"People who volunteer do better financially. I ran the numbers on blood donations. Think about that—giving blood. You’re not going to get richer if you give blood, are you? Well, yes, you are" --Arthur C. Brooks, Economist
This quote amongst several others just as shocking can be found in the most fantastic article I've ever read (and ever so pertinent to my story, The Ethos). It's from this summer's edition of BYU Magazine, entitled Why Giving Matters, by Arthur C. Brooks.
The writer is a Roman Catholic! I love this guy. AND he's from Washington, D.C. (maybe we're neighbors!!). But this entrepreneur, Christian, and Economist conducted his own research and collaborated with Harvard studies to discover three basic findings:
1) When people give money away they prosper financially. But you don't have to be rich to begin with. He wanted to prove you have to have money first to prosper when charitable. He was amazed to discover he was wrong. Another blurb:
"Specifically, here’s what I found: Say you have two identical families—same religion, same race, same number of kids, same town, same level of education—everything’s the same, except that one family gives $100 more to charity than the second family. Then the giving family will earn on average $375 more in income than the non-giving family—and that’s statistically attributable to the gift. Now I was perplexed"...
2)If you want to increase your happiness, give.
"If you want to be a productive person, work on your happiness. Happiness if the secret to success. Charity brings happiness, and happiness brings success."
3) Giving is perceived as a leadership quality.
"When people see strangers giving charitably, they recognize a leadership quality. If people witness you as a giver, they will see a leader."
So I am convinced I have found yet more research to fortify why the Logos and Pathos in my story would battle over the Ethos. Read my premise to the right if you'd like to know the gist of The Ethos.
Here's the link to the article: http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=2441
But how about you, readers? What has been your experience? Do you feel you are richer/happier/a better leader all because you give???
Several years ago I did an experiment based on the old maxim: Cast your bread on the water and it comes back buttered. I have a large family, and we were always running out of peanut butter. Peanut butter isn't a cheap food as one might think, it's expensive when you go buy a large jar. Sure not like steak or shrimp, but to a mom on a strict budget, I hated running out of peanut butter and having to go buy more. It always seemed to take a bigger bite out of our budget than it should.
ReplyDeleteSo here was my experiment...I ran across a good deal on peanut butter and bought several jars. Against all my will that was telling me to keep them for my family, I walked over to a neighbor's and handed her a jar, saying, "Can you use this?" Knowing full well she could, probably as much or more than I.
Ok, now the results of that experiment are...I have not EVER run out of peanut butter since then. I don't even NOTICE any more how expensive it is, it's not an issue. Somehow it comes to me in odd ways, sometimes I buy it, but it doesn't HURT to buy it like it used to.
Moral of story: I agree with the premise, when people give money away, they prosper financially, and I have many more accounts of that I could share, but I have already said too much.
Will here... Very Anonymous of me....
ReplyDeleteOne of these days I'll have to hire a writer to contruct a story from the point of view of those poor Logos... Maybe it can bump your book from that number one spot where it will have gotten too comfortable after a few months at the top.
Besides, how many times did Spock and Data save Kirk and Picard's bacon?? =)
Wouldn't you say that JC himself is equal parts Ethos, Logos, and Pathos?
Like you, I usually find those Logos quite miserable, but I had to stick up for our machine like friends a little bit~ =)
That was funny I liked that, Will.
ReplyDeleteI too have noticed a blessing of sorts always comes when I give-- whether its time, money, or even empathy.
I've been trying to understand the mind of a pure Ethos. I guess that indicates I am NOT an Ethos as I can't understand their motive. Seems like whenever people give charitiably, they are expecting a pay back somehow in some way. They give because they are told to. They give because they want to ensure their seat at the great celestial table. They give to get a tax refund. They give because giving makes them feel better about themselves. They give so others will admire them. So, is the Ethos simply self-serving? Perhaps I find the Ethos a tad bit annoying, making the rest of us look like selfish pigs. In fact, now I'm MAD at those darn Ethos! I guess this means I'm a Pathos, illogically emotional. ARGHHhhhhh!
ReplyDeleteGee, Chris, adopting a little girl from China??? You're not Ethos AT ALL!...
ReplyDelete*Hint: read the end of Brooks' article
I'm adopting a little girl for purely selfish reasons, I assure you. It was the only way to guarantee I could get a little girl!! I don't have to be pregnant, no morning sickness, no labor, no infertility treatments, no screaming infants, etc. Like I said, selfish.
ReplyDeleteperhaps you can explain to me some the wording of the quoted article. In the very beginning, he compared two families, saying they were exactly the same. Except one family gave $100 each year for charity. THEN he went on to say that the family who gave $100 also made $350 more than the other family.
ReplyDeleteIt was like he was trying to prove...that the family who gave earned more. Well, they did. he didn't show that they earned more as an effect of giving, though. He didn't say, "they had the same income amount in 2005. The following year, the family that gave $100 actually earned $350 more!"
So for the family that made $350 more than the other family, giving $100 would still make their income $250 more than the other family.
I pay my tithing and my fast offerings and help people out in the Walmart line when it looks like they have less than me. And I got an overdraft fee for it. LOL.
We are never lacking in what we need. But one of the reasons that I want to be successful is so that I can help people. I can't help them if I can barely help myself.
Tamara, thanks for taking the time to think about the article. I guess I hesitate to question the soundness of his study because he is the type of scholar who collaborates with Harvard, for pete's sake. He's a repeated author and has been published many times in his academic world. Here's a list should you like to take a look: http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/acbrooks/Pages/Research.htm
ReplyDeleteAs for that specific example, I suppose I just take it at face value. The families were the same except one family gave more. As a result, that family got more back. Maybe he should have explained how he knew the returning money was a result of the giving. But for me? I bought it. I thought the article was marvelous.
good point, Mary. I'm just a cynic.
ReplyDelete