Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “One cannot sincerely help another without helping themselves.”

There are Divine Universal Laws that play in the backgrounds of our lives. Even though these laws are always consistent, there is  beauty and magic in the way they work . The Law of Reciprocity is one such law.

When we give, we are opening a channel, creating a new energy that can be shared, forwarded, circulated and recycled over and over again. In giving, we are creating. Is our ultimate purpose for being to create?

Giving does not  necessarily mean  money. It could be the  giving of our time, attention, energy, assistance and kindness. All of these things are free and we have an unlimited supply of these things, so why not give them away? When you give, it is then that you receive and not sooner.

Advocating giving to get, but I will say that getting is impossible without first giving… it is Universal Law. I am advocating giving to give for the sheer joy it. In doing so, you’re creating positive energy on so many levels. On one level, your gift is helping the receiver, and on another level, you are raising your own vibration, which not only benefits you, but benefits everyone around you.

I’ve put this to the test. I love walking at my neighborhood park. There’s a running path around the perimeter of the park and it is usually populated with people morning, noon and night. I’m a friendly and outgoing person by nature and I smile at people as we cross paths. Not everybody smiles back, but most people do and when they do, I feel a surge of energy, and I am certain they do to. I would also venture to guess that they will have a smile to give to the next person they see…

Think about how good it feels when you receive something. Just yesterday I was shopping with my child for a memory card that holds music on a cell phone. While in the electronics department, we could not find one, so we asked one of the clerks. He couldn’t find what we were looking for, so he called over two other clerks. Together, these young men were determined to get us what we wanted. Their customer service was impeccable. Not only did I walk away with a memory card in hand, but even more importantly, I walked away feeling loved and honored that these young men were passionate about serving me. They didn’t get a bonus or reward for their outstanding efforts, but I could feel their joy and sense of satisfaction in a job well done.

To live an excellent life, we must be excellent givers. Giving truly makes the world go round. Look for an opportunity to give today and notice how good it makes you feel to give freely.

The law of reciprocity can basically be summed up by stating the golden rule: do unto others as you would have others do unto you. However it goes one step further then this. The law states that whatever you do will be returned back to you. In other words, if you want to create success for yourself, help someone else become successful.

Your mother may have told you many things that fall under this law when you were a kid. For instance, she may have told you that if you wanted friends you needed be friendly. Or, if you are a bully one day you will be bullied back. Your mother actually was telling you about the law of reciprocity without you or her even knowing about it.

When it comes to success in your life the law of reciprocity will help you gain unparallel amounts of success. The more you help others gain what they are looking for the more you will be helped. It may not seem like this is the case on the surface but you cannot give without receiving back.

Begin to search people out who need help in their lives. Maybe you know someone that is struggling to be successful and you know someone that can help them become successful. Get on the phone right now and put the two of them in contact with each other. Believe me, one day you will need to be put in contact with someone that can help you out. You might as well start the putting the law of reciprocity into place now that way when you really need it you have something to draw out of.

No kidding! This is the underlying theme of the Law of Reciprocity.

The law of reciprocity can basically be summed up by stating the golden rule: do unto others as you would have others do unto you. However it goes one step further then this. The law states that whatever you do will be returned back to you. In other words, if you want to create success for yourself, help someone else become successful.

Your mother may have told you many things that fall under this law when you were a kid. For instance, she may have told you that if you wanted friends you needed be friendly. Or, if you are a bully one day you will be bullied back. Your mother actually was telling you about the law of reciprocity without you or her even knowing about it.

When it comes to success in your life the law of reciprocity will help you gain unparallel amounts of success. The more you help others gain what they are looking for the more you will be helped. It may not seem like this is the case on the surface but you cannot give without receiving back.

Begin to search people out who need help in their lives. Maybe you know someone that is struggling to be successful and you know someone that can help them become successful. Get on the phone right now and put the two of them in contact with each other. Believe me, one day you will need to be put in contact with someone that can help you out. You might as well start the putting the law of reciprocity into place now that way when you really need it you have something to draw out of.

Does happiness bring you financial success? or does financial success bring you happiness? Recent research seems to support the idea that happiness brings financial success and not the reverse. In fact, there’s a growing body of research now that supports the connections among happiness, effectiveness, productivity and success.

Sonja Lyubamirsky, a University of California author of The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want, has studied happiness extensively for almost 20 years. In her research she often asked, “What makes people happy?” Until a few years ago, her answer always reflected the common wisdom and empirical findings – “It’s relationships, stupid.” In other words, she responded that our interpersonal ties – the strength of our friendships, familial bonds, and intimate connections – show the highest correlations with well-being.

Lyubamirsky was surprised, after completing a study with fellow researchers Ed Diener and Laura King, to discover that not only social relationships are both the causes and consequences of being happy but just as important was being involved with meaningful work.

The evidence, for example, demonstrates that people who have jobs distinguished by autonomy, meaning and variety are happier. The research also showed that superior performance, creativity, and productivity are significantly higher with happier people than less happy people. . And, of course, the income that a job provides is also associated with happiness, though we now all know that money has more of an impact when we have less of it than more of it.

Why does our work make us happy? Because, Lyubamirsky claims, it provides us a sense of identity, structure to our days, and important and meaningful life goals to pursue. Perhaps even more important, it furnishes us with close colleagues, friends and even marriage partners. The story doesn’t end there. Not only does productivity at the office make people happy, but happier people have been found to be more productive. They are better “organizational citizens” (going above and beyond their job duties), better negotiators, and are less likely to take sick days, to quit, or to suffer burnout.

But here’s the real point. Happy people appear more likely to accrue greater wealth in life. For example, research has demonstrated that the happier a person is at one point in his life, the higher income he will earn at a later point. Researchers showed that those who were happy as college freshmen had higher salaries 16 years later, when they were about 37!

But before we find yet another reason to be envious of very happy people (not only do they get to feel great, but they get to have good jobs and make more money as well!), consider what the research on happiness and work suggests. It suggests that, when it comes to work life, we can create our own so-called “upward spirals.” The more successful we are at our jobs, the higher income we make, and the better work environment we have, the happier we will be. This increased happiness will foster greater success, more money, and an improved work environment, which will further enhance happiness, and so on and so on and so on.

So why don’t executives and managers take advantage of this research. Why isn’t happiness assessed in hiring and promoting people?

A phenomenon that continues to perplex many is defining the path of happiness. According to a recent medical study titled, “The path to happiness: it is better to give than receive” states in simple terms why the concept of giving achieves a level of satisfaction for the giver: The things that are important are things to do with relationships, with other people, and things that help to promote meaning, the purpose in life.

Here are eight important points regarding the law of reciprocity:

1. People expect repayment over time. This is based upon the idea of social exchange. Reciprocity is an implicit assumption in most of our relationships. Giving and receiving favours is a common exchange. When someone does something for you, they implicitly expect that when the circumstance is right, you will do something of approximately equal value for them. For example, if your neighbour helps you put up a fence, your neighbour will expect you to help them when they put up a fence or need other assistance with their home. If you cover for someone at work, you expect that they will cover for you when you need their help.

2. Acts must be mutually rewarding. A successful relationship requires that all parties benefit from the relationship and invest in the relationship. Even when one party might be the primary giver, they still often have the expectation that they will receive in kind – if not from the other party then from the world at another time.

3. Deposits don’t simply accumulate. The value of the deposits can increase or decrease over time. People may forget or ignore small deposits. People may remember big favours and large deposits for longer periods. The value of deposits is what the other person perceives the value to be.

4. You can go in the red. You can wipe out your account with a single withdrawal. If you don’t have a large accumulation of credits, or you make a very large withdrawal, or you make many small withdrawals, you can go in the red.

5. You make deposits or receive credits by making favourable impressions on others – by doing things for them. You make deposits through courtesy, kindness, honesty, respect, and other favours. The favours are often small, but they accumulate over time as your relationship blossoms. The deposits build trust and create a history of what the parties involved in the relationship expect from each other.

6. A history of reciprocity promotes trust. People evaluate your actions and motives based upon their perceptions of your previous actions and motives.

7. Reciprocity is a very powerful form of power. The expectation of giving and returning favours creates an obligation to stick to agreements. This is a very powerful and psychologically binding expectation. Although they may never discuss the expectation openly, it is there and affects negotiations and relationships.

8. Reciprocity can be both positive and negative. If you harm others, they may seek revenge or retribution. People want to make things even in a relationship. They want to do good for those who have treated them well. They want to do harm to those who have harmed them.

By understanding and using the power of reciprocity, you can improve your relationships and avoid mistakes that can permanently damage your relationships. In life and work, you get what you give.