Three Free Gifts Worth Giving this Holiday Season…

At this time of the year I’m wracked with confusion. What gifts should I give to my clients, my family, and my friends? My son loves his Xbox, my daughter likes cooking, my wife is a fan of Mad Men. One client loves animals, another is a big golfer…

I scan the aisles at Costco and Macys. But whatever I pick up seems unable to convey my true feelings…

That’s it, I realized. If I were to convey my true feelings I would give three gifts to each of them.

1. I would tell them that I value having them in my life. Each of them has a special place in my life. My son, my wife, my clients, my daughter — they are all teaching me something about the world, about people, and about myself. Each of them has a gift for me. I would thank them for this gift. This is the gift of appreciation.

2. I would share with each of them something I have learned – sometimes through hardship and pain, other times through joy and success. I would share with them something that might help them, something that could ease their burdens, warm their souls, open their eyes. This is the gift of wisdom.

3. I would ask them what they truly want in their lives. Not what I think they might want. Not what the media tells me they should want, but instead I would seek from them something they believe would assist them in moving forward in their lives. Something that would help them achieve a new level of joy and fulfillment. This is the gift of acknowledgement.

I’ve been all through Costco, Macy’s, Nordstrom, Target, Best Buy, any number of stores and I’ve never seen these three gifts on sale at any of them. Oh, there are lots of shiny baubles, cool gadgets, stylish clothes and accessories, but this year I’m going to give these three gifts.

And just in case that doesn’t work out, I hear Amazon has same day shipping on Christmas Day…

Happy Holidays from Modern Wisdom

In addition to the three free gifts mentioned above, Marc also recommends his new book, The End of Self Doubt.

by Marc Sachnoff