Should We Be Flattered Or Offended?

Try this one on for size.  As part of our efforts to donate a million copies of How to be Rich and Happy, Tim and I contributed some books to a silent auction.  The purpose of which was to raise money for teen sports programs.

And for who knows what reason, someone stole half of the books we donated off the silent auction table.  Now in one sense we are flattered.  The thieves passed on expensive golf clubs, gift certificates, paintings, and a host of other very valuable items.

As a matter of fact, we were the only silent auction items stolen that night!

So in a way, it’s flattering.  A sort of bizarre, twisted way of course, because the purpose of donating the books was to help raise money so some teens could play a little softball.    A bit difficult to raise money on silent auction items, when the items are missing.

I guess let this be a warning.  Should you use How to be Rich and Happy in a fundraising capacity, please keep the copies in a sealed glass enclosure.  Or at least behind one of those fuzzy red ropes.  How bizarre.  Who steals from a charity?

Anyway, on to a more clearly happy topic.  We are thrilled to announce that to date the Rich and Happy Giveaway has donated more than $10,000 worth of books to four different charitable organizations in three states.

Which means that right this moment there is a good chance someone who really needs a hand is finding inspiration in one of the stories in How to be Rich and Happy, and/or having a laugh because of Tim’s slightly unconventional sense of humor.

And, we’ve got a number of other charities who have contacted us who also want to distribute the book to the people in need who they help.

There have been two really big insights that have come up as we’ve been announcing and then launching this program.  I’m going to share them here, so that you can take this information with you on your own Rich and Happy adventures.

The first is that people are often afraid to ask for what they really want.  Some of the organizations who have contacted us have asked for something like 15 books, which they promise to lend out, get back, lend out, get back… to the 600 PEOPLE they serve.

While we appreciate their concerns about not taking too many books, let me be very clear.  As I studied the Rich and Happy formula, it became very clear, very early on, that you get in life what you ask for.

And when two guys are crazy enough to announce they are willing to donate a million copies of a book that can help the 600 people you serve, ASK FOR MORE THAN FIFTEEN COPIES.

Trust me, the world will have no problem letting you know when it can’t deliver on as much as you ask for.  But more often than not, it will.  I’ve seen real estate developers take $20,000 off the price of a house simply because someone asked them to.  There was a woman a number of years ago who via the internet asked for help paying off her credit card debt, and she got more than $35,000 in donations.

If people are willing to help someone pay off the credit card debt that THEY ACCRUED!!! imagine what they’ll do when you’re asking for something that’s really important.

So ask for exactly what you want and need.

The second insight is also a reflection of what we talk about in the book.  It is how when you make the decision you are going to move in a particular direction with your life, and you commit to it, because you know it’s important to you, that resources will come your way faster than you can imagine.

So many people don’t use this part of the formula.  They would like to be Rich and Happy, but they never take the first step because they think they have to wait until they know they way the entire thing will play out before they start moving.

Action stimulates other action.  No one can predict all the events, sequences, and results of how the Rich and Happy formula will unfold in their life.  What can be predicted though, with 100% accuracy, is that if you don’t take that first step in the direction of your Rich and Happy life, you’ll never end up Rich and Happy.

The formula is very clear in that regard.

Which is why we are going to keep moving, and doing, and asking until we’ve achieved our goal of a million copies given away to people in need.

And why I encourage you to take steps toward whatever is your Rich and Happy life.

If you have an organization that can help us make a difference, contact us (and please ask for more than 15 copies).

John