The Go Giver
Have you ever given your time to a charitable organization? Not just wrote a check or pulled out your credit card, but took your time to really commit to making a difference in someone else's life?
Those of us who explore the outdoors, have you ever taken a hike and gotten to a breathtaking view only after giving a lot of physical exertion to reach the view point?
In each of these situations, when we gave our time, our energy, something more than our money, we became more fulfilled - why is that?
I believe it has a lot to do with what Bob Burg calls the “Go Giver.” In the book, it points out an interesting phenomenon that occurs in our society:
“All the great fortunes in the world have been created by men and women who had a greater passion for what they were giving — their product, service or idea — than for what they were getting. And many of those great fortunes have been squandered by other who had a greater passion for what they were getting than what they were giving.”
So just how does someone focus on giving? How do they become a “Go-Giver”? In the book, Bob outlines the Five Laws of stratospheric success:
The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.
The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.
The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.
The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.
The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.
These seem to make a lot of sense in our personal lives, in how we interact with family and friends. So why is business any different?
How does a car get going fast? How does a plane take off? It requires fuel. So what are you doing in your relationships and business toffee your growth?
The fuel for your business lies in these five laws. Seek to impact others around you and to create value by giving and you will quickly find your wealth and success expands exponentially.
According to the book, being a Go-Giver . . . “also means there are no limitations on what you can earn, because you can always find more people to serve. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, ‘Everybody can be great because anybody can serve.’ Another way to say that might be, ‘Everybody can be successful because anybody can give.”
So how can you start giving to your network? How can you create value on a regular basis? How can you put their needs first? The key is to ensure they know, like and trust you and the quickest way to get that is to give first.
“They might never buy a thing from you, but they’ve always got you in the backs of their minds. They’re people who are personally invested in seeing you succeed, y’see? And of course, that’s because you’re the same way about them. They’re your army of personal walking ambassadors. When you’ve got your own army of personal walking ambassadors, you’ll have referrals coming your way faster than you can handle them.”
What are you waiting for? Go build your army of personal walking ambassadors by giving!