What We Get By Giving

Mitch Anthony

One of the benefits of being a financial life planner is the fulfillment you get by helping your clients bring meaning to their money. There is no better way to do that than by helping your clients integrate giving into their plans. As an integral part of any financial life plan, giving doesn’t have to cost much, but the return…is priceless. In fact, giving is a key component of ROL (return on living). Giving is something you can discuss with clients who are doing well financially, as well as those who have limited means. In fact, with the latter group, acts of giving can help them as much as the recipients of their generosity.

We all know you don’t have to be a millionaire to make a difference in the world. What the world needs more than anything is energy and creative approaches to perennial problems. Consider this: at least one-half of the men and women entering seminaries to become priests, ministers, or rabbis are over the age of 35! Many of these people are sacrificing successful careers and prosperous lifestyles––and are content in their transition. Others are rethinking their lives after being forced out of careers they may have had for decades. In either case, they’re choosing to integrate giving into their lives because of the significance it brings.

People deliberately making this transition have wrestled with the idea that there must be more to life than sitting in a cubicle, collecting a paycheck. These folks often find themselves asking the question, “What am I living for?” They are motivated by three common feelings:

• A sense of dissatisfaction
• A desire to serve
• A sense of calling

The dissatisfaction comes with the realization that material achievements cannot satisfy spiritual appetites. The sense of service comes when taking a personal inventory of their strengths and weaknesses and the decision that the best use they can make of those abilities is in the service of others. The sense of calling is expressed as an inner voice leading them from something bigger than themselves.

Interestingly, those individuals forced out of the workforce very often come to the same conclusions. For those clients, volunteering can also be a life-saver by giving them meaning as well as new opportunities during what can be a pretty traumatic transition.

Giving, of course, is not limited to religious service. The means and methods by which people give are incredibly diverse. Some do so by giving money to causes they believe in, which lends an extra layer of meaning to their everyday to earn that money. Still others give back by lending their expertise and skill to causes and organizations that are making a difference in people’s lives. They are giving at different levels of commitment. Some give a day or two a month, and others give a part or all of every day. Some simply help by shoveling a neighbor’s sidewalk or walking a friend’s dog. It really doesn’t matter what the act is––what matters is that you act.

The important thing for all these people is that they feel they’ve translated their abilities and assets from self-serving to the realm of benevolence. Whether people are in a position of means that enables them to devote themselves full-time to philanthropy, or they wish to simply do something after losing their employment, the result is the same: Giving feels great, and you get much more in return.

I don’t know about you, but I’m working on the assumption that I don’t get a second shot at this earthly existence. I certainly don’t want to give away my life to frustrating work and empty pursuits––I want to make a difference. My hope is that each of you will encourage your clients (and lead by example) to give back and do something that will not only help your fellow man, but you as well. Have a conversation with your clients, and show them how they can improve their own ROL through giving.

Freedom is the goal with financial life planning. Freedom to give is the ultimate goal.

Adapted from The New Retirementality: Planning Your Life and Living Your Dreams…at Any Age You Want, Third Edition by Mitch Anthony (©2008 Mitch Anthony). Published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.  Available at http://www.mitchanthony.com/BOOK_New_Retire.html.

Mitch Anthony is the founder and president of Advisor Insights Inc. and The Financial Life Planning Institute, global training companies serving advisors and the financial services industry. He is the author of several books for advisors including StorySelling for Financial Advisors. Mitch’s newest book, The Cash in the Hat is available from Insights Press (http://mitchanthony.com/BOOK_Cash_in_the_Hat.html). Mitch Anthony is a contributing editor for Research magazine and his column “Financial Life Planning” appears in Financial Advisor magazine. He has been named a “Mover & Shaker” by Financial Planning magazine and is frequently quoted by the media as an expert on financial life planning.

Contact him at mitch@mitchanthony.com.

© 2008 Mitch Anthony