Rejoice.

I am going to share with you a secret trick to creating a successful business, being happy, having friends, influencing people, and pretty much getting everything you want from life.

This secret trait is…

Generosity.

Despite stereotypes about the greedy, ruthless 1%, the truth is successful people always find ways to give.

“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” – Zig Ziglar

Successful people give away generous samples of their products. They share their time and energy with partners. They give back to their communities. They generously support charities. They reward great employees.

They know that generosity is the smartest way to open up the floodgates of success.

Here’s why.

Generosity changes your mindset

There is such a thing as a law of attraction, but no supernatural forces are required.

Opportunities for spectacular success have been moonwalking right in front of you for years now. But you weren’t focusing on them. Your attention was riveted by the latest online flame war or celebrity train wreck, or even on the list of reasons you can’t be successful.

It feels like focus can summon good (or bad) things through some kind of magical power, but it isn’t magic at all.

When you cultivate generosity in all its forms, you shift your focus to what the self-help movement calls abundance. You start to see how much great stuff is all around you right now. You start to feel wealthy.

If you ever find yourself in an anxiety attack over money, give $100 to a charity that helps the desperately poor. It’s an instant fix for cramped ideas about wealth and success.

Generosity gets you to focus on the fact that there’s actually plenty to go around. Plenty of money, plenty of customers, and plenty of success.

Focus on those things, and poof, opportunities start to “magically” appear. You still have to take action on them, of course. But the path opens right up in front of you.

It seems weird, but it works.

Generosity creates reciprocity

Humans have a deep-seated need to repay generosity.

When you give away exceptional content, most people are hard-wired to want to give you something in return. A great blog can create that feeling, but you’ll trigger it more forcefully when you offer a sample of a paid product.

Massively over-delivering is one of the keys to success in all the areas of life.

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Santa just gives presents to nice children, not naughty ones, right? Now I don’t believe there’s any such thing as an undeserving child, but there are a fair number of adults I could put into that category.

If you’re generous, a few people will take advantage of that generosity. Just like social media and the internet multiply the value of generosity, they also multiply the actions of jerks.

Don’t worry about it.

The benefits you get from generosity will dwarf the few crumbs you’ll lose to selfish people who take unfair advantage. You’ll build 1,000 times more than you lose.

If you know who the bad actors are, put them on your naughty list. Blacklist them and move on.

But be careful not to spend too much time thinking about getting even. That pulls your focus away from your own success. If you want satisfaction over the long run, keep your eyes on your own prize.

And anyway, these people will never see the moonwalking success bear in their lifetime. That’s worse punishment than anything you’ll be able to dole out.