"The world of the generous gets larger and larger;
the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller."
- Proverbs 11:24
I recently met a cook, Jean, who works in a retirement community for nuns. During a recent training program, he said that one Sister likes her bacon extra, extra, extra crispy. "So you know what I do?"he said. "I make sure that every morning; she gets her bacon extra, extra, extra crispy."
This same cook also said that a co-worker in the dining room expressed an interest in becoming a cook. So Jean suggested that, at break times, he come back to the kitchen and Jean would teach him how to cook.
Jean has the Generosity Gene. Jean has Generosity of Spirit. Do you?
Take a quick assessment.
In conversations: Is it all about you? Or do you take a sincere interest in others? Do you ask about their world, their interests, their dreams, their goals?
At work: Do you constantly seek credit? Or do you focus on appreciating, recognizing, and giving credit to others?
In everyday actions:When receiving good service at a restaurant, are you careful to not calculate the meal tax in the tip? Or do you round the tip up over 20%.
In sales:Do you forget about the customer once you received your commission? Or do you insure they are delighted with your product or service long after you have received your compensation?
In business:If you are a business owner or executive, do you look at your employees as a mere expense? Or does it make you happy to provide generous compensation so they can live well?
If it is all about you, you live in a very small world indeed.
If you have the generosity gene, you become influential: the world and possibilities open up.
How did you do in the assessment above? Not so well? Maybe it's time to try on a new pair of genes.
"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no person
can sincerely try to help another without helping themselves."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson