Why GIVING Unlocks Prosperity | Tony Robbins EP 474

0:00Hi, my name is Lewis Howes and welcome to the Daily Motivation Show.

0:14Why is it important to be thinking of giving and contribution in order to generate wealth? When people say that, well, I don't have much to give. I'm barely making enough to pay my rent, my food. How can I have the mindset of giving in order to build wealth? What would you say? It's the only, you never get beyond scarcity. You got to start beyond it. You got to plant your feet. and you know so many people say well when I'm rich I'll give some money right if you don't give a dime out of a dollar you're not I can promise you you're not going to give 10 million out of 100 million not a trillion years so if you but if you start what I always believe is it it transforms you when you I had a group of kids that I went to like when I was 31 years old I was invited to this grade school in Houston Texas and I each grade did a little mini assembly for me of what they I had to use my stuff, you know, at that year.

1:02And at the end, I was really emotional. And I was like, you guys asked me to come inspire you. You've inspired me. And so the sixth graders had only done it for one year. And I said, I'm going to sponsor your college educations. I had no idea how I was going to do it. I was doing well, but not that well. And I said, I'm going to pay for your college educations. But I said, here are the rules of the game. And I just made it up while I was right there. I said, you got to keep a B average. I'll get you mentors. There's no excuse not to be above average. You got to not use drugs. You not get yourself in prison.

1:28and you got to give me 20 hours of community service a year. The reason I did that is I don't have a college education, but I knew if I got these kids who thought they needed something to be the ones to go give something, it would change their identity. It would change their life more than college. And ironically, I think we had 70 kids originally. I lost 95 % of kids I was going to lose. I lost the first year. It was like 30 kids. And the reason was their parents did not want them to have to do community service. They said they should be receiving. They shouldn't have to work. But the ones that did it, I mean, some have PhDs now, went through that process.

2:04So I really believe that the secret to living is giving, as corny as it sounds, I had an experience where I was driving on the 57 freeway, not far from here in San Gabriel Valley, and it was midnight. I was driving my 1968 Volkswagen Baja Bug, and I was been in business for, you know, a year, year and a half, and I was working my guts out. and I was so frustrated because, you know, I always say that most people overestimate what they can do in a year and they underestimate what they can do in a decade or two or three, right? So I'd been working for this year and a half as hard as I can work and nothing was working at the level I wanted and I was so frustrated.

2:38I was mad with myself. I was mad with the environment. I was feeling overwhelmed and stressed. It's midnight. I'm exhausted. And all of a sudden, this thought hit me and I literally pulled over to the side of the road and I've always kept physical journals. I still have the journal to this day. And I wrote on this one whole page, the secret to living is giving. And I sat there and I cried because I just realized my life for the last year had gotten focused on why isn't it working instead of how do I give more? And I made that shift and it was one of the most important shifts in my entire life.

3:10And for probably a year, things started to get better. And then, you know, you're in business, You make mistakes, you know, you know, I was young, young kid. And I found myself all of a sudden in a 400 square foot bachelor apartment. I'd lost the progress that I'd made. And I was so broke. I had, I don't know, 21,$22, whatever it was to my name. I'm living in a 400 square foot bachelor apartment. I'm feeling sorry for myself. I'm watching Luke and Laura on General Hospital. I mean, I was a mess. I was a total mess. And I realized I've not paid my rent and I'm out of money. and I don't have any prospects for some new cash in the short term, how am I even going to eat?

3:51So I decided to go to this all-you-can-eat salad bar that they had around the corner of this place called El Torito. And I walked there and I went in and I had this meal where I basically loaded up for the winter. I ate plates of food, just tacos and salads and everything else. And while I was sitting there, there was this little boy that came in. He opened the door and he was wearing this little vest, this little suit. And he, I don't know, probably nine years old, something like that. you know, eight, nine, 10. And, and he held the door open and in walks behind him, this beautiful woman who was clearly his mother.

4:21And so, you know, I definitely took it in. And then he sat down, he pulled out the chair for her and he was just so attentive to his mother. I mean, he was just so with her that honestly I was moved. And so I finished my meal and then I got up and I paid the bill and I was like$6 in those days, you know, for all you could eat salad bar, whatever it was. And so I had whatever's left 17, 18,$19. And I walked over to this little boy before I left and I said, hi. And I introduced myself. I said, I'm Tony. And he told me his name was Paul or whatever it was. I don't remember his name. This little boy.

4:51I said, Paul, I said, you are a class actor. I said, I saw I held the door open for your woman. I saw you pulled up the chair for her. I said, taking her out to lunch like that, that is really cool. And he goes, she's my mom. And I said, that's even more cool. And I said, take her to lunch. He goes, I didn't take her to lunch. He goes, you know, what I think he said is eight or nine. He said, I'm nine years old. I don't have a job yet. And I said, yes, you are taking her to lunch. And I reached in my pocket and I took all the money I'd left, whatever it was, 17, 18, 19 dollars. And I dropped it in front of him.

5:20I had no plan to do this. It wasn't like manufactured. I wasn't trying to impress this woman. And he looked up at me like shocked. And he goes, I can't take that. And I said, sure you can. He said, how come? I said, because I'm bigger than you are. And he laughed like crazy. And I didn't even say another word. I just walked out the door. And I got to tell you, it was the most powerful experience of my life because I didn't walk home. I kind of flew home and I should have been like, what is the matter with you? You have no money for food. You get the last little pennies you have left. But I had no fear.

5:51I had no scarcity. I don't know that. I just thought I've worked on a plan. I figured I'll make some, I'll figure this out. And the next day I got the old snail mail and came in around like noon and I pull out this letter and there's a young man that I had loaned$1 ,200 to and he had not paid me back and I was desperate for cash. I probably called him 10 times trying to track him down. Not a single response. And I was so hurt and pissed. And here's the letter from this guy saying, I'm really sorry. I know you've been trying to reach me. I've been avoiding you and here's the money you owe. And I'm going to give you some interest as well.

6:28So I got at that point, that was like more money than anything. And so once again, I'm sitting there, tears going down my face. I'm an emotional character. And I just thought to myself, you know, why did this happen? And I chose to believe that it's because I let go of trying to just take care of myself. I did what was right. I didn't plan it. I did it spontaneously. I saw it. It felt right to me. I did it. But I faced really tough times. I never went back to that level of scarcity, not since that day. So it's a long way of saying, when you have nothing is when you need to give. You know, if you're going to wait till you think you have something, you're never going to have something of any size or scope.

7:08There's something inside the human psyche that when you do what's right and you get outside of yourself, there's something that'll click for you. Tithing is a perfect example. I don't know anybody who's tied 10 % of their income for a decade and not prospered massively. And Sir John Templeton was the first billionaire investor was the first person who said that to me. He said, Tony, I know you tithe, but he said, hide more. He said, do more, give more. And he said, you'll receive more, just how it works. And I found it to be absolutely true.

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8:35Again, have an amazing day and I'll see you tomorrow with another episode of the Daily Motivation Show.