I remember sitting in my car with my friend, Bob, after I failed at my first business 25 years ago. We were at a park watching families play, and I was complaining about losing everything. This was the first time I owed more money than I could make in 4 years.
Even if I did not pay for anything but my debt, like food, rent, cars, insurance, it would still take over four years of work to pay it all off! As I sat there pouring my heart out, terrified that my next step was living on the streets, Bob made a statement that I will never forget. He said you have to “Give your way out.”
Needless to say, I thought Bob was smoking crack! How could I give if what I made was not even close to what I owed? If you have you ever felt hopeless, like there is no way out, then you know how I felt at that moment. This was one of the most frightening times of my life, and even though Bob was sincere, his advice made it worse at first. It took several discussions with him for me to get to the point where I was willing to take a step of faith. It was a very, very small step.
There was no way I could fathom giving 10% like Bob was talking about, but I could handle 1%, a baby step. I wish I could say that it was easy and, like Jack’s magic beans, everything changed overnight! What I can tell you is that the first couple of months I was scared out of my mind, but every month afterwards, it not only got easier, something on the inside of me was changing!
I started to like the feeling that giving provided me and even started to look for creative ways to give more. We started giving just money at first, but that opened the door to start giving from every area of our lives: time, clothing, resources, food, toys, appliances and even cars! Like every addiction, it started to consume us in a very good way. Giving not only became a lifestyle, but it became fun! There are no rules to giving except give what is in your heart to do. Be creative and enjoy the ride.
Within 18 months of starting with baby steps, we became debt free, my income went from $800 to over $4,000 per month, we bought our first home, and my wife became pregnant with our first son!
These lessons I learned 25 years ago have become the cornerstone of my life. I cannot imagine what my life would be like if Bob had not shared with me those words, “Give your way out.”
No matter where you find yourself in life, know that giving is the answer!
Find your passion and you will find your life.