Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2015 | Page 66
LESSONS
One gift every Day
Benefits and Insights From Over 200 Days of Giving
BY VANGILE MAKWAKWA
At the beginning of 2014, I wrote a blog post explaining that I was going to spend the year giving a gift a
day to friends, family and complete strangers. A year later, I’ve continued with this practice and thought it’d
be useful to share the benefits and insights I have learnt from this project.
1) I became debt free for the first time in my adult
life
Yep! That happened in 2014.
The more I gave, the more my thinking about
money changed. I approached my business
differently and started creating new opportunities.
I used this money to settle any remaining debts I
had.
2) I received substantial discounts from everyone
and everywhere
I bought an apartment I’d been visualizing for
months at 80% off its market price.
I even received a large discount on my student
loans when I paid off everything in one lump sum!
These are two examples, but trust me when I say
people constantly offer me products and services
at discounts without me even asking.
3) Released envy on a deep level
The more I gave, the more I started to see just
how much I have in my life and the more I
appreciated the way my journey is unfolding and
stopped comparing myself to others.
4) Attracted the things I want with ease
I first learned about the law of giving and
receiving when a friend sent me an article by
Deepak Chropra after reading my blog post in
January.
The law of giving says, if you want to attract
something into your life, start giving that thing
away.
5) I connected with my own fears and prejudice
For the first time, I started conversing with
beggars and random people on the streets because
it felt awkward to just give and walk away.
During these conversations, I started to realize
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NOVEMBER 2015 SA Real Estate Investor
how much fear and prejudice I had of other
people and have had to work on these unconscious
judgments.
6) I challenged deep limiting beliefs
There were days when I believed I didn’t have
enough to give and I’d feel upset and angry that
I’d committed to this project.
On those days, I learned to sit with my thoughts
and question my beliefs that I had nothing to give.
What I found was that I always had something to
give - advice, time, love, compassion etc.
7) I started to value intangible things
I started off the project to get more material
benefits (of course).
Lately I find myself asking questions like – what
good is material success if I don’t live my purpose,
have time to enjoy my life and celebrate with
family and friends?
8) Giving can bring joy
I know I wrote a book on this, but I don’t think
I quite believed it. I wrote it because the research
said it was true.
When I started challenging myself to give not
just material things, but intangible things as well,
something shifted in my life.
Although these are incredible gifts; the most
beautiful gift I’ve received from my 200 days of
giving is valuing my time. I’ve come to understand
my mortality and to question what I dedicate my
life to, which has lead me to really understand
what it means to live my truth.
This has been the most beautiful gift of all for me.
www.reimag.co.za