Rule #39: Live a Life of Abundance
A good friend and long-time mentor, Mike Miles, dropped me a note today. We were catching up on each other’s adventures. As we get older, good friends become even more important—they’re the glue that holds us together when the world tries to pull us apart. They should be cherished.
Mike mentioned something that struck a chord with me: he’s moving away from a life of scarcity. That phrase lingered. It made me think—if you’re moving away from scarcity, what are you moving toward, and why?
The Scarcity Mindset
Scarcity is what many of us are taught early in life.
We’re told to accumulate and prepare. To not waste. Be the prudent ant, not the grasshopper fiddling away the summer. Scarcity is about building wealth, stability, and security. It’s making smart long-term choices and being ready for life’s inevitable curveballs.
In the Gordon Gekko view of the world, “Greed is good.” Scarcity thinking assumes the world is one big pie—and if someone else takes a bigger slice, there’s less left for you. So you’d better grab yours, and fast.
It’s the voice that tells you to hoard toilet paper, take the biggest piece of chicken, and guard your time, money, and energy like a fortress. It can keep you safe—but it also makes you small.
The Smallness of Scarcity
Scarcity makes you build walls. Every interaction becomes a transaction: What’s in it for me? Relationships become conditional. Trust becomes rare.
When your worldview is driven by fear and self-preservation, you shrink your circle. You lose out on shared joy, deep connection, and the spontaneous moments that make life rich.
Yes—people will take advantage of you. That’s real. But living to avoid being scammed is like never swimming to avoid drowning. You stay dry—but you miss the ocean.
Real Life Examples: Choosing Abundance Anyway
Take Bobbi, for example. She was leaving Target when she saw a man playing violin with a small child beside him. Christmas songs. Heartfelt. She was moved and dropped a $20 bill in his tip jar.
Later, she found out it was a scam—the music was recorded, and the “violinist” was part of a widespread ruse. She was disappointed, sure. But it didn’t take away her joy. Her act wasn’t about what she got—it was about what she gave. That $20 still held value to her.
She remained her abundant self.
Or Greg, one of my business partners. He was in New York, rushing to a dinner with an important client when a panhandler approached. Greg had only a $100 bill. He hesitated—but then said, what the hell, and gave it to him.
The panhandler was stunned. Grateful. During dinner, everything went well. But when they left the restaurant, the same man spotted Greg and yelled across the street, “That’s him! The most generous man in New York!”
His clients were wide-eyed, smiling. Greg didn’t plan it. But in choosing abundance, he gained something priceless: connection, perception, and a great story.
The Power of Living Large
Living abundantly means living larger—not in size, but in spirit.
It’s about giving your time, energy, and money with no strings attached. It’s not about ROI—it’s about the joy of the moment. It’s about choosing connection over suspicion, generosity over self-protection, and possibility over fear.
Because here’s the truth: when life feels overwhelming and we’re stuck in our own problems, the most effective path forward is to help someone else.
Abundance is the antidote to helplessness.
The Risk is Real—But So Is the Reward
Yes, living abundantly increases your chance of loss.
You’ll be taken advantage of. You’ll be misunderstood. You’ll sometimes feel foolish.
But the gains—in joy, connection, reputation, and meaning—grow exponentially. When you focus on others, you grow. When you give freely, you receive things money can’t buy.
Life can be hard. Some people respond to that by becoming bitter or cruel. But the more you choose abundance, the smaller those people’s influence becomes.
Final Thought
Living a generous, open life won’t always protect you—but it will enlarge you. And when you live large, when you stay open, when you give without fear—you not only change the lives of others.
You change your own.
Love, Dad