, I want to acknowledge six people who have profoundly influenced my life and who are responsible for the creation of this book:

➢ My wife, Lydia. For nearly twenty years, you have been my best friend and the true iron that has sharpened me over time. You are the one I do not deserve. I look to you as my North Star. You are the love of my life. Thank you for encouraging me to create and publish this book.

➢ My POD brothers: Chad Centorbi, Tim Riesen, Stephan Terebieniec, Robert Valdivia, and John Wiley. You were the first to see the Dailies as a resource that would resonate with people. Your encouragement over the years has been priceless to me. Thank you for your friendship.

Introduction

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I walked in to the dark and found my light.

It is dark. Really dark. I am not thrilled to hear that same song from my phone telling me it is time to get up. My mind shouts out, I am tired. Why are we up at this hour? I ignore the question and get started. I have a series of tasks to complete before I get to my regular work. I go from one task to the next, working through my morning routine. At the same point in the process every day, I take a deep breath, calm my mind, and begin to write. My task is to write a short revelation that has hit the top of my mind during that morning’s routine.

I write first and foremost for me. The revelation makes me better and expands my mind. I also write and post to various social media platforms because I thought this might help someone. And that is how I end every one of the entries today. As of this writing, I have done this more than seven hundred times. Each of these writings was simply a seed I planted in the hope it would grow for me and for someone who needed it or could use it.

These seeds to the universe are the heart of this book. These seeds have been a huge part of the transformation I have experienced over the last several years. My goal for this book is to encourage you to see and experience the transformative effect giving can have in your life. It changes who you are. It opens possibilities to connect to people you never considered. It slows your life so you can experience all the wonder it has to offer.

The interesting question that plagued me as I put this book together was why I was so resistant to giving in the first place. When I began the process of the daily writings, I had very real anxiety. Looking back and seeing my resistance bothered me. Digging deeper caused me to evaluate the act of giving and how it was part of my worldview.

For me, my worldview centers on my faith. I am a Christian and have been ever since I can remember. This book is not designed to evangelize to you. Rather, it is focused on being as honest as possible about the facts and emotions of my journey. I will occasionally refer to and quote the Bible. The Bible is my spiritual scripture. It does not have to be yours. I feel confident that the principles I highlight from the Bible are common among all of us, no matter our faith or other spiritual view.

Yet, no matter your worldview, I believe my path may resonate with you. What I ask of you is to accept my faith as mine. It is being used to give clarity and context as you read. My hope is that the principles my faith highlights for me are equally present to you through your lens.

Giving is spoken of often in the Bible. In many examples, giving is part of the blessing of living a life of faith. Giving has inherent value and is a catalyst for blessing. For example:

One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:24–25 NIV)

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Luke 6:38 NIV)

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus himself said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35 NIV)

My takeaway is there is no real downside to giving. The simple act of giving is a gateway to receiving more than we could ever imagine. Yet, I believe we all resist giving at some level. I know I have and continue to have this sort of resistance. Let me offer three ideas for why we resist giving. These are ideas for you to consider as you begin this journey of giving to find the best version of yourself.

Loss

Giving involves us parting with something (time or resources) in favor of someone else. In that moment of giving, we can embrace that we have less. Said a different way, had we chosen not to give, we might still have what was ours. So, giving presents us with a reality that centers on loss. Many live in a place of scarcity, believing that when they give to someone else, they lose that which is given. They see the world as a zero-sum game. In a zero-sum game, everything is finite. The pie is only so big. When I give, I have less is how the thinking goes. From the other side, when one receives, there is more, and someone else must have an equal loss. Thus, the act of giving leaves the giver with less. This makes giving hard.

To address loss, consider that giving is a path to receive. It is an act of faith. It is an awareness that there is abundance in the world for all of us to have what we desire. The world is not a zero-sum game. The pie can be made bigger. Our initial faith to give is supported by the data we receive that giving produces a return that is often greater than that which was given.

Think about a farmer. A farmer invests money to buy seed to plant at the beginning of every growing season. The farmer buries those seeds in the ground. In essence, the seeds are given away to the earth for a greater purpose. Once planted, the farmer does nothing to actually grow the crop. The farmer stewards the seeds that are being grown by the earth and nature. There is no guarantee of results. There is no assurance a crop will grow. The only guarantee for the farmer is if the seeds are not planted, there will be no crop.

The same is true for us. We invest time, talent, and treasure in many things. We typically do not know what will come from our act of faith. What we know with certainty is that without our act of giving, there is no chance of any crop coming in return.

Anonymity

When we overcome the hurdle of loss, we next face what I call the challenge of anonymity. How we give is often as important as that we give. Jesus talks about anonymity in the Gospel of Matthew:

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6: 2–4 NIV)

Giving loses much of its power when it is done for a show or to find the spotlight. I vividly remember my dad’s view on giving. He wanted no part of being identified with giving anything to anyone. He loved to give and was a very generous man. He believed that once you put yourself in the spotlight as the giver, the gift lost its power. Many want to be known for what they give. That often puts them at the mercy of the challenge of anonymity and holds them back.

Why would you give? Is it so people know you gave? Is it for the greater good? Is it just something you are led to do? Navigating the challenge of anonymity reveals your true heart for giving. It surfaces your motives. It cuts you open to see