The Secret to Living is Giving: How Giving Back Creates Abundance and Lasting Fulfillment
If you know me, you know that anytime I’m not on stage, or running one of my businesses, or coaching some of the most fascinating and influential people on the planet, I’m feeding my mind. My first mentor, Jim Rohn, taught me that you must feed your mind with knowledge that inspires, strengthens, and nourishes your thoughts every single day — that means books, newspapers, TED Talks, journals, magazines, music — these are all part of a daily ritual that empowers me to tap into my ability to thrive.
What you may not know is that there is something else I do regularly that is just as important, and maybe even more powerful than feeding my mind. And that is feeding my spirit; reminding myself what I’m made for and what my true mission is: GIVING.
Here’s what the best in the world find out in the end: Business is a spiritual game.
The questions you should be asking yourself moment-to-moment are:
- Can I find a way to give more?
- Can I find a way to adapt and deliver more for people than anybody else does?
Because if you can do that, there is no limit to what you can create, or how much you can enjoy. But if you just have a career, and you just make the money, and you don’t enjoy the process, and you don’t enjoy the people, and you don’t find something larger than yourself to work for, then you’re in for a very painful experience, and quite frankly, an empty life.
From frustration to giving back
Let me tell you a little story: I remember this so vividly. I was probably about 17 years old. My mom had just kicked my dad out of the house, and then she kicked me out because she thought I was on my dad’s side. My dad went back to the East Coast and I was left without anywhere to live, sleeping in the back of my car with a coat as a blanket. I was working 18-hour days and was still totally broke.
There was this one night, I had just gotten off work — it was probably almost midnight. I was driving down the 57 Freeway in L.A. and I was in this really emotional state. I was working so hard, but I still wasn’t getting any traction. My life wasn’t going anywhere. I was getting really angry about it. For whatever reason, that day, my anger escalated to a visceral tipping point. I don’t even know what triggered it, but I was getting so emotional that I pulled right off the freeway. I had this journal with me, one that I still have to this day, and I took it out and scribbled in giant letters across one whole page:
