This week, as I was visiting with friends, while someone was describing their carbon footprint, it sounded like” karmic footprint.” Wow, what a concept, I thought. How exactly does one determine what their karmic footprint is? When I look back at my week, it was somewhat lucky. I was bumped from a flight which caused me to miss a family event, but as a result it gave me an extended vacation. In addition, I received a travel voucher that allowed me to book a trip that I needed to pay out of pocket for and was trying to find budget for. I won not one, but two free fries from McDonalds Monopoly Game (don’t judge me) and I am writing this post while sitting in first class on my flight home. While I am used to receiving flight upgrades, this particular flight was purchased with frequent flier miles and I didn’t think that I was eligible for an upgrade. These aren’t significant things (I didn’t win the lottery), but these surprises made my week better. Some people might say that I am a lucky person. I like to think that I have a positive karmic footprint.
So how does one earn such an esteemed status? Certainly I am not eligible for sainthood. However, I find that you get back what you put out and I make a conscious decision daily to put out good vibes and positive energy. Am I starting to sound a bit too new-agey for a “‘business blog?” It’s possible that there are other universe forces at work. Forces greater than the power that I believe comes from doing good. But I ask you, could it hurt to try to improve your karma?
Jessica’s Seven Tips for Creating a Positive Karmic Footprint. Scientifically Proven By…Me.
1. Be polite online and in-person.
2. Do one nice thing for someone else each day. Bonus points if you do more than one.
3. Recycle (also good for your carbon footprint). This is one that I need to do a better job at.
4. Promote someone else. This can be a colleague, a competitor or simply a friend.
5. Try and understand where someone else is coming from. We all have different experiences. It places a part in how we act and think.
6. Say Please and Thank You. Duh!
7. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Cliche, I know.
The really groovy thing is (there I go being new-agey again) that this works in your both your personal and professional life. You don’t need Twitter or Facebook to make this happen, although they can be tools that help to facilitate positive karmicity. It’s really about how you behave in face-to-face interactions and online networking.
So here are my closing thoughts: Building a business takes work. Building your karmic footprint takes practice.