Be the Change You Want to See in Others

It’s time to put your money where your mouse is.

On Christmas day, I reported the story of one down on their luck family that I read about from CNN. I posted it here.

In response to that post, I met Eileen Butler.

She made some comments at the end of the CNN story on my blog and I said, “I’ll help you”.

I know enough people out there to be able to make her long term problems go away for a while and help her get back to normal.

On Christmas eve, I went to church and the message was about Paying it Forward.

It was about being the change that you always want to see in others and just doing the things for people that you would want to see others do for you.

You’ve all seen the movie about the kid who makes his school project about paying it forward and impacting 3 people who will in turn take what was done to them and impact those 3 people in a positive way.

We watch these stories and then we say.. “oh that’s nice what that boy did….” but then we never do anything about it.

We think… “Oh.. If I help 1 person, then EVERYONE will come after me for help once they find out!”

No… that is not true. If you help one person, then you help one person and that person’s life will be impacted in a positive way for who knows how long. And you don’t think about the repercussions, you just do what is right.

So, Eileen Butler is about to get a new start for 2009 and I am counting on hundreds and hundreds of people to contribute and take care of this family, which you are about to meet below.

I wish I could do this for everyone, as there are many stories that cross my path of people and their special needs, but for right now, this family is going to be the one I pour my energies into and we’ll show them the power of the internet marketing community and how they can instantly rally together and get a family back on their feet so they don’t lose their home.

This is what Americans do.

This is what people who believe in Jesus do.

This is what the human race is supposed to do to take care of their own. It’s about paying it forward.

I won’t judge anyone if they do or don’t participate in this campaign, All I ask, is that you first read the story of the family I posted about on Christmas day.

Then, read the story of the starfish boy. It’s famous and it always moves me cause it always has a powerful message about being the change we need to see in others and doing the work ourselves.

Then… read the story from Eileen below and help her. Follow my lead and pay it forward.

Find people in your niche and do something great for them. Rally your own list to make the change that people need to see. And then… ask them to pay it forward and just let this grow out there in ways we’ll never know or see. It’s not about us… it’s about just helping and doing the right thing right now.

The Story of the Star Fish

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, “It made a difference for that one.”

Story by Loren Eiseley

READ Eileen’s Story

We have lived in our home since December of 1998. It is 1200 sq feet, 3 bdrm, 2 bath.  Nothing fancy, but a great starter home for us.  Then in Dec. of 2001 we adopted our 1st daughter at 2 days old and her sister 13 months later in January of 2003. Everyone says that the girls are ’so lucky’, because they would have gone into foster care.  That’s not why we adopted them.  We knew this was God through and through – and we are the ones who are so very fortunate.\

Anyway, my husband is a pastor but the church was small
so he has always worked a full time job.

In May of 2007 we left the denomination we had been a part of for 13 years.  It was a hard decision, but for moral and theological reasons, we knew it was time to leave. When we left we lost our housing and car allowance.  What we didn’t expect is that at that same time I was hospitalized with pneumonia for 4 days, so my husband had to miss work (without pay) to care for our girls.

Then the end of June, just as I thought I was getting stronger, I got sick again and was put in ICU with a different type of pneumonia. Another 4 days in the hospital, but this time with a much longer recovery.

During this time we were struggling financially, and in August of 2007 our cars were repossessed. The same bank holds our mortgage and car loan, and they would not give back our cars until both debts were caught up.  My husband drives an hour each way to work 5 days a week and there isn’t public transportation that is available. So we were able to borrow the money from a friend to get everything caught up.

It was touch and go for awhile, but we made it through and in February, with our tax refund, repaid the friend and used what was left to pay bills.  (In March we had to put in a new Drain Field. Cost: $2800.00) By June of 2008 we were in dire straights again with the house and the bank was threatening. By this time I was well enough and had been looking for work.  I was supposed to begin a position in September that would pay enough and work out perfectly with my daughter’s school schedule.  I called the bank and explained this and pretty much pleaded for some way to work things out.  We were told if we could pay the taxes and insurance we could sign paperwork to begin making payments again in September for the house and July for the cars. A fresh start – perfect!

Two weeks before I was to start work I found out I had no job because the funding wasn’t available. I immediately started looking for something – anything.  I only got called for one interview and was 2nd in line for the position.  I couldn’t even get a telemarketing job.  I actually do have a lead on a position and a contact in the company, but nothing will happen until after the new year and we need help immediately.

As of right now we owe 3 months on the cars. They aren’t fancy, but they get us where we need to go.  My husband is driving my 1999 van because it’s not safe enough for me to drive (his words).  It has no heat or AC (and we live in FL) and only one window would roll down partially – but not anymore.

There is also no power steering.  Even though he drives as much as he does, he rarely complains. I am driving his 2003 truck and both vehicles have over 100,000 miles on them. The house will have 5 payments due on January 1st and we have no time left.

I just can’t imagine having to tell our girls that we don’t have a home.

I think that would be the hardest part of all of this for us.  Especially when they see us, mostly their father, always there for others.  It’s not uncommon to find him in the worst neighborhood of our city on the side of the road trying to encourage the men who hang out there because they have no hope.  Until recently, we were the ones who helped others at the holidays, never thinking we would end up as the ones needing help.

The amount that we need to catch up is $4700.00 without the late fees.  If we were able to do that, I think the bank would work with us on the late fees.

By the way, we have started a new church. It is VERY small, but we believe it is to be a place of healing and new beginnings.  That is also what we are hoping for – a new beginning.

Our Paypal account info is:  frjoeb@gmail.com

Thanks for anything you can do. It is appreciated more than I can tell you.
Sincerely,
Eileen Butler

If you would like to mail a check to them, here is their mailing address:
120 Cypress Road,
St. Augustine, FL 32086-6633

So now…. where do you take the story from here?

1. Give a donation of ANY amount to the Butler’s Paypal email = frjoeb@gmail.com. Just put Butler donation in the memo. Or leave it empty and give a gift anonymously.

2. Sell clickbank products this entire week and donate ALL the amount you sell this week and give it ALL to the Butlers. This is what I am doing. You can do it and mail an email to your list doing the same, asking them to buy products from clickbank.

When you purchase any of these great clickbank programs this week only… 100% of it will go to the Butlers. So, go and buy something and then use what you buy to also help yourselves become better marketers and entrepreneurs.

1. Pay Per Click Bully – Copies Successful PPC Campaigns so you can use what works and Stop Guessing

2. Subscriber List Secrets – Helps you build a marketing list

3. Clickbank Commission BluePrint – Helps you make $1000’s per month with Clickbank products

4. Forex Killer – How to make money with the Forex Market.

Pass this post onward.

Use all the social media you can to get the message out there. Adopt the Butler family on your blog and do your own promotion. Get this story all over the blogsphere.

I’ll post an update from Eileen at the beginning of next week and we hope to raise them to over $10,000 in donations by this time, next week.

So.. can you do something? Make a donation or buy a product. It’s time to make the change and be the change you want to see in others.