by Steve Baker, The Sage Meanderings of the Sophisticated Marketing Gnome

The little phrase, “The more you give the more you get,” tends to be greeted these days with chuckles or rolling eyes. Damn cynics have all but destroyed this divine adage, but I challenge you to listen with new ears and consider with a better mind the depths of meaning this phrase still holds and how it can affect your business and professional relationships.

A friend of mine recently posted a quote that got me to thinking how we need to resurrect the above axiom and remind the masses of its true power.  As a reader and student of personal development, and as a writer on marketing and personal branding, I hold those words dear.  Always have.  For me, these words resonate as far back as my childhood and were commonly muttered by my parents and grandparents while imparting various much needed life lessons.  While I took it to mean that selfishness was bad it wasn’t until adulthood that its prevailing truth began to reveal itself.

Let’s look at this concept differently by utilizing the wisdom in the following quote by Zig Ziglar, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”  Isn’t that really the same thing?  Get it now? I think Ziglar’s approach is to appeal to today’s selfish side first by grabbing your attention with the words you really wanted to hear “You can have everything in life you want,” since that is, unfortunately, the mindset of professionals today. Only then to tell you how to get it “if you will just help other people get what they want,” by approaching your life and your business from a more altruistic perspective.  

The truly selfish have already tuned out I’m sure so let’s move on to those willing to listen.  It’s my opinion that if you must give begrudgingly then just don’t. Just don’t do it at all!  Quite frankly it’s damn insulting.  I, nor those around you, will likely have the patience for all that insincerity and they will definingly see your true motives shining through your wolf’s teeth. So, with all this discussion of giving freely how does it all work Little Red?

A popular term used these days, at least in my circles, is a servant’s heart.  In personal branding and marketing, I truly believe it is a key factor in making the whole thing work.  For me, it’s a business philosophy.  It’s a way of conducting my business and my interactions with others by providing answers to questions, giving away professional advice and assistance without always expecting something in return.  This is hugely powerful yet foreign to many!  Everything you do doesn’t have to be tied to an invoice.  

I love it when people call, email or text me with a question or counsel. It’s a huge compliment as they clearly value what I have to say.  And you know what?  I give it. I’m all about providing value-added content on my websites and blogs as well.  I love giving deserved referrals to my professional colleagues.  I don’t do it expecting anything in return but here is the kicker you’ve been waiting for – it always comes back!  It will also come back as an invoiceable event.  

Now, there are doubters on every topic and I quit trying to convince other people of anything years ago. You either get it or you don’t.  Like my opinion and agree or not.  I hope you do because in this, well, I firmly know I’m right.  If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of help when you needed it and have the wherewithal to produce appreciation in your heart and mind you will agree it’s true. The more the receiver appreciates your kind gesture the more impactful even the smallest action can have.  When you leave people with a positive memory … they can’t help but remember you!  Never underestimate the profitability of leaving behind the warm-and-fuzzies for they are investments that pay later.  Be a little patient grasshopper.  Same is certainly true of our bad experiences yet we seem to doubt that the opposite can be true.

The world is afflicted by the cancers of greed, pessimism and apathy.  If you perpetuate it, you are not only part of the problem, but you aren’t the kind of professional that people will want to align themselves with very long.  They’ll figure the real you out and you will be excised like a malignant tumor!  The growth of a personal brand is feed by your authenticity and the countless messages your brand conveys.  People are drawn to the likeminded or people who have a tone and clarity of spirit they can get behind.  Most respond positively to acts of kindness, caring attitudes and exceptional experiences as they are palatable ingredients to any brand.  By operating your business (you) with a servant’s heart mindset, you attract people that will get behind your brand.  They will support it with referrals, with good word of mouth, and by purchasing your product or services.  I started to say that business today, but honestly, successful businesses have always known these basic tenets to be true.  It’s time you learn the same is true in the business of you.  

Steve Baker is the author of the upcoming book “Prominent – The Tenets of Personal Branding” and CEO of Sophisticated Gnome LLC.