Giving back part 1

Since it's Sunday anyway, I want to share a very nice story I'll always remember, including what Mr Bo Sanchez  has to say about being God's good business partner. :)

The Story Of A Generous Business Partner

One day, a very wealthy man was walking on the road. Along the way, he saw a beggar on the sidewalk.
The rich man looks kindly on the beggar and asked, “How did you become a beggar?”

The beggar said, “Sir, I’ve been applying for a job for a year now but haven’t found any. You look like a rich man. Sir, if you’ll give me a job, I’ll stop begging.” 

The rich man smiled and said, “I want to help you. But I won’t give you a job. I’ll do something better. I want you to be my business partner. Let’s start a business together.”

The beggar blinked hard. He didn’t understand what the older man was saying. “What do you mean, Sir?”

“I own a rice plantation. You could sell my rice in the market. I’ll provide you the sacks of rice. I’ll pay the rent for the market stall. I’ll even give you food allowance every day for the next 30 days. All you’ll have to do is sell my rice. And at the end of the month, as Business Partners, we’ll share in the profits.”

Tears of joy rolled down his cheeks. “Oh Sir,” he said, “you’re a gift from Heaven. You’re the answer to my prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He then paused and said, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and you get the 90%? Do I keep 5% and you get the 95%? I’ll be happy with any arrangement.”

The rich man shook his head and chuckled. “No, I want you to give me the 10%. And you keep the 90%.”

For a moment, the beggar couldn’t speak. When he tried to speak, it was gibberish. “Uh, gee, uh, wow, I mean, huh?” He couldn’t believe his ears. The deal was too preposterous.

The rich man laughed more loudly. He explained, “I don’t need the money, my friend. I’m already wealthy beyond what you can ever imagine. I want you to give me 10% of your profits so you grow in faithfulness and gratitude.”

The beggar knelt down before his benefactor and said, “Yes Sir, I will do as you say. Even now, I’m so grateful for what you’ve done for me!”

And so that was what happened…


He Forgets Where The Blessings Came From
Each day, the beggar—now dressed a little bit better—operated a store selling rice in the market. He worked very hard. He woke up early in the morning and slept late at night. And sales were brisk, also because the rice was of good quality. And after 30 days, the profits were astounding.

At the end of the month, as the ex-beggar was counting the money, and liking very much the feeling of money in his hands, an idea grew in his mind. He told himself, “Gee, why should I give 10% to my Business Partner? I didn’t see him the whole month! I was the one who was working day and night for this business. I did all this work! I deserve the 100% profits!”

A few minutes later, the rich man was knocking on the door to collect his 10% of the profits. The ex-beggar opened the door and said, “You don’t deserve the 10%. I worked hard for this. I deserve all of it!” And he slammed the door.


If you were his Business Partner, how would you feel?
Friend, this is exactly what happens to us…
God Gave You Everything
I’ve got an announcement to make: God is your Business Partner. And your Business Partner gave you everything.

God gave you your life—every single moment, every single breath, every single second… God gave your talents—your ability to talk, to create, to earn money… God gave you your body—your eyes, your ears, your mouth, your hands, your feet, your heart… God gave you your mind—your imagination, your emotions, your reasoning, your language…

In the Old Testament, your Divine Business Partner only asks that you give 10% of your profits.
But I’ve noticed that many don’t want to tithe. Because they feel they own everything they earn.
Big mistake.

Some Christians believe that they don’t need to tithe because it’s an Old Testament Law. They say that in the New Testament, God tells us to give as the Spirit of God leads us to give.
I totally agree. But does that mean we should give less than the Old Testament?

The story I gave you above is the Old Testament Version.
Let me share with you my second version…

Here’s The New Testament Version

In the New Testament version of my story, it begins in the same way. The rich guy tells the beggar that he wants to do business with him. And after the beggar gets flabbergasted, he asks, “Sir, how will we divide the profits? Do I keep 10% and you get 90%?”

Instead of the rich man saying, “Just give me 10%,” he says, “You decide how much you want to give me. Give according how grateful you are.”

Wow. Tell me. Will that guy just give 10%?

Here’s my interpretation: Giving 10% is the starting point of grateful giving. A lot of people think that 10% is the maximum. I don’t think so.

I believe 10% is kindergarten. 10% is like a kid’s bike with training wheels—it’s for someone who doesn’t know how to be generous yet but would like to learn. And as you learn to give 10%, God will teach you to give more generously.

Do You Want Blessings To Flow?It’s easy to give once in a while.
Even a selfish man can do that.
But for happiness, life, blessings, and abundance to flow into your life, you need to give faithfully.

More to follow on the next charity topic post...

Opportunites to give back:

100% of your support will go to ANAWIM, Mr Bo Sanchez's work for the poorest of the poor, Tahanan ng Pagmamahal Orphanage, Pagasa ng Pamilya Scholarship Fund for Poor Children, Grace To Be Born Half-Way House for Pregnant Women in Crisis, He Cares Streetkids Ministry, Shepherds Voice media evangelization, Light of Jesus Family and Counselling Center, and other KERYGMA FAMILY work.
http://www.kerygmafamily.com/modules/subscriber/donations.php

World Vision invites people to share the same kind of love that can change lives—lives of children in need. With a very small act of kindness these children will be able to look ahead to better lives with better opportunities, all because you willingly opened your heart and share love! Start saving someone for as little as P20 a day.
http://worldvision.org.ph/


UNICEF Champions for Children is a community of individuals whose regular contributions enable a growing number of Filipino children to enjoy the right to education, healthcare and nutrition as well as protection from neglect, abuse and exploitation. 
http://www.unicef.org/philippines/supportunicef.html

Why marketing may be a divine act

I had always been dreaming of succeeding in a business ( online or offline) that would provide real value to many people while making good.  But behind this would certainly be a tremendous amount of marketing and selling. I initially hate the idea really of chasing your friends and relatives to present some product and make them feel guilty if they would not buy from you.


I came across this article by Ms Pamela Brunner on Mother Teresa which changed my perspective on this. I would now be sharing this with you word for word. :)

Was Mother Teresa a Marketer?         By Pamela Bruner

Do you transform lives, and the world, with the work that you do?

If your dream is to make a difference in the world with your work, and you've made that work a business, then yes, you're a transformational entrepreneur. (Just to be clear - this includes coaches, healers, artists, authors, speakers, trainers, service professionals, and more...)

And marketing probably feels like the worst thing in the world to you. After all, it's manipulative, pushy, inauthentic, and only designed to benefit you, right?

Not if your work benefits the world.

Consider the path of Mother Teresa. She raised millions of dollars for her work. She was one of the most successful marketers of all time, spreading her message, raising money, and making a difference. 

But she wasn't raising money for herself, right? She was raising money for others, so it's completely different.





Consider this:
1) When you run a successful business, you will hire people to help you. These people benefit from your successful business.

2) When you run a successful business, you have the ability to give away more money. (Last year I donated more money to charity that I earned in my first year of coaching!)

3) When you run a successful business, you raise the level of the economy all around - that's something the world needs.

4) When you run a successful TRANSFORMATIONAL business, you change more lives than you do if you run a struggling business. Those people go out and make the world a better place - that's a significant ripple effect!

So market like Mother Teresa - be relentless in sharing your message. Tell the world what you do, and why you do it. Change lives. Make money. Keep some, invest some to help your business grow, and give some away. Some people will criticize you, and some will bless you. Your mission is to keep sharing, and keep transforming lives.

Here's an assignment:
Set a goal for how many people you want to reach with your transformational work this month, and this year. Now 'chunk it down' - how many people do you have to talk to this week to be on track with your goal?

When you market, things happen. When things happen, you change the world.

I'll let Mother Teresa have the final word:

"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway"