Are You A Giver Or Taker

Do you find yourself giving or taking more? 

A quick scroll through LinkedIn this morning highlighted how often people take. There was one post in particular that stood out to me. In a post an individual shared a visual of a tool he’d created and someone chimed in the comments with “I’d love a free copy”--there was no offer to share what was created, yet this individual felt comfortable asking for a free copy.

I don’t know the commenter, so I’m not sure if that is how they always are, but the comment stood out and made me think about how many people take more than they give and how we should look to give more than we take receive–there is an important distinction between taking and receiving.

Taking is gaining possession of something, often without the intent of the “giver” wanting to give it away–taking is more of a selfish act.

Receiving is accepting possession of something, often with the intent of the “giver” wanting to share it–receiving is more of a considerate act.

In most situations (there are times when taking is necessary), we should look to avoid being a taker and look to become a receiver when someone has something to share with us, and more times than not, we should look to be a giver. After all, in the Bible, it is said that Jesus said, “it is more blessed to give than receive” and regardless of your faith, it’s safe to say those are wise words to live by.

I’ve seen firsthand the benefit of a community where individuals give more than they receive (and taking is very seldom seen). The AGC, an online community for financial advisors I co-founded, is full of financial advisors collaborating with each other and constantly giving and receiving. 

From time to time there are advisors who join the community and take more than they give and receive…they are great people and advisors but they just happen to be in the taking mindset. These advisors typically don’t stay beyond the first year–an important part of thriving in a community is a desire to give more than you receive. The experience in the community is not as impactful because the more you give, the more you seem to receive. In contrast to the few advisors who have short stints in the community, we have advisors heading into their fourth year in the community and they are some of the most giving individuals I have ever met–both in the community and out.

I’ve witnessed this in other communities I am a part of, as well as in life:

• Giving more leads to receiving more which leads to long-term growth and developing meaningful relationships. 

• Taking leads to short-term growth and fewer meaningful relationships as you’ll eventually frustrate others by always taking from them.

Whenever you have the opportunity look to give, receive when someone has something to share with you, and avoid taking, unless your life depends on it.

In short, this post could have just been: Giving > Receiving > Taking

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC