On my recent trip back to Virginia, I was told a number of times how lucky I was. That’s because when I come for an extended visit, I have a wonderful group of friends who open up their home, lend me a car, pick me up at the airport or do countless other acts of kindness. And no doubt, I’m a very blessed man.
But you’ve probably have heard the saying, that to have a good friend, you have to be a good friend. My friends are amazing and I don’t take their kindness and generosity for granted. In fact, I look for ways that I can enrich their lives just like they enrich mine.
I’ve always believed that what you give out, you get back. Not always directly, but it comes back, none-the-less. You can think of it as karma, you can think of it as “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” or you can think of it as the Law of Reciprocity.
The basic premise of this law is pretty simple. You do something nice for me and I will, in turn, want to return the favor and do something nice for you. It’s done daily by friends, family and business associates.
I’ve learned through the years, that there are two things that the best practitioners of the Law of Reciprocity have in common.
- They don’t worry about how their good acts come back or whether they come back directly (from the person they extended the kindness to) or not. They’re content that the recipient just ‘pays it forward.’
- They don’t wait for someone else to make the first move. In other words, they are eager to extend a helping hand and do so without hesitation or expectation.
And the most important advice that I have consistently followed is that you shouldn’t wait until you need something to start living the law. That’s the equivalent of waiting until you are fundraising for an important event before you start contributing to the fundraising activities of others. It’s waiting until you need a favor before you reach out to someone. Can you see how living the law changes your outcome dramatically?
Living this law is a sure-fire way to always have doors open to you. Whether it’s a friend who opens up their home or a business contact who opens up an opportunity. So what can you do today to live the law? A small or random act of kindness can change someone’s day…and it might just be yours.
