If you want money, you have to do only one thing. It's the one thing some of the wealthiest people on the planet have done and continue to do. It's the one thing written about in various ancient cultures and is still talked about today. I cite it as one of the nine secrets to attracting money in my Nightingale-Conant program The Secret to Attracting Money. It's the one thing that will bring money to anyone who does it — but at the same time most people will fear doing it. What is that one thing? Well, here are two examples for you. John D. Rockefeller did it since he was a child. He became a billionaire. Andrew Carnegie did it, too. He became a tycoon. What is the greatest moneymaking secret in history? What is the one thing that works for everyone? Give money away. That's right. Give it away. Give it to people who help you stay in touch with your inner world. Give it to people or places that inspire you, serve you, heal you, and love you. Give it to people without expecting them to return it,- but give it knowing it will come back to you multiplied from some source. Please read on. In 1924, John D. Rockefeller wrote to his son and explained his practice of giving away money. He wrote, "Since the beginning of getting money, way back in my childhood, I began giving it away, and continued increasing the gifts as the income increased. ..."
Did you notice what he said? He gave away more money as he received more income. He gave away $550 million dollars in his lifetime!
P.T. Barnum gave money away, too. As I wrote in my book about him, There's a Customer Born Every Minute, Barnum believed in what he called a "profitable philanthropy." He knew giving would lead to receiving. He, too, became one of the world's richest men.
Andrew Carnegie gave enormously, too. While some might argue that these early tycoons had the money to give, so it was easy for them, I would argue that they got the money in part because they were willing to freely give. The giving led to the receiving. The giving led to more wealth. The giving actually came first, not second!
Today, many profitable businesses give money to worthy causes. It keeps them sharp, and of course it helps those who receive it. Anita Roddick's Body Shop stores, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield's ice cream, and Yvon Chouinard's Patagonia are living examples of how giving can be good for business. Those fine organizations do so much for charitable causes, and there are many others as well.
But what I'm talking about here is individual giving. I'm talking about you giving money so you will receive more money.
If there's one thing I think people do wrong when they practice giving is they give too little. They hold on to their money and let it trickle out when it comes to giving. And that's why they aren't receiving. You have to give, and give a lot, to be in the flow of life to receive.
I remember when I first heard about the idea of giving. Like many, I was skeptical. I thought it was a scheme to get me to give money to the people who were telling me to do the giving.
If I did give, it was like a miser. My attitude, as I look back on this, was way off. Naturally, what I got in return was equivalent to what I gave. I gave little. I got little.
But then one day I decided to test the theory of giving.
I love inspiring stories. I read them, listen to them, share them, and tell them. I decided to thank Mike Dooley of tut.com for the inspiring messages he shares with me and others every day by email.
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