Does Free Have Value?

There's a theory in marketing that people don.t appreciate what they get for free.

Is that true?

While it is true that the word "Free" is probably the most powerful and persuasive word someone can use in their marketing, itmay also be true that anything someone receives for free is usually treated with disregard or disrespect.

This has been proven over and over again. Consultants who give their time and services away often find the people who received their gifts don't appreciate them. In general, only when someone pays for something do they pay attention to it.

But is that true in the art of giving money?

First, I don't think so.

Second, it doesn't matter.

Let's look at both statements.

First, I don't think people look down on gifts of money because money is such a highly charged symbol in our world. People scramble, fight, work, worry and die for money. They know its
value. When most people receive it, they welcome it. Some people will grumble about the money not being enough, but that.s their belief in lack and limitation. In general, give money and people will know you gave them something of real value.

Second, I don't think it matters what they think about the money or what they do with it. You're giving the money to activate your own heart.

My friend Bob Proctor, author of the book You Were Born Rich, once told me, “I don't care what they do with the money. They can take it out and burn it for all I care. I.m giving it for me.”

And that's the point. While you want your gift to be received and appreciated, what you're really doing when you give it is awakening your own spirit and activating a spiritual law.

I remember giving a friend of mine a treasured copy of the nowlegendary book, The Robert Collier Letter Book. The book is extremely rare, highly valued, and worth a lot of money.

My friend was at my house and said he had been looking for the book for years. I had an extra copy and just handed it to him. His eyes popped wide. He was stunned. He couldn't believe it, and he couldn't stop thanking me.

That was also the last time I saw my friend.

Did he not appreciate the gift?

Maybe.

Was it too much for him to receive as a gift?

Maybe.
Would I give it to him if I had to do it all over again?

In a heartbeat.

Giving that gift to him made me feel great.

Here's another example.

Some twenty-five years ago I was reading books and listening to tapes by Barry Neil Kaufman, founder of The Option Institute. I had little money at the time and found it hard to part with what I had. But I wanted to give something to show my support for Barry.

So I sent him five dollars. It was a big deal for me, and I hoped it would somehow add to whatever others were sending to Barry.

Then, in 1985, I went to The Option Institute and studied with Barry, or 'Bears,' as his friends call him. On the last night of my stay there, we had a public Gratitude Night. Everyone who had been to the Institute that week gathered in a room, sat in a circle and took turns saying what we had been thankful for. This lasted three hours.

You can't imagine the energy in a room of thirty people thanking each other for three hours for all they had received. It was phenomenal. I still vividly recall that night.

When Bears took a moment to speak, he singled me out. He acknowledged me for my letters to him, for my support --- and for the five dollars I had sent him many months earlier.

I was stunned.

While it had felt great to help Bears in a small way, I realized he had felt great to receive it. It was a beautiful win-win.

Remember, how you feel as you give is the key.

If the other person feels the joy, too --- as Bears did with my gift --- it.s further reason to celebrate and feel happy.

And if the other person says little and maybe even drops out of your life --- as my friend with the priceless book --- allow it.

Again, how you feel as you give is the key.


“Money-giving is a very good criterion of a person’s mental health. Generous people are rarely mentally ill people.”
-- Dr. Karl A. Menninger