Give and Take: a revolutionary Approach to Success pdfdrive com

Part of the wisdom behind Freecycle and the Reciprocity Ring is that both of
these generalized giving systems encourage giving while maintaining a sense of
free choice. Although there’s a strong norm of giving, it’s entirely up to each
participant to decide what to give and whom to help. When my Wharton class
went through the Reciprocity Ring, as different students chose their own ways to
give and peers to help, a distinctive common identity began to develop. “This is
a unique group of people at Wharton that cares about each other,” one student
said. Although the students were competing for the same jobs in management
consulting and investment banking, they started helping one another prepare for
interviews, sharing tips and offering advice. After the class ended, a group of
students took the initiative to start an alumni listserv so that they could continue
helping one another. According to one student, “because of the emphasis on the
benefit of giving and helping in our shared community, I’d be far more
comfortable and likely to ask for (and probably receive) help from a random
member of the alumni group than my other groups.”
At the end of the semester, the cynical student who had questioned whether
there were any givers at Wharton quietly approached me. “Somehow,” he said,
“everyone in the class became intrinsically motivated to give, and it transcends
the class itself.”

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9
Out of the Shadows
Some people, when they do someone a favor, are always looking for a chance to call
it in. And some aren’t, but they’re still aware of it—still regard it as a debt. But
others don’t even do that. They’re like a vine that produces grapes without looking
for anything in return . . . after helping others . . . They just go on to something