Give It Away To Get Rich
By Mindy Tyson McHorse

Mindy McHorse here to wrap up this incredible year at The Writer’s Life.

We’re going to finish on a high note. This week is all about gaining great wealth through gratitude.

Here’s the kickoff lesson:

One of the keys to having great wealth is being able to give it away.

That’s a lesson Dan Kennedy taught me last year when I attended his Business of Copywriting Academy.

I started doing what he advised (I’ll explain how in a moment) … and he was absolutely right. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s one of the major reasons I finally started making money.

Here at The Writer’s Life, we talk a lot about visualizing your goals. Personally, I’m a big fan of meditation and vision boards. You can use both to teach yourself to see and feel what you hope to achieve or have. (If you haven’t created one yet, a vision board is a bulletin or poster board filled with images of what you want in life, like a bigger house or a contract with a specific client.)

And for most of us, being wealthy factors into our goals equation in some way.

Using Dan Kennedy’s tip will definitely help you there — especially since I can vouch that it works.

The trick, he says, is to always have enough money to give away.

Dan started using this strategy long before he was wealthy. He says it helped in his rapid climb to the top. And, he’s definitely at the top. Dan Kennedy makes upwards of a million dollars a year writing copy. He charges more than $18,000 a day for a consult.

Here’s what you do: Start by taking 10 percent of every fee you earn as a writer. Then, put part of that 10 percent into a “wealth” account and part in a “giving” account.

How you divide up the 10 percent depends on your circumstances. You can put 1 percent in your wealth account and 9 percent in your giving account, or vice versa. Or, make it even and do 5 percent and 5 percent.

The wealth account is essentially a savings account for you and the giving account is for charity. You use the contents of the giving account to donate to nonprofits, to tip large, or to give to any cause or person in need.

The point is to contribute to each account steadily. But, it’s essential to have both.

The savings account makes sense, sure. We all know it’s good to have backup money in case of emergency.

But if you’re a freelancer, a savings account does you one better: It keeps you from feeling desperate for projects since you always have money at your disposal.

You take that concept one step further with the giving account.

The giving account, says Dan Kennedy, is an essential tool to feeling wealthy. Why? Because when you have money to give away, you feel wealthy.

Feeling wealthy makes you act wealthy. It means you’re more likely to go after big clients and to name higher fees. It helps you value your services … makes you feel powerful … boosts your confidence.

And yet, it’s the simplest little action.

When I started life as a freelance writer and didn’t have two nickels to rub together, I tossed out most of the fundraising appeals I got in the mail. I’d always think to myself, “Someday … when I have the money …”

But, because of Dan’s tip, I started opening those appeals and donating long before everything I owed was paid off. Before I was even in a comfortable financial situation.

And, you know what? It felt great. It made me feel like I was more in command of my money, and that translated to feeling more in control of the money I was earning. It’s a neat trick.

Joe Vitale, a well-known copywriter who calls himself the world’s first “hypnotic marketer,” feels the same way. As he wisely pointed out in an interview once,

“I used to resist giving, too. If I gave at all, it was a tiny amount. It took me a long time to realize that my not giving, or not giving freely, was sending messages to my mind such as ‘There isn’t enough,’ ‘I won’t get any more,’ ‘I might need this for an emergency,’ ‘I feel safer with this in my pocket,’ and so it goes.”

Joe went on to point out that those are all fear-based thoughts. He then added,

“Dan Kennedy once told me the window you receive through is made bigger by the window you give through. Want to receive more? Then give more. It’s that simple.”

As the new year approaches, I encourage you to follow Dan and Joe’s advice and put this principle to the test.