Giving money away . . . are you crazy?No, I'm not insane. If we truly studied the wealthy we would find that the rich give and they give often. In books on wealth, this topic is touched upon over and over. Biographies on the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, the Hearsts and other historically wealthy empires are full of their charitable giving and philanthropy. And I have personally noted, within my life, that those people around me that give seem a little freer, a little more balanced -- happier.
So, I decided to research this whole "giving" phenomena and came across 7 reasons why it benefits individuals to give.
1. The bottleneck theory (or the Universal Law). Have you ever tried to get ketchup out of a freshly opened bottle? If you turn the bottle upside-down and try to shake the ketchup out, it doesn't work. Nothing comes out. Now, if you put the bottle at a 45 degree angle and put a knife tip in the bottleneck and pull a little ketchup out, it creates a small pocket of air in the bottle that allows air to get in and push the rest of the ketchup out of the bottle. It seems that sacrificing a small bit of ketchup gives you what you want. Ketchup on your burger.
Life and money uses this same principle. One needs to make room of other opportunities, more abundance, more money by giving away something to make room for more.
2. The "relax and it comes to you" theory. (Zen) Have you ever noticed that the guys that were "cool," in school, the ones that didn't chase the girls, always had the girls?
Same thing goes with money . . . notice that you don't care about pennies, but I bet you have pennies all around you. In fact, you can't get away from pennies. Don't fool yourself, it isn't because pennies are so plentiful -- it's because you don't care about them. There was one time in my life (a pitiful time, but I must be true to myself and recognize it anyway), when I counted up pennies to buy a quart of milk. I was desperate for pennies. I cleaned the whole, entire house (moved furniture and everything) looking for pennies and found none. All I needed was twenty more pennies. I went so far as to take a walk to my neighborhood park, all the while looking on the ground for pennies. I found two. Suddenly, when pennies mattered there was a scarcity of pennies.
The same thing goes for money. When you hold on to it too tightly, when you make a big deal about it, when you are desperate for it . . . so much so that you refuse to sacrifice (give away) any of it -- it becomes a scarce commodity for you. If you want more money . . . you have to relax. Give some away, let the world know that you just "don't really care."
David Bach, author of Start Late, Finish Rich - says, "Giving of your time or money to help others is more than the golden rule . . . it's the golden magnet."
3. Forced saving theory. Giving away a portion of your money forces you take care of the rest your money efficiently. In fact, giving away a chunk of money, forces many people to actually save some of their money. I mean, if you are going to give away a certain amount, then you damn well should keep at least an equal amount (or more) for yourself, right? And saving is a fundamental key to wealth.
This same principal makes one care for the money they do use efficiently. Less money means one must watch every penny spent. Lots of frivilous spending would stop with this mind-set.
4. Sleep easy theory. (Karma) Have you noticed that those that have less-stress in their lives, achieve a lot more in a shorter amount of time? That's because stress is an energy sap. How do you deal with stress? By getting more rest.
Giving to the less fortunate because it is the right thing to do, can give one a wealth of psychological rest. In fact living by the "do onto others" theory or even the argument "wouldn't you want someone to do that for you?" is known to allow you a much more peaceful sleep, rest, relaxation . . .
5. Change the world theory. Your giving could make a difference in the world or your community. Could clean up a neighborhood. Could keep the homeless off your streets. Could create a play-ground for kids to play. This is simply using your money to invest in people, community -- instead of securities. And in making the world a better more supportive place, you could create an environment where your quality of life is generally better all the way around.
So, in fact, you don't need more money to create a more healthy environment for yourself . . . you automatically "live" in the better environment you created through your charity. And if you are not spending your money on alarm systems and insurance and city taxes, there is more in your pocket for things you want to do.
6. Spiritual theory. There are a lot of people that believe the law of tithing is in obedience to their spiritual walk. In fact, when we look at "wealth" as the abundance of not only financial resources, but the abundance of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual realms . . . we can understand that giving is important to a piece of us that many people do not recognized -- our spiritual well-being. Many people world-wide believe that to give is an essential part of their spiritual health and growth. And if we are spiritually fulfilled and happy, all our other aspects in our lives click into place easily.
Popular Radio Host, Dave Ramsey often says, " God is a giver and tithing allows us to be more like Our Father."
7. Psychological balance theory. Many believe that charitable giving keeps us humble and reminds us that there are more valuable things in this world besides money but most importantly, it allows us to gauge our strength.
You see, people of strength are in the position to give and give freely. Clingy people are weak and insecure. If we cling to money, we are weakening ourselves psychologically and giving "money" our power. To be in a position of power, we must recognize that money is not our true strength, that money can not save of us, that money is just a tool to make our lives better -- more comfortable. What better way to make that statement to ourselves than to to give money away as a statement that we are the masters over our money.
As Master P (a famous rapper) said in a letter to 50 cent (an infamous rapper): ". . . Money don’t make me, I make money."
Now me, I'm greedy . . . I give to benefit from all 7 reasons . . .I give to make room to get more; I give to attract more; I give because it forces me to save; I give because it's simply the right things to do; I give in hopes that it will make the world a better place for my children; I give for my spiritual health; and I give because "money don't make me, " -- I have the power.
