It’s so NOT about the money!
Phi-lan-thro-py [fi-lan-thruh-pee]
“altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement, usually manifested by donations of money, property, or work to needy persons, by endowment of institutions of learning and hospitals, and by generosity to other socially useful purposes.” – Dictionary.com
“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.” – Mae West
When I was asked to submit an article in the theme of “Giving” my senses perked up right away and I thought, “Yep I can certainly do that!” NULL
This year in particular has been all about “giving” as a theme for me. It’s not that I haven’t been doing it all along, I put 10% of my net income away for the purposes of “giving” and, in fact some that know me would say, “You giveth too much.” My current reality: “I giveth ineffectively, and would love to give more!” I took a time out from “handing out” when
I became aware of the differences between handing out and “giving proper”, they now have distinction and the difference is all in the “end results”, both for the Giver and Receiver.
I decided to learn how to give better, in more useful ways than I had in the past, in ways that empowered instead of enabled those I was giving to. I am also at the same time working on how to receive better and that’s a whole other article, because, like exhaling is as important as inhaling, there is also an art to receiving. It really is the trickier of the pair, and for the purposes of this month’s theme we’ll stick to the “giving” side of the coin. It has been my observation that
we as humans are wired for contribution, we all inherently know how to exchange value with another, to “share” with each other.
It’s in our nature and in fact required – for the purposes of communication alone. It ensures our survival and our evolution, compassion with and for others is instinctual and programmed into the “being” part of “human being”. Now, let me ask you this:
Have you ever paid for another’s starter kit to get with you in your business?
Story aside…yes or no? If “no”, good for you and please don’t do it! If “yes”, please – pretty please, don’t do it again! (And, by the way, how did that work out for you, or most importantly, your friend?) At the very least, agree upon an exchange of your friend’s energy or talent in return. Need your lawn mowed or your house cleaned or painted? Most have a way to come up with the capital, and if all they have is heart and desire, they have value to offer.
Their business capital or personal effort is an investment in their Self – where their business both starts and ends. It’s an investment into the beginning of what could be their life’s work and passion – where the others are – others, that they will eventually “pay it all forward” to.
You do your friend – and perhaps the future of your business – a disservice by not allowing him or her the experience and power of their accomplishments, the joy and learning along the way to them, the acknowledgment for achieving them and most significant, you rob them from investing in the most important thing of all – their Self, it’s how I understand the term “seed capital”.
“We reap that which we sow” so let them sow, we want them nurturing and growing their own seeds.
There are occasions when I have been inspired to tears and had the privilege to celebrate a victory with another when they finally raised the start-up capital for their business, to join a Network Marketing company, it’s usually not a lot and the amount means little once the goal is reached!
Those that want what you have will do what it takes to get some too, if they don’t know how to go about it, they’ll ask. Hold them capable of coming up with what they need to get what they want!
If they believe they can get what they “want” from what you have to offer, it’s a step in the right direction to them actually doing something with the opportunity they are now owning!
Do you know what your contacts and clients want? What drives them? What excites them? Where or how do they want to contribute or give back?
Everyone wants to provide value in some unique and significant way, just ask around if you haven’t already. Chances are you have something that could help them with all of the above questions!
What they want may be entirely different than what you think they need, are you sure you know what they WANT? You may be surprised to find that they don’t know what they want, so help them figure it out!
I was enjoying lunch in a sunny Vancouver, BC park a while back and nearby there was a man looking very much down on his luck, stretched out on the lawn just looking around as if waiting for someone. I could only eat so much of the whole roasted chicken I had bought, so I had my fill as he looked on and then I offered him the remainder to enjoy. I assumed he would be willing to receive the leftovers and he was, he politely took the bbq’d half bird, thanked me, tucked it away in his bag for a friend and proceeded to ask me if I might have a cigarette instead!? Lesson learned, I laughed on the spot. He didn’t want food and I wasn’t willing to give him what he did want. If we “want” anything, we find or create ways to get it and it all starts with offering something of value in exchange for it. It all starts with a personal vision of what’s better for us and ours, which always begets the question, “what can I offer up or do right now to take the first step towards finding that which is better?” That first step is entirely yours to “give”, give it and watch what comes back!
As professional and successful Network Marketers, our personal needs are met on all fronts – health, wealth, relationships and time.
When I saw that my needs were more than being met, I also became aware of the fact that I can only eat so much, use so much space or play with so many toys, or travel the world so fast. I love people, I’m not a “stuff” person, I can only spend “so much”; my cost of living life is low by comparison to what I will always make in return. I have enough experience as a Network Marketer and Entrepreneur to envision far enough up the road to see…
clearly, I’ll need to learn some things about giving better to give bigger as my business continues to pay out in exponential ways over time! This is the nature of “passive income”.
The real lessons about money aren’t taught in our public schools. Money as paper is value-less, the paper as a token, represents an exchange of “value” between two parties. Your net worth is tied to your self worth and the amount of net worth you have piling up indicates the amount of value you are bringing to the parties.
The trick isn’t in making money anymore – for anyone.
There’s LOTS of money and opportunities to get money floating around. Start wrapping your head around what a Trillion of something looks like. Remember as a kid marveling at what you could do with a Million dollars? As a grown up, I was just starting to get the hang of conceiving a Billion, after all it’s ONLY a thousand Million… I hear there’s Trillions of dollars being printed and moving about the marketplace lately? A Trillion of ANYTHING is more than enough to go around!
The trick is in keeping the money we do generate, growing it and giving it away effectively – in ways that truly serve “the greater good” it is a life-long pursuit as we continue to personally expand.
Other trick is; everyone has their own “version” of what “the greater good” is – and for some, very sound and altruistic reasons for needing your money f
or it, especially if they don’t have any of their own!
We are in an era of radical transition on a global scale, new and innovative ways to offer useful information and value are being created every day!
Just Google the term “micro-lending” or visit Kiva.org. The Internet has allowed money to be moved around to where it needs to go with a few clicks of the mouse, and like network marketing, when it comes to giving, everyone doing a little bit creates a massive wave of generosity and effective, uplifting assistance, pretty much anywhere! The multi-Millionaires and Billionaires I’ve been keeping compa
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She is a co-creative Entrepreneur, and a Professional Network Marketer currently building a healthy chocolate consumer's and distributor's network. Visit her blog at JuliesBlog . com or follow her at Facebook. com /JulieCoombs or Twitter. com /DiamondJul
- Flexing The Imagination Muscle Again by Julie Coombs - May 1, 2011
- Learning the “Art of Philanthropy”… by Julie Coombs - August 1, 2009
- Be a student of Many Masters! by Julie Coombs - October 1, 2006
