Aug 03 2008
Is generosity the answer to wealth?
Suze Orman, the financial advisor who made financial management understandable for mere mortals, has always said that if you want to be wealthy, you need to be generous. Orman is not the only one who feels that generosity begets good fortune. Robert Kiyosaki, of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series also encourages people to give away money if they want money to come to them. Are they right? Today is Sunday and in honor of the day when people often give to the spiritual place of their choice, this article discusses whether or not this has merit.
Technically, this concept is not new. One example is Solomon, famed for his wisdom. He not only spent his fortune building the temple for his God, but he also had many wives, riches, and power. In the Homerian Epic The Odyssey, generosity of all people were expected, especially toward strangers. In the Tlinget society of Alaska, wealth was demonstrated through generosity. So there is long precedence that generosity and wealth go hand in hand.
The wealthy have always been expected to be generous. But that’s not Orman and Kiyasaki’s point. They specifically insist that in order to become wealthy you must give money away. It seems counterintuitive but that is the their advice: give it away, and it will come back to you in heaps.
I could give countless incidents when my husband and I have given away money and good things have happened to us. I would bet many other people could do the same. However, anecedotal evidence does not a fact make. The sad truth is that no studies have been done on this issue. I would wonder how such a thing could be measurable.
And, like it or not, the truth is that there are lots of wealthy people out there who never give away any money at all.
Perhaps the essential issue is not the acquisition of a monetary wealth that comes with generosity. The real importance of generosity is that the giver becomes more human. It’s the moment when Scrooge becomes more than just a carbon dioxide maker. Giving time, money and talent links with the rest of the human race.
My wise mentor once reminded me that “money is just a means of exchange.” How true. Never lose your soul while striving for wealth.
