For all the hardcore business building and business marketing strategies we talk about in The Obvious Expert, first edition and The Obvious Expert educational programs, we also talk about the very introspective and metaphysical quality of “giving”.
Chapter 12 (maybe we saved the best for last) of The Obvious Expert is titled, “In The End, You Get What You Give (And Then Some!). In it, we write about the power of giving, power that changes your business, and your relationships, and most importantly, power that transforms you.
Giving, Generosity, and Greed
When you ask people if they are generous, almost everyone answers, “yes”. But what measure do you use for generosity? What measure do you use for greed, because almost no one believes that he or she is a greedy person? And how would you be able to recognize greed if you happen to live in North America, where it is not greedy by most standards for a family to own things like televisions, cars, or video games in multiples? In a culture, that despite the currently troubled economy, has such affluence and abundance, it is extremely challenging to find realistic and meaningful ways to measure your own acts of generosity and even your levels of greed.
But here is a simple yardstick you can use to begin to get a sense of the levels of both generosity and greed in your own life: What and how much are you willing to sacrifice? If you give away the suit you can no longer wear anyway, your ability to be generous is not stressed—at all! But what if you give away the suit you can wear, perhaps even like a lot, but don’t really need (if you are honest with yourself) because you already have several other suits to wear? Give on this level and your generosity muscle is exercised; you may even feel a little twinge of discomfort because you are using a muscle that does not get stretched enough.
Giving and generosity are not only tools for personal growth; they are wonderful tools for business growth.
- When you, as a part of the business community, give of your time, your money, your possessions, and/or your talents, incredible things begin to happen:
- You change other’s lives directly with your gifts.
- You change the lives of other’s indirectly by influencing them to model your actions and be more generous themselves. Your actions can take on exponential proportions.
- You build a reputation as person and as a businessperson for your values and character.
- You interact with your business market and build relationships in ways that are not overtly related to what you do or what you sell.
- And most importantly of all, giving generously elevates you personally, enabling you to experience intrinsic rewards you can simply never know when you go through life with your hand clasped tightly around all you own. Whether it is to give materially or to share your skills, opening your hand, always opens your heart.
