The Only Way to Receive Is to Give Generously
Since it’s the season of giving, we thought we’d share this little bit of wisdom: you have to give to receive. It’s cliché, but like all time-honored sayings, so very true, and especially timely during this season of giving. You know it’s true. And it’s easy to come up with examples:
- To attract holiday shoppers, you might have to give away a discount.
- To get good karma on your side, you need to do good deeds.
- If you want people to be nice to you, you have to be nice to them first. You have to give kindness to get it.
- To get a paycheck, you have to give a good day’s work.
- The first point of attraction is your smile. You have to take a chance and project your smile out into the world if you hope to receive a smile back.
You could apply this concept to any endeavor and every activity. If you bring nothing to the table, you’ll often leave it empty-handed. But if you join in a lively conversation with insight and regard, you’ll learn something new or meet someone new.
Give with an Open Heart
While giving to receive is a popular sentiment these days, your intention matters a great deal when you set out to give. Now, we’re not implying that it’s better to give than to receive, although we believe that. But don’t just give — give of yourself. Share your presence, not just your presents, and the world will respond.
And while giving inherently is its own reward, we do believe that what goes around comes around. Even when you give with no thought of what you’ll get in return, you’re often rewarded from some other source. It’s strange how it works, but it does work.
The Season of Giving for Businesses
It’s the same with your business. You don’t have to give away your trade secrets just to drum up customers. But give away your insight. Give freely of your industry knowledge, no matter what industry you’re in. Educate your clients, and they’ll become more discerning buyers.
Everyone faces choices when they want to buy, whether it’s a product, a service or an adventure. If you’re selling products, services or adventures, you can provide inside information to help people make better choices. Here are some examples:
- If you’re a plumber, explain the pros and cons of all the different varieties of water heaters.
- If you sell auto leases, definitely share all the ways you can help car shoppers.
- If you’re a medical specialist, share insights into your experience with keeping your patients healthy.
Share Your Knowledge in a Blog
It doesn’t have to be the season of giving for you to give away advice, tips and insights. When you blog on your business website, you can share every week or even more often. That’s what we do here at Ray Access with this blog. It’s what you can do on yours.
Blogs reach out to people searching for answers. The people you attract are already interested in your goods, services or adventures. Whatever your business does, you can share information about it to educate your customers. Do it for free. Make it valuable. Give of your knowledge, and people will remember. What goes around, comes around.
Happy holidays from your writing and editing friends at Ray Access, where it’s always the season of giving.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.