The School of Greatness - 426 Focus on Giving

Episode Date: December 30, 2016

"When we live a life of service and giving, we receive more abundance in our life." - Lewis Howes If you enjoyed this episode, check out show notes and more at http://lewishowes.com/426

5-Minute Friday, episode number 426, Focus on Giving. It is the final message of the year, the last 5-Minute Friday of 2016, and I want to say thank you. And I want to talk about the importance of giving and why giving and being in service is the foundation to living a great life. I saw a video recently of a man who literally took off his shirt on a New York City subway to give it to a shivering homeless man who was suffering. Now, he walks over and gives the man a shirt.

He actually puts it on him because the man is shivering so much. And it looks like he's emotionally distraught. He gives him a shirt and then he goes back and grabs something and brings it back to him. And it's a beanie cap and puts it on his head for him. So he clothes the man. There was no one else on the subway. There was like one person far in the back and there was someone recording this from the distance. I don't even think this person saw it, but it made such an impact on me. And it has hundreds of thousands or millions of views and it's made an impact on other people's lives by one simple act of giving. Now, here's the thing, guys. When we give, we contribute to the kind of world that we want to live in. And some of us feel like we

have nothing to give. We feel like we're broke, we're struggling, we're stuck. We're so focused and consumed in our own self-suffering or self-centric thinking that we're unable to give to others. And the first thing's first, you got to take care of yourself. You got to give to yourself and make sure you're full, fill up your tank, work on the things you need to to be full, and then you can give to others. If you're already empty and you're giving to people when you're broke and you have no money and you take money out, you go in debt to give people money, then that's probably not wise. Make sure you're taking care of your needs so that you can give fully and give more. Make sure you're taking care of your needs so that you can give fully and give more.

That's why I focus on being the best entrepreneur I can, the smartest business person that I can, so that I can serve my audience in business and through the funds, serve the world and make a bigger impact. And this is why I focus on, you know, I'm an advisor on Pencils of Promise, and I build schools all over the world for kids. I think it's important to talk about. I don't talk about how much I donate, but I think it's important to talk about and share with others that I do that. Why?

Because I wanted to inspire other people to get out of their selves and focus on service as well and focus on giving. Tony Robbins had a documentary that came out recently, and I was fortunate enough to watch it with him and about 100 or 150 other people at a private screening before it came out. And I remember at the end, he put us through a guided visualization. He had us close our eyes and put our hands on our hearts. And he said, go back in the last couple of years and think about the times that brought you the most joy, the most fulfillment, the times that you're most grateful for. And there were literally three moments that flashed before my closed eyes. And these moments were me traveling to third world countries with Punts as a Promise and

building schools and being around kids and giving back and using my hard-earned money to serve those in need. And that's the first thing that came up for me. That was the most fulfilling feelings that I had was when I was in service, when I was using my gifts to give to someone else so that they could have gifts as well. It's such a powerful thing when we have a foundation of service and giving. And again, if you want to make the world better, remember how powerful simple acts of giving are. It doesn't matter how much money you have, if you're donating millions of dollars, or you're donating $5 or buying a meal for someone or literally taking the shirt off your back and giving it to someone who is shivering,

whether it be emotionally or physically. Simple acts. There's simple acts that we can do every single day. I want you to think about how are you going to give this year. Be intentional about it. Focus on it. Think about every single day. How can I give?

Give of my time. give of my energy. How can I be a good listener and give in that respect? If I don't have money, how can I give to my audience? How can I serve more people? Think about this. Be intentional. When we live a life of service and giving, we receive more abundance in our life. A few quotes I want to share with you to think of to close out the year.

Malcolm Bain said, If you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of doing something for somebody, you'll end up not doing nothing for nobody. Emerson said, To know even one life. Has breathed easier. Because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded. And Anthony Robbins said. Life is a gift. And it offers us the privilege. Opportunity and responsibility. To give something back. By becoming more. Friends. It's been an incredible journey with you this year.

I am so excited about what's to come next year. We've got some big plans in store for the School of Greatness brand. So many amazing things happening. I hope we've given you some inspiration, insights, opportunities, connection. I hope we've been you some inspiration, insights, opportunities, connection. I hope we've been a catalyst for you. I hope we've been a symbol of something greater for yourself.

My mission is to continue to serve you, continue to give to the best of my ability, to bring you the brightest minds in the world, the most inspiring individuals, the best information possible on the planet to help you reach your greatness. I welcome all feedback. Feel free to connect with me on social media at Lewis Howes. And the best way you can give back to me is to pay this forward. When you're listening to an episode, share it with a friend, email a friend directly,

text someone the link right to iTunes or to Stitcher or to SoundCloud. Send them the podcast. Help spread the message of greatness by giving it away. This is 5-Minute Friday. Focus on giving. lewishouse.com slash 426 for this episode, for all the show notes and information. And I'm always here to give you a virtual hug and high five over social media. So I love you guys so very much. It's been an honor being in service to you in 2016. And I can't wait to serve you more for many years to come. You know what time it is.

It's time to go out there and do something great. and I can't wait to serve you more for many years to come. You know what time it is. It's time to go out there and do something great. Thank you.