what I could've done better

This is in reference to one of my earlier posts about organizing an open mic and deciding to get only minimally paid for it.

In retrospect, I didn't do much. Sure, I got my friends paid, which is nice, but they didn't do a whole lot of the work for it - except what they already knew how to do. If I was really going for sustainability, I would've worked with their schedules, driven to their houses and helped them through the process of organizing it themselves, instead of just doing it for them and giving them the money.

I asked myself where I fell on Rambam's ladder, a Jewish social justice teaching tool that has been used for centuries. Rambam's ladder ranks acts of justice/charity in order from 1 to 10. It looks like this:

1. The person who gives reluctantly and with regret.
2. The person who gives graciously, but less than one should.
3. The person who gives what one should, but only after being asked.
4. The person who gives before being asked.
5. The person who gives without knowing to whom one gives, although the recipient knows the identity of the donor.
6. The person who gives without making his/her identity known.
7. The person who gives without knowing to whom he/she gives. The recipient does not
   know from whom he/she receives.
8. The person who helps another to support himself/herself by a gift or a loan or by finding employment for that person, thus helping that person to become self-sufficient.

So, I'm at about a Rambam 4 with this project, when I could've been a Rambam 8, if I'd taught them to organize on their own, and given them my tools and connections in town. It was easy for me to do because I know what to say to a venue owner, where to put fliers, how to host the event itself...actually teaching/working with/coaching them would've taken a lot longer. And we didn't have much time.

Lesson learned: leave more time. Do less. Listen and guide more.