“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”(Luke 6:38)

Our daughter Priya is destined for greatness in the media mountain—in the unbiased opinion of those responsible for bringing her into the world 🙂 Seriously though, anyone who has met her and/or seen her in action will tell you the same. Her engaging personality, exacting standards of excellence and exceptional work ethic are all key contributing factors in this “unbiased” assessment.

She is presently working for a major television network in Canada at an entry-level position. She is responsible for ensuring that the teleprompter is programmed accurately and operated in perfect sync with the anchor who is reading the news. That’s what she gets paid to do.

She was telling me today about all the additional duties she has taken upon herself to do. She volunteers to do research on stories that reporters are working on. She has been “shadowing” them through the preparation, interviewing and editing process. She offers to write news stories for the anchors. Today she even checked to see if a story that was ready to be read on air had been updated since it was written and alerted the on-camera host, who was, of course, appreciative of this unsolicited help.

Her desire to make life easier for others and add value to them reminded me of a book by Bob Burg and John David Mann. Here is a synopsis posted on their official website:

“The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman.

Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of successful “go-givers”: a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real estate broker and “The Connector,” who brought them all together. Pindar’s friends share with Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and teach him how to open himself up to the power of giving.

Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving—putting others’ interests first and continually adding value to their lives—ultimately leads to unexpected returns. Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a heartwarming and inspiring tale that brings new relevance to the old proverb “give and you shall receive.”

“The old proverb” is, of course, a variation of Jesus’ words at the very beginning of this post. It is another expression of the law of sowing and reaping. Even though you never give with the express purpose of getting in return, it inevitably turns out that way, amen?

Dear DWOD friend, one of the best ways to accelerate into your destiny is to be a Go-Giver. Look for opportunities to add value to your boss, a co-worker, mentor, pastor or whoever else Holy Spirit may highlight for you. You will not only reap what you sow, you will actually reap more than you sow.

Do it with the heart of Jesus that Paul describes in these words from Philippians 2:3-4: “in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

You will stand out among the go-getters of this world. The favour of the Lord will shine upon you.

This is why I was not surprised to hear that Priya will likely be trained as a production assistant soon, which is the next step on the way to becoming an on-air reporter. Such acceleration is only possible for one who does not hesitate to be a go-giver. Be one today, will you?