Hello, Welcome to this edition of the Everyday Giving ezine. Do you feel like the lack of time is keeping you from giving to others? I felt that way until I determined something that allowed me to better prioritize and use my time. Read the below article "How to Make More Time for Giving" for a glimpse into what I learned. I will be attending the Arthritis Foundation's 2005 Development Conference next week in Dallas. It is called "Fundraising: Kick It Up A Notch." The agenda looks great and I plan to share my experience and some of what I learn in the next ezine. The conference was originally scheduled to take place in New Orleans. We have all seen the tragedy that area is continuing to go through due to Hurricane Katrina. My heart goes out to those that where severely impacted (and I know yours does as well). The American Red Cross was my first stop on the Internet to find out what I could do. As I am writing this, they are operating more than 250 shelters, providing comfort for nearly 42,000 people that have been evacuated. The best way to help is to make a financial donation at their website. I would encourage you to also support organized efforts your local churches and companies have established. If you know of someone else that could benefit from this ezine, please forward it to them. I would like to know if this ezine has been a help to you. You can always send me a note with your comments or questions to roger@everydaygiving.com. Thanks, Roger B. Carr "Mentor to the Rich of Heart"

by Roger Carr

Do you have a desire to spend more time giving to others but you don't know where the time is going to come from? Have you tried several time management approaches all of which gave limited results or didn't last beyond a few weeks or days? I had the same problem and so did my friend David.

David Perdew has just written a new book called Bad Dad: 10 Keys to Regaining Trust, is developing and teaching an online course, makes time for his family, and works a full-time job. Some students in his class have recently stated they don't know how he does it all. I recently talked with David about his "secret." It was no surprise that he has learned what I have.

You need to determine what your values and life purpose are and then spend your time doing those things that are most important to fulfilling them. Everything else should be delegated to someone else or not done at all. If giving to others is high on your list of values, you will make the time to do it more and feel great about it.

I spent the energy to determine my values and life purpose in my mid-forties. Some people might think I was going through a mid-life crisis (or man-o-pause as my friend Nick would call it). You are never too young or old to take your life purpose seriously.

The following two books were very useful to me and I highly recommend them both:

- The Power To Be Your Best by Todd Duncan
- The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren

If you don't know your life purpose at this point in your life, you need to take the time to discover it. It will be a life changing experience.