The Power of Giving
Welcome back to the 9,210 of you opening up this morning's Personal Brand Newsletter. In the spirit of Christmas, I've hidden a SURPRISE GIFT at the end of today's article... it may or may not include a BIG discount code to a fun project I've been working on for the New Year! 🎄🚀
The set-up for today:
🆘 Problem: Some of you were raised to only help when you can get something in return, and that's stunted your ability to build relationships online...
💡 Solution: When you build a habit of giving value to others you don’t know, you build relationships that far surpass what you can do alone.
🗺 Next play: Find things you can give to others that grow their knowledge, help them with a problem, or introduces them to a new idea.
🎁 Christmas bonus: to help you level up your personal brand over the holidays
Let me ask you...
Who do you trust most in your life? A spouse? Your parents? A close mentor?
Either way, I can bet my bitcoin life savings that the trust you have with that person has been built on a confidence that they will be there for you in the long-term. They’re the ones to support you on a tough day or celebrate with you on a big win. They would give up anything for you and as a result, they’ll always be in your corner 🥊
When people give without asking for anything in return, trust is built. You don’t have to keep score or exchange favours. You just know you can count on each other.
Giving shows you’re confident enough in your own skin that you are willing to help lift others up without needing something in return - JH
This type of giving posture also plays a key role in building trust with others we don't know online. In a digitally noisy world where everyone is trying to do their job and stay ahead of emails, giving someone a thoughtful gift, piece of advice, or new idea can have such a profound impact on their day 🎁
How Should this Change the Way You Build Relationships Online?
When you you're willing to give advice, email intros, or helpful tips to others, it opens the door for a relationship 🤝
You build credibility online when you provide value to your community. Just like people are drawn toward “free PDF” headers on a website, humans are drawn toward givers that are always wiling to help.
I believe how we give reflect our values and it provides a beautiful foundation for future relationships down the road. When you start giving, you might be surprised at the connections that follow years after a kind gesture or connection is made. But the best part about a giving posture is that the stories only compound over time 📈
If you have time on your hands, giving is also a great way to build experience because gifts are generally received with open arms. I mean, who doesn’t want a free template or workbook to sent to your inbox?
Creative Giving Story: Act Before Asking
This week I heard about a giving tactic called “act before asking” in Jack Butcher’s newsletter. In the article, he spotlighted a random person that reached out, built him a free chrome extension after loving his content, and sent him an email to ask what he thought of the tool 😏
Blown away, Jack loved the tool, promoted his work and they kicked off a whole new friendship. This example does such a great job at proving the relationship that can form when you lead with giving vs picking someone's brain... 🔑
Often we can be nervous to lend a helpful hand to others because it feels like we’re giving up a secret idea, but that’s just not how it works.
Sharing your time, knowledge, or advice to help others means MORE people are equipped to solve problems that you also care about. A connected community of like minded people working toward the same goal is much more powerful than everyone working alone on their own idea. Plus you get to make some solid friends along the way.
🔍 And if you need proof, look into the hundreds of subreddits, Facebook groups and email newsletters that are dedicated toward crowdsourcing the best ideas for their community.
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Read the full article to learn how to cultivate a mindset of giving.