Secrets Hidden in Plain Sight

I try to approach life with my eyes wide open. I read between the lines, look for clues in things unspoken and listen intently to what is not being said. I’ve discovered a few things over the last 60 years. One of life’s best secrets seems so counterintuitive that many people dismiss it out of hand.

That secret is giving. It only makes sense that if you want to accumulate something you must acquire it, store it, save it, and keep it for yourself. It took me quite a while to figure out that it isn’t the way it works at all. In a previous column I enumerated that the best way to learn something is to teach someone else about it. By teaching someone else you’re forced to learn the subject much more thoroughly and your knowledge increases. If you have discovered a technique, or a method that is really better than the way everyone else does it, and you share it with others at least three things happen: 1) you will discover any weak points in your technique and you will become much stronger, 2) in explaining it to others you will understand it yourself more thoroughly and be better at it, 3) others will show you nuances that you hadn’t seen before and your expertise will multiply.

Although we don’t give to get, that is exactly what happens. My family strives to be known as generous with our time, with our knowledge, with our true friendship, with our resources and yes with our money. We give all that we can whenever we can and although we don’t expect anything in return, we know that we will be blessed because that is the law of giving and receiving. I don’t want to be preachy here so I’ll just mention that you can find out more about this in Luke 6:38.

This works in all areas of our lives. To get love we give love, in order to have friends we give friendship, when we give knowledge away we get more knowledge in return. If you want to grow your business, help those around you grow theirs. If you want certain connections and contacts, share yours with others. You’ve all heard the phrase “The student has become the teacher.” I have experienced this several times in my life. I have one student in particular who has mastered a discipline I am very interested in and is now acting as my advisor/mentor. I gave knowledge freely to this person in the past and now that gift is paying me back many times over.

If there’s something you want or need try giving something associated with it away and pretty soon the thing you seek will come back many times over. Lots of times the return will be in a different form. For example: when you hand make those bowls, Christmas ornaments, ring/trinket/jewelry turned lidded boxes, etc. and give them away as Christmas gifts your reward will often be praise and admiration from folks who really count in your life. Sometimes it is tangible and in–kind, but your reward will rarely come from the same source that you originally gave it to.

Allow me close with this thought, sometimes you are the answer to someone else’s prayer so be quick to give when you can. Because “Wherever you go, there you are.”

Ron Brown