We Don't Live in Sherwood Forest

I wonder what would happen if I had a million dollars and decided to give it all away? What would the reactions be? Sure it sounds like a crazy thing to do, after all, a million dollars is no easy task for most people to obtain or accumulate, let alone give it away. But I wonder what the true value of those million dollars becomes when it’s given versus when it’s earned?

I would go to the streets, without any signs or fanfare and start giving away this million dollars, twenty dollars at a time. All without speaking and promoting my intentions, I’d simply extend a $20 dollar bill, smile and continue on to the next. It sounds like something that would be received with great thanks and appreciation, right? But I’m willing to believe, it would be much less personal, less thankful and perhaps even more sinister in its reception.

I’m sure some would be stunned or amazed and some would even say thank you. Some may double back two, three times or more to benefit from the apparent mindless generosity. Some may even try to figure out how to steal the whole prize, after all its being given for free and it apparently holds no value by the grantor, so why not get it over with and shorten the giving task?

But I wonder who would really stop and wonder why? Who would ask the questions and try to understand the reason for the giving? Who would even care about where the money came from, how it was earned and who this person is that is just giving it all away? Would it really matter to anyone? I mean it’s free, so therefore, I must not value it as much as those who are freely receiving it. Would anyone question my intentions or even oddly enough, refuse the gift being given? After all, what does it really matter the why of it all? You know, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth as they say. Just take the money and get on with your life.

It would be silly to just give it all away without specific intent or purpose, right? After all, millionaires and billionaires donate and support causes all the time. They place their money where their hearts are and where their giving can provide meaning, appreciation and benefit to others. Someplace where it simply makes a difference or impact on someone’s life. Simply giving it on the corner of some street without direction or purpose is really a waste because that hard-earned money is devalued when given to those who are just willing to thanklessly take it without the understanding of why it is given in the first place.

Not to worry. I don’t have a million dollars that I am contemplating about giving away. And if I did, like most people, I’d try to invest it wisely, help some family member or friend, if they were truly in desperate need. I would spend wisely and cautiously because I would have the understanding of how much work and effort it takes to earn such money. To retain its value, you must spend and invest with value as to not just stack it in a pile, set it afire, to only benefit for a moment of heat while all your hard work and efforts go up in smoke.

I want to go back and think about all those $20 dollar bills I was giving away. Did I make a difference to someone or anyone for that matter? Would they come back the next day or the next week to see if the crazy guy giving money away would show up again? If so, could they get more this time than the last, knowing the gift was limited and not on-going? Would anyone be inspired to be more motivated to gain something from that experience and pay it forward somehow? I wonder if they really could without first asking why and discovering the reason and motivation behind it all.

You see, free isn’t free at all. Nothing comes without effort, a price or action in order to produce any sort of worthwhile reward. If you believe that money, benefits, education, food, housing or anything else actually comes without a price; it doesn’t. Someone worked and struggled hard to earn it in order to give all that is received by someone else. So it’s understandable that the more that is given requires that someone has earn more. Is it fair that they work harder to earn more so it can be simply be given away on the street corner or through some program where the greatest effort to receive is to sign up and stand in line for their “$20 dollar” bills? Where is their incentive to succeed? What if the million dollar earners lose their incentive to succeed? After all, the more they earn, the more others are willing to take because it’s free in their eyes. At some point, I am going to lose my drive and compassion to earn and grow because the value of my efforts has diminished and the fruits of my labor have been picked away by those who are too willing to take for free instead of earning their own successes and dreams.

So the next time you are blessed by some “free money” that you find in the street, on the floor of the store, through some program or wherever money you didn’t earn finds you; stop for a moment and ask yourself, “is this your lucky day and you just got some money for free” or perhaps you’ll understand that someone had worked very hard to earn that money and had just lost a piece of what they worked hard for, and now its gone from their benefit, never to receive the value it so greatly deserved!

So, you do understand that “giving” equates to “taking” through taxation, right? And that “self-worth” is not gained from welfare, the line at the lottery counter or among the bright lights of the casino world. Self-worth is earned and fought for by those who are willing to take on the challenge and the risks involved. It’s not a game of chance that only hinges on a hope and a dream. It’s about what drives you up and out of bed each day, with purpose and desire to win against all the odds. Programs and handouts are not going to fix our problems. Instant gratification isn’t going to resolve tomorrow’s challenges. There’s a difference between giving a “hand-up” and a “hand-out”. If I give you a house, a car, food, a phone, your electricity, whatever you need to get by; what do you have? What is this all worth? Does it add to your net worth or just a reflection of mine? Yet, you will play and win a game and jump to your feet and shout “YES” and do your happy dance simply because YOU won. You met and beat the challenge. You did it all on your own. You’re a Winner! Doesn’t it feel great? Nobody handed you that win; you did it all on your own. You own it. Nobody else! Fix your life by owning it. Fix this country by owning it. Free isn’t Free. Its stolen equity from someone who earned it and owned it before you!