Giving sets off a chain of events. The more you give, the more you create. A cow needs to give its milk before it can produce more milk. A tree produces fruit however if no one takes the fruit, the fruit falls down and rots. When the river stop flowing, it stagnates. When you stop giving, you stop creating.

If you close your fist, you cannot receive. When you open your fists and give, you can also receive. When you stop giving, you stop receiving.

Human beings need to give in order to achieve meaning and purpose. Many years ago I was invited to speak in Puerto Rico alongside Deepak Chopra. Deepak spoke eloquently about giving, and then we had a short coffee break before I spoke.

During the break, Arsenio Rodriguez, then Secretary General of the New Humanity for Peace, asked me: “What do you give someone who has everything?”

I was taken aback by this question. I started my speech with that question as our audience consisted mostly of wealthy people who had much material abundance. We had a discussion about for about 20 mins and the response from the audience included – purpose, fulfillment, balance, happiness, and opportunity to give!

Many people strive during their lives to add zeroes to their net worth. However, they fail to reflect that in life we all start with a zero and end with a zero. We come into this world with nothing and depart with nothing.