With Ted Kennedy’s death and funeral service focusing the spotlight of awareness on the families at the top of the food chain, an interesting question comes to mind.

Are the wealthy and privileged of today as focused on using their money to help the community and allowing it to be of service to the many… at least to the same degree they were back in the day when Andrew Carnegie felt it was his duty to empower the masses through endowing libraries all over the world?

This is an interesting blog post that explores that question.

It begs the question, “What constitutes ‘surplus wealth’?”

I believe Andrew Carnegie would say any money more than what you and your children and your children’s children would need to live on is surplus.

That, for him, likely would not mean a $10 million estate for 16 grandchildren, because he believed money has the potential to corrupt people and cause them to not go out and contribute and be of service.

In other words, if people are given everything, they may feel they have nothing to strive for and would limit how much they’re able to accomplish on their own.

Interesting questions and issues to consider in your own life.

Starting with this one: How important is it to you to be of service to others and make a difference with your life?

How much of a priority is that for you… (and what are you doing about that)?

Also, how much are you giving financially, and how are you deciding the appropriate place or places to contribute to?

The example of the libraries we all can thank Mr. Carnegie for, which even today are helping millions of people give themselves that leg up is what I would consider where the bar has been raised to.

That’s the barometer we can use to gauge how significant our contributions are and how much of a difference we can make through our focus on community service and involvement.

The more you make that a priority, the more supported you are, and the greater the contribution you can make.

It’s quite interesting how that *always* works!

Think about these things and make your Decision, right now, about how much you’re committed to giving, and where you’re contributing it.

The “hows” for the most part will take care of themselves as a result of you making that Decision and putting your focus  there.

That’s part of what we can all learn from applying Think and Grow Rich and living “The Success Philosophy” it has contributed to us and our own wealth.

Warmly,

Dan Klatt,
“Think And Grow Rich Guy”
Founder of the CarnegieCentre and
President of the Internet Marketing Organization

….Serving as Your WealthSensei!

Resources:

- The best way I’m able to help you give more is to help you become extremely wealthy. The best way I’m able to do that is through the “90-Day Prosperity Intensive” I’m currently doing live.

- To better understand the power of giving and how the universe supports that, in direct proportion to the value of your contribution to others, see “Outgiving The Universe“.

No related posts.

Tags: andrew carnegie, legacy of service, surplus wealth, ted kennedy