I'll
tell you one thing that I have learned very well in the past year especially is
how giving more seems to release more abundance in my life and in our
business. It is a very valuable lesson.
I've
always felt that I was a generous person and yet, I wasn't nearly the generous
person I could have been. I am still not where I could be on that; however, I am
so much further down the road than before. And, it is so much more than giving
money away.
I
grew up with Uncle Scrooge, how he hoarded his money, cherished it, kept it in a
big treasure room and loved to count it and roll around in it. I saw that in so
many ways when I was young, so I never really understood the better side of
being wealthy.
I
even understand my favorite business person more now than even just a year or so
ago. His name was Andrew Carnegie and at one point was the richest man in the
world. He spent half his life amassing a fortune and the other half giving it
away. That's easy to get because we can think, well, he's old now and he might
as well make amends for being so wealthy.
What
is closer to the truth is that he built an empire of related businesses,
creating many millionaires, employing thousands, and supporting countless
thousands more with the products he made, resources he purchased, taxes paid and
so much more. It was only when he sold the whole thing that he had the money to
give away and help others in a different way. One way was by creating Carnegie
Libraries in towns all across the United States to help countless thousands more
to learn, find ideas, to prosper.
In
all of this he was of service to tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of
thousands or more. He was this throughout his career, and as he gave, he grew
more and prospered more. There were so many ways he gave that many would
not have thought of as giving, but I am clear now about that and I see how it
came back to him tenfold and more.
A
good question to ponder when you meet someone, or another business person is to
ask, 'what can I do to help you achieve your goals?' It's not that you would
focus only on that kind of thing and forget your own business, but by helping
someone achieve their goals, you may find as we have that our own goals somehow
seem to get met. It may be completely indirect, and not seem traceable to this
act, but it comes from somewhere and besides that, does that really matter? It's
not the return we're really looking for when we give, or it isn't really
giving.
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