The other morning as I was sweeping my entryway and balcony, I decided to sweep my neighbor’s too. It was right there, took a few extra minutes, and whether she noticed or not, I felt good doing it. It made me recall an afternoon in my home office in Oxnard, California, gazing across the street and watching my neighbor struggle to mow her 12 foot strip of front lawn. The yard work could have been so easy for her if she’d just continue to mow the next-door neighbor’s adjoining strip of grass, rather than yank the heavy lawn mower around to avoid doing a good deed for someone. It actually made me laugh and shake my head a little.
The truth is, doing for others is actually doing for us. I even get an endorphin rush when I’m able to help people, I feel fulfilled and peaceful; I call it, “Giving with no strings attached.”
A few months back I read a book that impacted me in a major way, and I proceeded to tell as many people about it as I could. The book is called, “The Go Giver” and it’s a short read in the form of an allegory with deep lessons on giving. Instead of spoiling it for you, I highly suggest you read the book yourself and incorporate it into every aspect of your life. The one chapter that really hit home for me focused on how many people will give 50% and stop, thinking they’ve done their part and now expect their recipient of 50% to come with the other half. The book proposed giving 100% every time for the joy of it, and on the flipside, be genuine about receiving 100% from others as well.
There is an exercise I encourage my NuSkin team to practice, and it involves pretending that their compensation is not monetary, rather they “get paid” in smiles, laughter, and how many peoples’ lives they can change for the positive. This definitely alters our perspective on how we impact others and why we’re here on this planet.
I believe that everything is energy: money, love, emotions, etc. We’re sending out signals to everyone consciously or unconsciously, therefore we might as well come clean and be upfront with ourselves and the people we interact with. We have endless opportunities to give to family, friends, business partners, the community, Mother Earth, and strangers, whether it be a smile, hug, time, an empathetic ear, a word of encouragement, financial means, etc. We are all connected, everything is shared, and if we can look at everyone as a brother, sister, mother, father, friend, our hearts will overflow with giving.
We rob ourselves of so much happiness when we neglect to give often and joyfully. The universe is unlimited and full of abundance. What we put out, we get back; albeit this is not a motivation to give in order to receive, my question to you dear reader is: What have you got to lose?
What happens to humanity, to the planet, and to our personal lives when we’re all giving 100%?
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