A fews years ago, Dave, an owner of a local manufacturing company, came into my office. He was a long-time client and whenever we’d meet, I always enjoyed his positive, enthusiastic attitude. But that afternoon I could tell by his body language something was off. “Tell me what’s going on,” I said.
Dave responded, “Derrick, the business is going great, but I’m no longer into it. I’ve lost my motivation. I don’t really feel a lot of satisfaction.”
As we were talking, a thought occurred to me. “Are there any causes or organizations you find interesting and that you would like to support?” I asked him. The question caught Dave by surprise, and he sat back and pondered for a moment. Then he told me that a couple of years ago he and his family had gone overseas and visited a small village with no real school building and no resources to properly educate the children. They had said to themselves, “It’d be neat to do something for these kids,” but then they just kind of tucked the idea away, returned home, and went about their lives.
“What if you did this?” I suggested. “Over the next twelve months, set a goal to increase your business, and a portion of that increase could go to building that school.” His eyes got as big as saucers, and he sat up with a start.
Three months later, Dave returned to my office looking ten years younger, more engaged, with much more zeal for his business and his life. “Derrick,” he told me, “you’re not going to believe this, but our sales are already up 20 percent, and we’ve almost fully funded that school.” As a business owner, he was reinvigorated. He had found a way to connect profits to purpose. By giving more money, Dave was actually making more money.
This is the untold secret to making more money: giving it away. I call it the “Generosity Purpose.” It’s the reason my client’s life changed—and yours can too.
I want to ask you a question. What injustice do you see that keeps you awake at night? What really bothers you and makes you say, “I want to do something about that”? What wrong do you see in society that you want to make right? Is it in your local community? Is it around the world? What is the cause that you care so deeply about? Connect your cash to a cause, your money to a movement, your profits to a purpose. This is what changes everything. This is the Generosity Purpose.
I met with a couple recently who wanted to implement these Good Money principles but weren’t sure where to start. Don and Sharla asked, “Derrick, how can we incorporate this into our business?” This particular couple had a recycling company. It had done very well, but they noticed over the past couple of years, not only was their business beginning to drop off, but their excitement and their joy as business owners had also diminished. I asked them what they were passionate about—if there was a wrong they wanted to help make right. They told me so much trash and debris in the oceans really bothered them. They were saddened by the devastating impact it was having on marine life. “We want to help solve that problem,” they said. “Maybe not cure the problem, but at least help solve it.”
I suggested they reach out to their customer base and tell them, “We’ve decided to create a Generosity Purpose for our business. A portion of all of our profits will now go toward an organization to help clean the oceans and make them safer for fish and the other animals who live there.”
As you can imagine, their existing customers were pleased to hear that money they were paying for their recycling services was being used to do more good in the world. Their commitment also allowed them to communicate to potential customers, “We know that you have many options to choose from to do your recycling work, but one of our core values is our Generosity Purpose. A portion of all our profits helps make the world better.”
Not only did Don and Sharla’s business grow, but they also experienced renewed excitement and joy by connecting a purpose to their profits.
What’s your Generosity Purpose? Is it helping abolish sex trafficking? Helping your city’s homeless population? Or is it more personal, like funding your children’s college tuition or paying for the piano lessons your granddaughter has always wanted to take? It’s not about you—but about someone or something that you believe can do more good and leave an impact on the world. After all, the Me Show will, one day (I promise), get cancelled. The We Show always gets high ratings and airs longer.
Most people lead with, “I want to make more money,” but what if you led with, “I want to give more money and to do that, I’ll have to make more money.” This is the path that gives purpose to your money, and to your life—no matter what your job is or your current stage of life. I’ve seen this light switch flip in many, many of the people with whom I’ve worked.
Each of these individuals discovered the pleasure of finding and implementing their Generosity Purpose.
You might believe that making a lasting impact on the world—or even your small community—requires loads of cash. That’s not even a little bit true. Start small. Impact one person at a time. As you do that, you’ll realize you are changing their world and the world.
In the past, you may have given money out of obligation, like to a fundraiser for your child’s school or a cancer research fund when you check out at the grocery store. If you’re honest with yourself, you sometimes (or frequently!) question why you would give away what you’ve earned. After all, what’s mine is mine, right? Others of you may be intrigued by the idea of giving more, but don’t know how to get started.
Here’s what I know: You reap what you sow. Regardless of the attitude toward giving that you have now, I’m asking you to rethink money—to rethink its purpose. Imagine a cause you have felt passionate about ever since you were young but didn’t think you could do anything about. Now is your chance. Small or big, just get started. This is where the fun begins.
Many entrepreneurs I interviewed for this book emphasized how important it is to start early to become accustomed to both making money and giving it away. That’s because both behaviors become muscle memory, as do their corollaries—bad earning and saving habits and an accompanying stinginess.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, author of Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money, suggests that when generosity is instilled at a very early age, it generally sticks, and that teaching our children to be givers makes for more successful living. “As soon as you train that muscle, and you learn to unloosen that closed, tightly gripped fist, you are now in a much better position to succeed in business,” he told me. “Apart from anything else, you are willing—or more willing, I should say—to do something very important, which is not try and do everything yourself but hire other people to do the things that you’re not particularly good at.”
As I visited with clients, we would talk about the impact of the economy on their money. But I would point out to them the difference between the overall economy and what I referred to as their personal economy. For example, while knowing the key economic indicators, such as whether unemployment was up or down or the health status of the overall economy, was important, what really mattered was their ability to put food on the table and save for personal financial goals (like saving for their kids’ college tuition, having enough money to travel in retirement, and spoiling the grandkids). In other words, what does all this economy stuff mean to me? It’s easy to think that making a lasting impact on the world, or even your community, requires loads of cash. But that’s thinking like the overall economy. I’m suggesting you make it simple; do what you can, where you are right now as an outflow of your personal economy. Start small and simply impact one person at a time. That’s how you start to change the world.
I liken this idea to the first time I spoke to an audience of several thousand people. I was terribly nervous. The thought of all those eyeballs staring me down felt ominous and overwhelming. It wasn’t one big eyeball staring at me, it was thousands of individual pairs. I pictured myself sitting in the audience watching another speaker on stage. Then I was onstage but speaking just to one person among the thousands in front of me. As I spoke, I focused on just one pair of eyes at a time, trying to help one person at a time—making a difference in their world only. That’s what I try to do: build my own wealth one dollar at a time, and give a helping hand to others, one person at a time.
When you start earning and saving with a purpose that excites you, it will motivate you, lighting a fire within you that burns so bright that it will lead to success in every area of your life. It will motivate you to do whatever you have to do to build your bank account—whether it’s being successful in your job, getting a raise, starting a side hustle, or growing your own business. You will acknowledge your power to radically revolutionize your family’s future and the future of the world around you.
You have two paths you can take. Path 1: Keep making money and stay unhappy and unfulfilled. Path 2: Make good money and lots of it, but do it by adding meaning to your money.
If you choose path 1, you are leaving money and a lasting legacy on the table that could benefit you and your family. You’re missing out on helping right the wrongs that bother you the most. It’s not enough to say, “I’m going to work now so I’ll have more to give away later.” It means nothing unless it’s attached to a powerful emotion that you will feel when you’ve made a real impact.
If you choose path 2, you’re now ready to start earning with a purpose. After all, if you don’t have money, you can’t give any away.
I’m asking you to rethink your attitudes about money and giving, and to join the Good Money Revolution. One person at a time, your money can impact the world.
(To be continued...)
This excerpt is taken from “Good Money Revolution: How to Make More Money to Do More Good” by Derrick Kinney. To read other articles of this book, click here. To buy this book, click here.
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