Give > Take

The most deeply fulfilling human experience is to have done something for others without expecting anything in return. If you’ve been there, in any form, even in the smallest way, you know what I’m describing.

This feels counterintuitive in a world where success is measured by how much we manage to take. But between the hard data and the anecdotal evidence we all carry, this basic phenomenon shows us the clearest path to a life that feels full.

A daily practice of helping others, and rejecting a zero-sum view of humanity and the world, creates connection, safety and collective benefit. It is independent of any benefit to myself. It is non-transactional. It is service-oriented. The beneficiary is someone other than myself.

The proposition is to live a net-positive life. No calculus, no metrics. Just generosity and gratitude, and trust.

Importantly, this idea is not limited to the personal realm. There’s plenty of hard evidence that this approach is good business.

The ‘soft’ plus symbol is the ‘net-positive’ icon (some would call it a logo, though it is both less and more than that), and giving more than I take is my operating principle, working towards a world that is worth living in.

Try me.

Want to help spread this idea? Start here: Positive Store