草本閣

一個佈施了3千萬的偉人
　
我剛剛得知，一個著名的、風趣而富有人格魅力的美國慈善家去世了。

我一直很喜歡他的書，《對月祈願：知道如何求，才能得到的秘密》。

他的名字叫 Percy Ross，也許你聽說過他。Ross向各種各樣的公益和慈善組織捐獻了超過3000萬美元的資金。他還是一個聯合報紙專欄《千恩萬謝》的作家，17年裡一直向國內大約800家報紙提供稿件。這個專欄主要包括各地人士寫信給他向他求助的信件；非常有吸引力。

之所以這個專欄非常有吸引力，是因為 Ross 有一種天賦，他可以直接看穿寫信來的人——只需要閱讀他們的來信，Ross 就可以知道他們是否誠實、或懶惰、或僅僅是在乞討。而他也總是運用他的智慧去回覆——有時候還附帶一張支票。他平均每星期給出120張支票。

17年裡，他總共給出大約3000萬元。

事實是，Ross 在剛開始的時候，只有200萬元！

你從中看到了「佈施定律」的運作實例了吧？

Ross 從200萬美元的最初基金開始。你也許沒有這麼多錢，但道理是一樣的。17年裡 Ross 總共佈施了3000萬！

再一次，我們發現，佈施確實導致獲得。

想一想，你有沒有經歷過這樣的事：你被請求為一個項目捐款，但你卻看著癟癟的銀行帳號，在是否佈施的猶豫不決中痛苦折磨？很多人告訴我，他們都經歷過類似的情景，但一旦下定決心做出捐獻後，他們會很驚訝的發現，很快就會有一筆資金會從一個意想不到的地方來到面前，彌補上他們剛剛給出的那筆錢。

真實的情況是：如果你緊緊抓住你的錢，你可能反而有失去它的危險；相反地，如果你堅信，美好的事物總是流向樂於無條件地佈施者，你就總會有足夠的資金來滿足你的需要。

Percy Ross 證明了這一點。他從200萬美元開始他的慈善之路，但在17年的歷程中，卻捐獻了3000萬元！

我想念 Percy Ross。

但現在你可以成為另一個 Percy Ross。
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The Great Man Who Gave Away
30 Million Dollars

I just learned that a famous, colorful and charming American philanthropist is dead.

I had always loved his book, Ask for the Moon and Get It: The Secret to Getting What You Want by Knowing How to Ask.

His name was Percy Ross. Maybe you heard of him. Ross gave away an estimated thirty million dollars to various charities and organizations. He also wrote a syndicated newspaper column, called Thanks a Million, for approximately 800 nationwide newspapers for 17 years. The column contained letters from people writing Ross, telling him their story and asking for his help. It was fascinating.

It was fascinating because Ross could always see through people. He would read their letters and sense if they were sincere, or lazy, or begging. And he always replied with words of wisdom -- and sometimes with a check. He gave checks 120 times per week.

And in 17 years he gave away about $30,000,000.

The thing is, Ross started with two million dollars!

Do you see the giving principle at work here?

Ross began with two million dollars as his source funds. You may not have that amount, but the story still holds true. In 17 years Ross gave away thirty million dollars!

Again, giving leads to receiving.

Consider: Have you ever experienced a situation where you were asked to donate money to a particular cause, and looking at your shrinking bank balance you were torn between giving money or not? Many people have told me stories about being in this exact situation, but after deciding to go ahead and make a donation, these same people were very surprised when suddenly a sum of money came to them from some unexpected source to replace the money they just gave away.

The truth is, if you hold on to your money, you risk losing the very thing you are hoarding. On the other hand, if you trust good things flow to those who give freely, you will always have funds available to suit your needs.

To prove this, look at Percy Ross. He started his charitable ways with $2 million dollars and yet over the course of 17 years donated some $30 million dollars!

I miss Percy Ross.

But now you can take his place.