Learning the "Art of Philanthropy"

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!” 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!”

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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? www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 2

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. www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 3

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 www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 4 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 www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 5 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 for it, especially if they don’t have any of their own!

We are in an era of radical transition on a global scale, new www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 6 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 company with have mastered to a high degree - and at their own levels of development are still mastering, the “Art of Philanthropy”. A particular Billionaire and one of our planet’s most effective and compassionate philanthropists told me once,

“My life’s goal is to see how fast I can spend it all!” He said it with a big ol’ authentic grin because he knows that when you give effectively, you get way more back in return!

It causes a boomerang effect and it’s a gas to watch the blessings show back up in wonderful and serendipitous ways as we give of our excess so that others may be uplifted!

Soon as you start spreadin’ your value around, 10 times that or more comes back at you in return, it’s a Universal Law.

And, I also noticed, my Billionaire friend wasn’t walking around handing out $1000 bills for a smile or a hug – they are still and always will be free.

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Last fall I snapped up a copy of “The Snowball – Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” It took some time - the story itself is 838 pages, the Dude’s been around a while - and I devoured it! It was one of the most entertaining and teachable stories I’ve ever read. Written like a novel, it keeps you wanting to read just one more chapter before the light goes out! The Oracle of Omaha hired out the task of writing his biography to a trusted friend because he knew he’d never do it himself! I hope they make a movie out of it!

Reading the biographies of the wealthy and successful is a great way to learn how to both give and receive in ways you never thought of before – that’s why you aren’t “there” yet!

Warren Buffett’s story is one of a long, productive and satisfying life, rich with giftedness, hard work, play, obsessive focus, learning, loving and of course – giving, in the biggest ways possible!

“Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.” – Warren Buffet

When I closed the book at the end of it, I set an intention right then and there to start thinking about what a “Foundation” of my own would look like?

A successful person’s life is programmed to create excess in order to give back in excess – they think more, play more and work less, they do things with www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 8 passion, they do things big and do them well.

Buffett’s children were brought up learning the “Art of Philanthropy”, they visualized their own Foundations early on by necessity, they had the thriftiest of Fathers on the planet to grow up with, a Dad that had the utmost respect for money and what it represented.

When sufficient money is continually available to support one’s needs, giving back becomes a core value, a primary motivation for action and a way of life itself.

Since setting my intentions for this year, the perfect people have been showing up to assist me to create a foundation for something significant that I can pay forward for as long as I choose! The perfect people are my team of coaches, mentors, attorneys, accountants, tax planners, and asset protection experts. At the same time I assemble my new team, I am learning everything I can about money and discovering new things to do with it.

It seems the more I learn about money, the more I learn about myself. As I learn about myself, more money accumulates.

Building a trusted team of advisors, creating a “foundation” with which to “pay forward” the abundance I accumulate this lifetime ensures my riches continue to provide value for generations beyond my presence here on earth.

Oh, and I like to build things, lately, bigger things. One of my mentors says, “It’s as easy to create a castle as it is to create a button.”

www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 9 I say, “It’s as easy to create a tsunami as it is to create a ripple, just bring a bigger rock to drop into the well of Providence!”

I’ve come this far continually learning how to earn, save and invest wiser- ly. I’m certain I’ll spend the remainder of this lifetime learning how to effectively give it all back by continuing to master the “Art of Philanthropy”.

I just read the quote below the very day I wrote this article and I think it brilliantly sums up my feelings on “charity” perfectly, and provides a fine close to this piece!

Now…Go Build It Big For Someone!!

"To create a new business that makes money, and more significantly, employs others, and more significantly, gives a product to a customer that improves their life, is our greatest challenge, our greatest opportunity, and the greatest gift, far greater than any charity that we can give our fellow person." – Paul Zane Pilzer: Economist, Entrepreneur & Author www.TheNetworkMarketingMagazine.com 10 Julie Coombs is based out of Brantford, Ontario, Canada. She is a co-creative Entrepreneur, Investor and Professional Network Marketer. Visit her blog at http://JuliesBlog.com or follow her at http://Facebook.com/JulieCoombs or

http://Twitter.com/DiamondJul

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