Gift-giving and the Law of Attraction

So very often gifts become a channel for showing off rather than connecting genuinely. We are tempted to pretend we are doing better than we are or tempted to show off how well we are doing by giving clients and colleagues extravagant gifts. To what end? Spending money unwisely is simply “Gobbling the Marshmallow”  as a colleague, Dr. Joachim de Posada would say in his popular Marshmallow books.

And another thing… A pet peeve of mine is giving gifts as an avenue to have others walk around with items emblazoned with our logo. Is this really a thank you gift? Nope. It’s advertising.

Not that there’s anything wrong with advertising. It’s okay to give logo-ed items as advertisement as long as this is transparent. I sit here typing, sipping hot tea from one of my favorite mugs with a logo discreetly displayed. This travel mug was given to my by a friend, Achim Nowak of Influens as a year end gift of appreciation to clients and contributors. Great gift.

When did we lose that sense of civility and let ourselves be enticed into giving gifts with mixed intent? The best gifts of all are priceless: 1. keep our promises, 2. give credit where credit is due, and 3. remember to share the wealth, inviting abundance with a generous spirit and effective referrals.

Cheers!