As you’ve seen in the two previous chapters, at this point in the process, you are giving a lot, giving continuously, and it might seem as though you are the only one doing any giving. Actually, it should seem that way—because it’s probably true! Not to worry: All this giving is setting you up for an avalanche of referrals on a consistent, ongoing basis that will eventually lead to more referrals and more business than you can imagine!
This really is all about giving (about being a go-giver as opposed to a go-getter) and about how giving will come back to you many times over. And there’s nothing “la-la” about this: It’s based on universal laws and principles that have stood the test of time.
Most people are familiar with the saying, “Give and you shall receive.” Many have seen this principle operating in their lives. It’s simply one manifestation of the Law of Cause and Effect.
Sometimes this law proves itself almost immediately; other times, it takes years. Sometimes the result comes directly from the cause, and other times indirectly. Some people seem to experience the results of this law more tangibly and in ways easier to understand than do others. But we all know intuitively that this law works.
Why does this law work? Why do we receive so abundantly when we give?
In his 1910 book, The Science of Getting Rich, Wallace D. Wattles set down certain rules that will help you become prosperous if you follow them. When he talks about being rich, he’s talking specifically about financial riches, not the many other excellent interpretations, such as personal fulfillment, happiness, health, and so forth. But he also makes the point (which I heartily subscribe to) that if you become wealthy the right way, then those other important aspects of your life will become just as healthy as your finances.
Here is one of Mr. Wattles’s rules to becoming rich:
- Always give more in use value than what you take in cash value. You cannot give a person more in cash value than you take from them, but you can give them more in use value than the cash value of the thing you take from them.
He describes this in terms of his own book (which back in 1910 must have sold for a fraction of today’s $12 price tag):
- The paper, ink and other material in this book may not be worth the money you paid for it. But, if the ideas in this book bring you thousands of dollars, you have not been wronged by those who sold it to you. They have given you a great use value for a small cash value.