Here is the secret to get what one wants. It is just giving. The reasons for it are based on the well-known philosophical dictum “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” The egg, and the chicken that is born out of it, create the circle of life, and form the basis for a profound comparison for attaining and giving what one wants: the circle of joy. This brilliant concept is analyzed in the clear voice and lucid prose of Masami Sato, the author of the book named ONE.
As humans, many of us have longings for all kinds of things. And of course, theories of economics inform us that while requirements are unlimited, resources remain limited. This provokes us to think, the more the range of resources that we have, the more the longing that we will be able to fulfill. That is why we tend to defend our resources. We feel that dividing it between others or giving the resources away will reduce the amount we can retain to get what we ourselves want. This is the basic game of success and failure that is being acted out.
Could it be true, then?
And if the answer is “no” what then? What if it actually goes against the secret of getting more? What if the secret to earn more is simple – just by managing to give more?
One can get something just by giving something else. Exactly the way one can have eggs by raising chickens. As simple as that. Normal. Automatic. And it is a completely joyful experience.
First of all, let us begin with some analogy to explain things.
Chicken and Egg – The Cycle of Life
Philosophers have made this query ever since time dawned, “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?”
The answer to this endless discussion is simple: It actually doesn’t matter because both chickens and eggs are here now. But if we want to have more great outcomes, we can choose to start somewhere.
Giving and Receiving: the Cycle of Joy
What if we asked the question in a different manner? “Which comes first, giving or receiving?”
Again, for better results, we have to begin somewhere. Giving away things to others is definitely far simpler than attempting to get it first!
What happens if we are trying to get it first?
If we hope to have something, surely we would try to acquire it. And once we get it, we would cling on to it. This is surely natural – it makes sense rationally.
But the actual upshot of ’striving to get’ is often not profusion and actual long-term recompense.
For example, hoping to see others happy is not at all about deriving joy from them, or manipulating them to become happy. It is about how much happiness we can give them and thereby share with them. Full stop.
So where do we start to get what we want?
By starting from the other end of the circle- by giving generously!
When we start giving before we even have what we hope to get – that which we dream of – we are sending out a powerful message to ourselves which tells us, ‘there is enough, and more will come.’ It allows us to sense the joy today – the joy of giving.
We only need to give out the love generously to others. It simply comes back to us. Giving love is the only way to be generously loved. When we acknowledge everyone for the great things they do and the great qualities they have, again it comes back to us. Others acknowledge us because we acknowledge them.
In the same way, if we wanted to have enough in our life materially, financially and emotionally, we just need to share the things we want generously with others.
Some people may choose to give materially by giving their time. Others would choose to give financially by giving their wealth. Those who give much more (like time, wealth, kindness, affection, principles etc.) have more of all these because it is the balance. And balance is the law of nature.
Just remember the rule of the game
One rule: never expect a return when we give.
When we have the expectation that giving should create ‘getting’ something back, we get upset when we don’t see the result coming back immediately to us. We may even hold unpleasant feelings towards the recipient of our gift. And clearly, holding a negative feeling for someone is not a pleasant or kind thing to do! So we can feel the real joy of giving when we’re doing something for others knowing that we’re simply doing it for ourselves-we’re doing it for our own joy!
Losing to succeed, giving to receive.
It may initially feel like we are losing out. Yet at some level we know that getting without giving is not a sustainable life model. And we’ve known that from the very beginning. That’s why tithing has been such a natural part of the lives of many successful people. And they didn’t always do it publicly so it wasn’t done to gain a better reputation. It was just because that was the way it was.
Just take a look around. ‘Simple’ forms of life on the earth do it routinely. The bumblebees fertilize the flowers in return for the honey they take from them and ensure that the flowers bloom profusely. Habitually. That is the rule. They do not do it consciously. That is why they maintain nature’s balance, without even trying.
Giving is just being who we are, it is just like having; not greater or lesser. No difficulty, no conditions attached, just releasing oneself.
The real secret of getting more can be summarised in two steps: Give first, and do not expect anything in return.
When we let go and give open-handedly, what we require would come to us. On its own.
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