Why do we always talk about ‘sharing the joy of giving’? Isn’t B1G1 a new form of 'effective giving' program? Isn’t it about raising the profile of the company and creating socially responsible image while making sure the money we donate is effectively used? What is it to do with joy?

Well, these are actually some of the end results that our giving and sharing can lead us to. These just happen. But they shouldn’t be the sole intention of our giving if we want to share the inspiration with others long-term. A ‘great’ action may not necessarily lead us to the most desired outcome to really inspire others (and ourselves) if our ultimate intention is to ‘get’ something in return.

In our personal life, when we create or experience something that really makes our heart sing, we feel like sharing it with others around us. But there is a thing about this sharing we often forget. When we talk about our own accomplishment because we want to be recognized, we may get disappointed when others don’t show the same level of excitement toward our ‘great’ story. On the other hand, if we are sharing our own stories because we also want to see others experiencing the joy of accomplishing something like that, people enjoy listening.

This is why sharing JOY becomes so powerful. 

If we really want to see the transformation of our world, we cannot be the only one making a difference. We can start talking about inspiring stories of others who are also making a difference in the way you resonate with. The more attraction to others we create, the more we also attract.

The conventional way of marketing—advertising for our own goodness and talking about ourselves can create instant attraction to our own company and products. Because of the instant results we see, we tend to become more and more strategic about the way we do things—even giving. But when we stop our advertising campaign, our market presence instantly goes down (until we have a scandal). But when others start talking great things about you when you are not even saying anything, it is powerful.

A good example is Apple Computer. All their customers talk about Apple’s new innovation and products voluntarily. They even become the most passionate ambassadors infecting others around them with the excitement. I have one of these people (Mac fan) just around me and I eventually changed to Mac after his many attempts to excite me to let go of my PC. I was not interested in having a new computer at all then. Apple couldn’t have convinced me to change but he did! Now he is converting ALL our team members to Mac users!!!

Why can some companies create so much attraction? Well, there is a secret in this. It is about giving JOY. And it is about giving sense of value to others in positive and creative ways. Before thinking strategically about the increased profits, can we think of how to share more and more joy?

So, the first step toward the real effective giving is to just keep giving without an expectation to get anything back. Let’s start doing small things we can easily do so that we don’t have to feel attached to the outcome. Tithing and giving is part of our life naturally.

Creating the habit of giving with no expectation of return and simply sharing the joy of giving with others is the new way of creating abundance. Then we can eventually move onto doing more. It applies to many areas of our life. Not only charitable giving.

The more we give, the more we receive. Yet the less we expect to gain for our own sake, the more fully we can experience. JOY.