We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Mike Moore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Mike, we’ve been so fortunate to work with so many incredible folks and one common thread we have seen is that those who have built amazing lives for themselves are also often the folks who are most generous. Where do you think your generosity comes from?
Generosity has many implications and many applications and meanings. I want to narrow it down to just a few. People call others generous when they tip large amounts after a meal, or tip their hairdresser, etc. We’ve all been there and done that. Sometimes it feels obligatory and we tend to be generous on how be feel we have been treated and how well the job was done. OUR discretion. I want to talk about a different generosity. One that doesn’t depend at all on the recipient (whether they deserve it or not) but rather on the giver. Let me illustrate with a story.
When I was a young boy about 6-7 years old my grandfather who lived with us on the south side of Chicago would regularly take me on walks. I remember walking through a prairie behind our home, which at the time seemed like a forest because the grass and weeds were taller than me! (Through the eyes of a child everything is magnified)
We would end up at a candy store and my grandfather said I could have ONE candy of my choosing. I always chose candy corn….after trying 5 news ones every time we went 
When we arrived back home all my cousins who were constantly at my home (I grew up in a neighborhood of Italians and Irish, of which I was half and half) asked what I had in my little bag. I told them candy corn that grandpa bought for ME! They asked me for some. So I gave to all my cousins and had none left for me! My grandfather asked me where was all my candy corn? I told him that I gave it all away. He then asked me for my bag. He took it and told me to go play. When he came back he gave me a full bag of candy corn! So I went outside and walked to my neighbors and told them that grandpa gave me another bag of candy corn because I gave the first bag away. I asked them if they wanted some and they all took some candy corn. I gave my second bag all away to the neighbors. When I returned again my grandfather asked me again where was my candy corn, although he already knew, and I told him I gave it to the neighbors. He then said to me, Michael go get a bigger bag!
Not knowing that my grandfather had a lot of candy corn stored away because he knew it was my fave.
So what!!! What is the application?
Giving to me, generosity to me is first understanding where the abundance comes from in the first place! Being a follower of Jesus, not a follower of a church or religion, I realized that Jesus owns it all. ALL! I learned at a young age from my grandfather that giving starts with the source. The source of the candy corn for a little child was my grandfather. Today the source of all things, money, fame, things, etc is GOD the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. When I come to my Father HE says to me Michael get a bigger bag! So I can fill it. Stop bringing me these small bags. You have given it all away. There is a prophet in the Scriptures named Isaiah and God speaks to him and says that He gives seed to the sower. If we want more candy corn then we need to start giving (sowing) it away. I am successful today for ONE reason and only ONE reason. I give and am generous with my income knowing it is all a gift from my heavenly Daddy.
Do I need to work? OF COURSE! Work, be smart, do business BUT never forget that HE is MY source!
I am definitely excited most about people! Whether I am writing books (In process of my 5th book…. first 4 are on Amazon: Love God Hate Church, Love God Make Money, Love God Get Divorced and Love God Get High) and get to encourage people through my writings or as a Sommelier explaining why the nuances of this wine will pair better with this food or speaking to business owners as an M&A Advisor about making sure the liquidity moment they have waited for their entire lives is maximum value, it all involves people just like me and you!
People buy and sell from people. Every decision we make EVEN THOSE THAT FEEL THEY THINK THEIR WAY THROUGH EVERYTHING AND BELIEVE THEY ARE THE SMARTEST HEAD IN THE ROOM? Every decision is emotional!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
TOP THREE:
1) Humility
2) Humility
3) Humility
We are not as smart as we think, we need help in life and we are all going to die
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
Most impactful thing my parents did for me was to allow me to choose and then be responsible for my choice. They allowed me to fail and fall. They would NOT allow me to blame others for a loss that my choice caused or someone else’s choice caused. I learned early that I can choose my consequences or I can choose my behavior but I couldn’t choose both. If I chose to never go to jail then I couldn’t choose to steal a car or break into a home. If I chose to do those things then my choice to never go to jail was taken away from me.
Today, adults are NOT/NEVER victims. Children are victims of their circumstances at times. NOT adults. We are victims of our choices. Therefore I learned to NEVER blame. Accept responsibility!
I learned from my parents that God still rules and owns the universe!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mikemooreonline.com
- Instagram: @mikemoore320
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1319135734
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemoore320/
