Your Money and Your Life – The Six Basic Principles - Principles 4-6

Last week we discussed the first 3 of the 6 principles of Your Money and Your Life. Here are principles 4-6: 

4. Philanthropy – sharing your gifts

Each of us has been blessed with a unique set of gifts. Philanthropy is sharing those gifts. The word philanthropy is derived from the Greek language, meaning, “love for mankind.” Modern definitions include the concept of voluntary giving by an individual or group to promote the common good and improve the quality of life. 

But, to a certain degree, we have been duped – into believing that when we give we have less. The truth is the opposite, as St. Francis of Assisi told us when we said “For it is in giving that we receive.” So many great people have told us about the personal riches that we gain when we give – that we really ought to believe it. Albert Schweitzer said, “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” And, Winston Churchill told us that “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

We are a generous nation. In fact, the United States is the most generous country in the world – and an incredibly prosperous one. As my friend Bert Whitehead says, “We are not a generous country because we are prosperous. We are prosperous because we are generous.” I believe that we are here to make the world a better place – by sharing our gifts. Philanthropy keeps the world moving forward and makes our lives worth living. Not only is it nice for us to give, some people think we are obligated to give. Albert Einstein said that “It is every man’s obligation to put back into the world at least the equivalent of what he takes out of it.”

Helping others is one of the best ways to help yourself. What you give comes back to you. Ken Blanchard said “I absolutely believe in the power of tithing and giving back. My own experience about all the blessings I’ve had in my life is that the more I give away, the more that comes back. That is the way life works, and that is the way energy works.”

The very rich can make a difference by sharing their fortunes, but all of us can help by giving of our time, treasures and talents. There are very few of us who have not been touched in some way by the generosity of others. My life was molded by those who shared their gifts with me – the scout leaders, the volunteer coaches, the Sunday school teachers, those who contributed to build YMCAs, to keep Scout Camps running, and to make little league fields available and then contributed their time to make these organizations run. I believe in “Practical Philanthropy”.

For most of my life I have believed that “Love is a verb” – that what we do speaks much more loudly than what we say. Practical Philanthropy is a way of showing the love you have. Helen Keller said “Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.” Your practical philanthropy can support your pursuit of a worthy purpose.

Share your gifts – and reap the rewards.

5. Gratitude – appreciate what you have

The first step in enjoying life is to be grateful for what we have – regardless of our circumstances.

Henry Van Dyke said: “Be glad of life, because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up to the stars; to be satisfied with your possessions; to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness, and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts; to covet nothing that is your neighbor’s except his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends…and to spend as much time as you can, with body and with spirit. These are the little guideposts on the footpath to peace.”

Philosophers and spiritual teachers have celebrated gratitude. The world’s major religions, embrace gratitude as a morally beneficial emotional state that encourages reciprocal kindness. Pastors, parents and grandparents have long touted the virtues of gratitude. But until recently, scholars have largely ignored gratitude as a subject of scientific inquiry. This has changed with the recent study at Southern Methodist University and the University of California at Davis, which discovered that gratitude plays a significant role in a person’s sense of well-being.

The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism and energy. Additionally, the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, was more likely to help others, exercised more regularly and made more progress toward personal goals. According to the findings, people who feel grateful are also more likely to feel loved. The researchers also noted that gratitude encouraged a positive cycle of reciprocal kindness among people since one act of gratitude encourages another.

These results also seem to show that gratitude works independently of faith. Though gratitude is a substantial part of most religions, the researchers say the benefits extend to the general population, regardless of faith or lack thereof. The researchers suggest that anyone can increase their sense of well-being and create positive social effects just from counting their blessings.

To do this (count your blessings), many people recommend that you keep a gratitude journal. Just sit down once a day and write – “Today I am grateful for …” and then make a list of everything that you are grateful for. I think that Albert Schweitzer summed it up best when he said “To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude.”

6. Invest intelligently

If you follow these guidelines, both your money and your life will be fine, your life will be fully on purpose and well-integrated. You have a vision and a purpose for you life, you are living simply, you are being true to yourself, you are sharing your blessings and you are grateful for all that you have. Because you are living simply, and living well within your income. You are saving 10% or more of your income for your financial independence.

The final principle is to invest this money intelligently. Intelligent investing is not difficult. It involves creating a well-diversified portfolio of passively-managed, low-cost mutual funds that is risk-appropriate for your personal situation and then rebalancing that portfolio annually to take advantage of the principle of “buying low and selling high.” Have confidence in this approach and practice discipline in adhering to it. Do not listen to the TV pundits. Do not try to time the market. Do not try to chase hot stocks or hot sectors.

You should work with a financial planner who has your best interests at heart and who does not receive compensation for “selling” products, but instead are compensated on a “fee-only” basis. The benefits you will gain from this advice will far outstrip the cost you will pay for the advice.

These are simple principles, that will allow you to live a simple and rewarding life.

From <https://aricherlifefp.wordpress.com/tag/life/>