This whole time I have been trying to encourage you, the faithful reader, to invest in people without making it sound too self serving. But deep down I think we all know a few cliches have a hint of truth to them…
“What goes around comes around”
“You scratch my back I will scratch yours”
“Tit for Tat”
“What’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine”
The truth is that reciprocity works and is a common truth found in mankind…
If we should deal out justice only, in this world, who would escape? No, it is better to be generous, and in the end more profitable, for it gains gratitude for us, and love. ~Mark Twain
The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches but to reveal to him his own. ~Benjamin Disraeli
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. ~James Matthew Barrie
If I may add my own quote it would be to say, “Bless others so you may be blessed”
There is much more to life than the number of your bank account. Just like you should value your health, you should value the people in your life far above money. If you could buy good health, and if you could buy loving friends and family, then you should spend every last dime doing it. But unfortunately things don’t work that way.
You invest your time, your skills, your empathy, your experience, your love, your generosity and much more to gain all the same in return.
You get the time of your loved ones, who invest in you in return.
You get the skills of your friends who are better at certain things then you and can help you achieve more than you ever could alone.
You get empathy when you give empathy, and there are plenty of times in life when we receive much needed empathy from the ones we least expect.
You get the experience of others when you share yours, and we all grow together.
You get love when you give it, simply put.
You receive generosity when you give it as well. Not just financial generosity, but all the things I have already mentioned above.
Who on this Earth would argue that you are not enriched by giving these things? These are all ways to invest in people without really giving up much of anything. You give what you already have and what you already are to enrich other people’s lives. And people often give back just as much in return if not more. This is simply the most ultimatum win-win solution on the planet.
No personal finance plan is complete without a space dedicated to investing in people. Without people there is no money, and without money there is no such thing as personal finance. Perhaps you can apply personal finance principles to “living off the land”, but that is certainly not what people think of when they think of the idea of personal finance.
It is all about how you manage your transactions with other people, and for the sake of this article it is not all about financial transactions. As I have mentioned, it is about all the emotional and experiential transactions as well.
So make sure you include all of these ideas into your personal financial plans. They simply can’t be left out…
This is our 50th challenge in The Personal Finance Challenge Series…
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