Giving is a Gift We Give to Ourselves!
If something comes to life in others because of you, then you have
made an approach to immortality. ~ Norman Cousins
We are ordinary people contributing to a greater good – choosing to help other entrepreneurs who, but for living in the developing countries of the world, are not unlike ourselves.
People with hopes, dreams, families, lives.
Did you know that in the United States it’s those with a household income under $10,000 a year who give most? On average, they donate 5.2% of their income to charity. More than any other income group!
That doesn’t surprise me one bit.
Like many, I’ve experienced hard times in my life. And I noticed the people who were the most generous were the people who had the least of all my friends. We all have our own stories. And our reasons for wanting to make a difference by aggregating our micro-donations of just $10, $25 or $40 through SMARTSTART|Giving.
Why do we do it? For many it’s because we are grateful for all we’ve been given and we want to give something back in appreciation. For some it’s because we are conscious of others who have less and we want to lend a helping hand.
John Templeton said, “Happiness comes from giving, not getting. If we try hard to bring happiness to others, we cannot stop it from coming to us also. To get joy, we must give it, and to keep joy, we must scatter it.”
So don’t be surprised if by deciding to participate in SMARTSTART|Giving and making a micro-donation that will be the difference in someone else’s life, you find yourself experiencing more joy and satisfaction than you ever expected.
You see it’s by adding meaning to the life of others that we give more meaning to our own. That’s why I suggest giving is a gift we really give to ourselves.
April 20th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
More donated is a false statement. A higher percentage of their income is accurate. The impression that 5.2% of $10,000 is more than 4% of $50,000 or 100,000 or more is misleading. Please don’t lift the bar higher than is true. By and large, the wealthy give far more than the average Joe…in charity and in taxes. Its time to stop the lampooning and lambasting of the rich as an excuse to get more out of them. We pay far more than our fair share….much is taken from us by government forcefully. We still donate over 15% of our income to charity…because we want to. Just my thoughts on your article.