Giving more than receiving
Off-the-cuff advice to a struggling college student became one of Albert Einstein’s most enduring pieces of wisdom:
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. He is considered successful in our day who gets more out of life than he puts in. But a man of value will give more than he receives.”
As resonant now as when he said it in 1955.
How to give more than you receive?
Be mindful of the struggle of others
Stand in their shoes
Extend support
Without calculating the return.
Be curious about the world
Explore with childlike eyes
See new angles
Without calculating the return.
Use the gifts you were given
Develop mastery
Make people smile
Without calculating the return.
Love those around you
Accept them
Be present
Without calculating the return.
Some of the greatest returns in life show up when we stop calculating them
When we put self-interest on the side burner
And give
Without expectation.