Generosity
This could be the start of some positive ripples
Among the many opportunities and characteristics we could select to be today, I suspect generosity may be near the bottom of the list. Perhaps it’s because most often, we think of generosity as it has to do with money. Yet, if you really stop and think about it, the act of being generous is so much more.
Perhaps with the constant flow of negative and even false information, with the social-media binge we’re on — being generous could just be the very thing that could help us turn the corner to being a friendlier, kinder and more loving society. Chris Anderson of the TED organization encourages us to be generous and cause ripples with a resulting benefit of what he calls Infectious Generosity.
Now, let me be quick to note that while I have met and interacted with Chris, I certainly don’t consider myself as being in one of his closer circles. Instead, because I was active within the TEDx organization (I was licensee for TEDxLincoln for several years) it was that connection that put me on a list of only 200 people worldwide to participate in The Mystery Experiment. It was something Chris and the TED organization did back in 2020 and 2021. If you’re really interested, here’s a short video I did about that chapter in my life. https://youtu.be/p7O2ZwSGvRs?si=edmGAuJb3A8JhQcX
Anderson challenges us to think about our world today, “More and more value in the world today comes not from the tangible but the intangible. Not atoms but bits. Not physical stuff but the unique creations of human minds. Nonmaterial things can be given away at limitless scale.” Add to that the incredibly interconnected world we now live in and you have a three-part argument in favor of generosity. As Anderson says, “So let’s put those three things together. Nonmaterial things are playing an ever more important role in our lives. It’s easily possible to give them away on an unlimited scale. Everyone is watching, which means that giving offers unlimited impact on the biggest currency of our age: reputation. This combination makes clear why individuals and organizations may want to dial up the role generosity could play in their future.”
My participation in Anderson’s Mystery Experiment did involve money, I gave away $10,000 that he sent to me and added another $10,000 from people I know and my own resources. Yet, as you do a deeper dive into what happened, I was encouraged to share the experience online which I did, most of it wasn’t really mine so in a way what I gave away was intangible, I was showing I cared for people through the project. For me and those who were impacted, it caused ripples, it really was the start of something good. https://youtu.be/Vb5csnRdeT4?si=_dGmETgxbT3Z2Z9s
So, here’s a challenge for all of us. The next time you see a nasty comment online, be generous and respond with a kind word or two. The next time someone cuts you off in traffic, wave and smile as you let them pass. The next time you have an opportunity to share a presentation, think of it as a generous gift to your audience rather than something to build your reputation. And as you do, you’ll help cause ripples of generosity to begin to spread.
As Anderson notes in his book Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading, “Introduce. Connect. Convene. This is how our social networks are broadened and deepened. And the richer our networks are, the greater chance that infectious ripple effects can take off through shared ideas, resources, and inspiration.” The universe’s natural state is chaos. It takes time to make anything good happen. When we’re generous, we’re creating ripples that contributes to a friendlier, kinder, and more loving society.
