I don’t know what it is about this time of year, but I absolutely love it! The cooler weather, the changing of the leaves, the smell of a wood-burning fire, pumpkin-flavored anything…and how could I forget football? And, these barely scratch the surface. Each one provides me a sense of nostalgia that’s hard to replace.

With the holidays approaching, this time of year also brings us closer to our friends and family. In fact, the fullness of the holiday season encompasses each of the Holmes Murphy Aspirations, but there’s one, in particular, I’m reminded of the most: Share Abundantly.

Why is it that this time of year tends to bring out the best in all of us (…or, at least most of us)? There’s this overwhelming spirit of giving during the holiday season — or, to say it another way, “sharing” during the holiday season. We share our homes with friends and family. We share our family updates within greeting cards. We share our time with our churches and communities. We share our “thanks” by breaking bread with one another during Thanksgiving. We share gifts with one another. We share and give more of our time, energy, and money during this time of year than any other. It seems to come more natural, more easily during this time of year than any other. But, why this time of year…why now?

I firmly believe the reason for this abundance of sharing is that we see others do it around us, and it’s simply infectious. That’s right, think about it. You see someone hold a door for a stranger…we’re then more prone to do the same. We witness someone dropping loose change into the red Salvation Army kettle…we then tend to do the same. We experience someone donating their time to help serve others…we tend to join them and do the same. The more we see, the more we witness, the more likely we are to do the same. So how can we take this wonderful spirit of sharing and sprinkle it throughout the rest of the year in life and in business?

Share Abundantly means we share ideas, experiences, opportunities, joy, workload, and money. In business, our “product” (aka “gift”) is our knowledge and experience. We grow smarter and faster for our customers and colleagues through active sharing. When we collaborate and exchange these thoughts and ideas, we also learn more about ourselves, and it allows us and others to apply the knowledge toward making better decisions. By sharing, we’re giving someone else information that could completely change the way they see things. By sharing, we have the power to help people better understand themselves and the issues we face in our overly complex world today. And as we learn and experience new thoughts and ideas, it’s incredibly important to challenge them, debate them, and think about them. Through sharing, we can form great relationships, including some bonds which will last a lifetime.

The more thoughts and ideas we’re willing to share and the more shoes we’re willing to try on, the greater understanding we’ll have of the world around us and the issues that matter most. However, if no one shares their thoughts, their opinions, or their ideas, we’ll have nothing to think of other than our own preconceived notions. Without additional information to change the way we think about things, we’ll forever be stuck in whatever mindset we already have.

I challenge us all to continue to Share Abundantly, not only through the upcoming holidays…but every day. When we share, we enable each other to help make the world a better place!