The Gift of Giving!

Give: To make a present of; to grant or bestow by formal action; to put into the possession of another for his or her use; to commit to another as a trust or responsibility and usually for an expressed reason; to transfer from one’s authority or custody to execute and deliver; to convey to another; to offer to the action of another

Are You a Giver or Taker?

Would our world be a better place if everyone embraced the act of giving?
You bet!
Giving is one of the great paradoxes in life—the more you give, the more you receive.

We don’t give to get, but the outcome of giving is receiving.

Here’s a quote that outlines the truth of the matter.

You can cling to what you have and lose it all, or you can give freely and become wealthy. Generosity brings wealth and satisfaction. One can be rich and not satisfied. Generosity brings true wealth—not only the monetary kind, but the wealth that comes from connections with others. If you want to be wealthy, give freely! Refresh others and your own soul will be refreshed.

Diane Eble 
Author of Abundant Gifts

Everyone can participate in the act of giving, no matter your condition or situation.

Sometimes I think our society models selfishness and status as being important, but giving is the ultimate equalizer of soul and spirit. Imagine, if you will, two individuals volunteering to serve meals at a homeless shelter. One is a wealthy and prominent civic leader. The other is on social assistance. Does anyone care about their background, education, or bank balance? No. Their contribution at the shelter is all about the act of giving.

People who do not have a generous spirit are described as selfish and miserly. Who wants to be characterized like that?!

• Giving is an action word. Giving rarely occurs by accident, although moments of spontaneous giving can and do happen.

• Generosity is a mindset where you actively seek opportunities to give.

The statement it’s better to give than receive has been proven by researchers—the act of giving improves your well-being and health. When you give, your brainwave activity is similar to the high that cocaine users experience. Your overall happiness improves when you give.

Almost without exception, the givers in a research project strongly believed they received more benefits from their act of giving than did the recipients. Prior to participating in this research project, the participants were not givers. All agreed afterward that they would no longer hoard their gifts, talents, and resources.

Giving doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as offering a compliment, a thank you, or a few words of appreciation.

Our family is blessed with individuals who model generosity on a daily basis. They have not only directly impacted the people receiving the gifts, they have encouraged our entire family—kids included—and others around us to do the same.

• Recently, when I was at the pay-window of Tim Horton’s Drive-Thru, the attendant told me my coffee had already been paid for by the person in the car in front of me. At that moment, I felt a positive rush—which prompted me to pay for the order of the people in the car behind me! Paying it forward works.

• My father was never verbal about his love for his kids. I later realized that was part of his generation and his Eastern European roots. Yet I cannot recall a single time when my father refused to help us when we asked and he never denied us the use of his wonderful shop full of tools!

• A few years ago, a local church did an extreme makeover on an entire house. It involved 8 days, 200 volunteers, and $120,000 worth of improvements. The single mom with four children had been unable to maintain her home and it got into terrible disrepair. The news anchor was on the verge of tears as he aired the story. We are all positively affected by generosity.
• Adam Grant in his best-selling book Give and Take proved through long term research that giving to others – in supportive and helpful ways comes back to you with numerous benefits and drives your success. He also confirmed that even though “takers” seem to get ahead initially people quickly figure that out and their “taking” nature over time catches up with them.

The message this week is simple.

• Be a person of a generous spirit.
• Not only will you impact other people’s lives, you too will be positively affected. 

To help you on your journey of winning, I recommend my latest book The Quest For Purpose, which will take you on a personal discovery that will assist you in confirming and affirming your purpose and passions in life.

As building blocks, I also suggest the Values Preference Indicator and the Personal Style Indicator.

Follow these Action Steps and complete the recommended resources, to help you increase your impact with others.

This Week’s Action Steps

The Gift of Giving!

1. Would others call you generous? If not, why not?
2. Take a moment to think of all the ways you have helped people and the times you have been generous. How did that make the recipient feel? How did you feel?
3. I want to personally challenge every person reading this newsletter to turn up your giving a notch this very week. Adjust your mindset to be open to all opportunities as they arise.
4. Giving comes in many forms—time, expertise, resources, encouragement, compliments, and other ways. Now list or at least think about new ways you can be generous this week.
5. If you have already achieved success with Action Step 4 above, how did it make everybody feel?
6. Your generosity should play to your strengths, gifts, and talents. I volunteer as an MC for several community events. I love to do it and it fills their need. My brother-in-law, on the other hand, helps people repair their cars. Each of us has a unique role to play.
7. Generosity from the core of your being is impactful. To help you get clearer on your purpose or calling, I encourage you to engage the process outlined step-by-step in my book The Quest For Purpose.
8. Benchmark your gifts, talents, and preferences with the following assessments. Your results will assist you to make better decisions—with confidence and clarity. As part of the clarification process, we recommend four specific assessments.
   • To identify your natural preferences and strengths, complete the Personal Style Indicator (PSI).
   • To clarify your core values, complete the Values Preference Indicator.
9. Today, let us all be more generous and enjoy the feel-good benefits of giving!

Until next time, keep Living On Purpose!

Ken Keis