Be generous – make an impact

This week I am spending some time away with Sarah and Madison. And we’re having a blast! We’ve laughed more in the past two days than we have in a long time.

Yesterday, I introduced Madison to Krispy Kreme donuts for the first time ever. She’s trying to decide if she still prefers Dunkin Donuts.

We also spent some time shopping together. While we were out, we passed a kiosk vendor who was putting out some balloons.

Madison had to have one.

As soon as the lady saw Madison pause at her booth, she graciously offered Madison a balloon and helped her select one. Madison loved it!

As we walked away, Madison turned and said, I love that place!

She couldn’t tell you what company it is or what they do – but she loves them! This one small act of kindness had a significant impact on Madison – and on me.

Let’s face it – to make a significant impact, we must be generous! Generous people share their knowledge, experience, resources, and compassion with others. They implicitly trust people – they freely give people the benefit of the doubt. They welcome competition, because they believe that it makes them better.

They believe there is always more where that came from. They give because they love giving.

From our experience yesterday, I learned three things about generosity:

1. You don’t need to worry about ROI

We didn’t  buy anything from the vendor. In fact, Sarah and I hardly stopped. Madison only stopped long enough to score a balloon. Yet the generous vendor freely gave – without a second thought.

Have you ever pre-calculated the cost of your generosity? You know what I mean – before you took that client to lunch, did you consciously weigh the resulting impact on her account with your firm?

Authentic generosity values giving for the sake of giving more than maximizing the return-on-investment and the impact on the bottom line.

2. Always give your best

The balloon was a nice balloon – not just any run-of-the-mill latex balloon on a string. It was constructed of thick, high-quality material with a bold, two-color imprint on both sides of the balloon, a plastic closure, and a fiberglass dowel which made it easy to carry.

It was apparent that much thought had gone into the selection and production of the gift.

If you’re going to be generous, give your best – any less, and it’s a waste of time.

3. You can’t go wrong

If your end game is to manipulate people into noticing or buying, you’re going to be regularly disappointed (by people like me who just keep walking). And, if you’re just being generous, you can’t fail. People will notice. And they’ll love you for it.

This is exactly why, just a few steps away from the vendor, Madison declared, I love that place! And it’s why I now know the name of the company – Gold Buyers of America. And so do you!

I heard best-selling author, Dave Ramsey, tell the story of his recent conversation with a billionaire. The man told Dave, I’ve never seen anyone win with money and people who did not give generously.

Give because giving is fun. Give because it makes people happy. Give because it can change a life. Give because it will help your team. Give because it can change your organization. Give because it will change the world. Give because you can’t go wrong.

Today, in the spirit of giving, let’s take it one step further. Let’s give a little more. Rather than just reading the post, take just a few seconds to consider one thing that you can give away today.

It really doesn’t matter what it is – small or big. Make it something that will stretch you a little.

Now – take one important step – write it down. Leave it in the comments below. And let us know how it made a difference.