To Inspire:

In this issue of WealthNotes we continue sharing excerpts from Matthew Kelly‘s newest book, The Generosity Habit: How Daily Giving Can Change Your Life and Transform the World.

Let’s start with Matthew’s definition of the generosity habit:

“The habit is simple. Give something away every day. It doesn’t need to be money or material things. In fact, the philosophy behind the generosity habit rests on this singular truth: you don’t need money or material possessions to live a life of staggering generosity.

What is generosity? It is the virtue of giving plentifully. First and foremost it is a disposition of the heart…it isn’t merely something we do; it is an essential characteristic of who we are. Generosity is a way of life.”

In his book, Matthew offers 100 creative ways to be generous. While we will not go through all of them (! ), in several future issues of WealthNotes we will cover some of the more creative ideas. Today we share his first three:

1. Express your appreciation. There are 8 billion people on the planet. 7.9 billion go to bed every night starving to be appreciated. Reach out today and thank someone who has blessed you in some way – recently or many years ago. Just imagine what your words will mean to them!
2. Call someone you haven’t spoken to for a while – just to say hello and to see how they are doing.
3. Catch someone doing something right and let them know you noticed. So much of our culture is focused on catching people making mistakes. This worldview destroys trust. Children thrive on positive reinforcement, but the truth is we all need positive reinforcement to thrive.

I’m excited to more intently live the generosity habit. How about you?

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted“ Aesop

  Written by Matt Palmer, Partner & Co-founder