I’m a bit surprised that everyone is so glowing about this article. Sorry to be a dissenting voice, but isn’t this a very simplistic view on things? I’m pretty sure that there’s more than “give versus take” when you look at what makes the world go round. This seems to be a fairly idealistic (if not ideological) view on things — I’m not sure this is grounded in science or empirical evidence.

Do you really think that Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page became successful because of the desire to “give”? Some people are just more talented, have a grander vision, or are more entrepreneurial, you can come up with many reasons but “give versus take” isn’t the be-all end-all (and by the way, what exactly is the definition of “successful”?)

Side note: I found the statement “few people ever actually experience love” rather disturbing … I’m quite sure that love is one of the driving forces that makes this world go round. Claiming that you know what “real love” is or how to attain it sounds pretty arrogant to me.

If you want to understand what really drives or motivates people, then I’d say read up on Maslow’s Pyramid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs