How to leave an impression of increase and why it matters...

One of my favorite pieces of writing of all time is The Spirit of Opulence by Thomas Troward.

If you’re not familiar with it, one of the key principles that he teaches is the importance of giving; the importance of generosity.

This doesn’t just apply to our personal practice of giving, but it applies to everything we do in life and in business.

Something I’m committed to is operating with the intention of leaving an impression of increase wherever I go.

Let me share with you a few ways I practice this in my everyday life and why it matters.

Something I almost always do is leave a tip of at least 20% for a restaurant server.

Whenever someone comes to the house to work (whether it’s the cable guy or the landscaper), I give them a cash tip just to say thank you. $20 isn’t going to break my bank, but it could be very significant to the person on the receiving end.

It’s not something I’m obligated to do, and it’s something most people don’t think of doing, but it leaves the impression of increase with the person receiving it. It leaves that person feeling like they’ve won. And that’s powerful.

In business, this is so critical as well.

But here’s the sad truth: many people have the wrong mindset in their business and in their careers.

If someone works for an employer and there’s an opportunity for a promotion, they might easily slip into a competitive mindset that causes them to ask, “how can I get ahead of the people around me?”

Many try to push others down because they believe that’s how they will rise up. They come from this place of fear and scarcity - the thought that “there’s not enough for everyone.”

And business owners struggle with this too: this idea that there’s only a certain number of potential clients and they need to make sure they beat their competitors.

Of course you want to do everything you can to deliver the maximum value you can deliver, but it’s not about competing, it’s about operating from a place of creativity, recognizing that there is an abundance in this universe in all things.

Think back to the good old days when we used telephone books… there’s thousands of pages of potential clients, and that’s just in your city alone; not to mention the world.

There’s no shortage of supply.

When you have this awareness, it gives you the freedom to be able to operate from this place of leaving the impression of increase, because you’re not afraid or threatened by the false idea that by giving someone more, you’re going to have less.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Think about it. A rising tide lifts ALL boats.

And when I look at how I operate in my business, I’ve been very intentional about living out this philosophy… when I win, you win, and when you win, I win - whether it’s a client relationship, with a vendor, or even in business partnerships.

I always want to leave the feeling with the other person that they have come out far ahead than if I was never in their life.

And I guarantee you, circling back to this idea from The Spirit of Opulence that giving is the first law of receiving - and I mean giving with sincerity and a genuine spirit because you truly want to give - this has been a critical component in my ability to achieve great levels of financial success and fulfillment in ALL areas of my life.

So let me encourage you to look at your life and to ask yourself, are you operating from a place of intentionality to leave an impression of increase?

Or have you succumbed to the common default of operating with a competitive, scarcity-focused mindset in any area of your life?

How you do anything is how you do everything!

There’s a vast difference in the results you’ll get from one versus the other. If you have big goals for yourself, financial or otherwise, making this shift to operate with an awareness of leaving the impression of increase wherever you go is going to get you far.

One goal that I have often encouraged my private clients to go for is the goal of doubling their income. But you won’t get there, coming from a place of scarcity, I can promise you that.