You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give (Khalil Gibran)

Most of the time when we think about generosity, we spontaneously think of materialistic gifts. These precious gifts are proudly bought with money. These darling intentions make us feel so good about ourselves and might please others. However, we all know deeply that these gifts of money, or charity are not truly generous intentions.

Indeed, I firmly believe that the purest act of generosity comes from within ourselves, not from our wallets. The truest acts of generosity come from our beautiful hearts and their value is beyond all what money will ever buy.

Do not get me wrong, I am not writing these words with hypocrisy, I am not saying that materialistic gifts are not valuable. They are valuable in some ways and for some time, but these gifts will never equal a minute of your time spent encouraging a co-worker in need, giving someone an unexpected opportunity, or simply sharing a smile with a complete stranger.

Being generous is allowing ourselves to share part of who we are with others. Being generous is accepting others the way they are: it is giving them their uniqueness back. This uniqueness solely defines each human being. Generous leaders always see the best in people, they are selfless and have good intent. They spread generosity all around them.

To tell the truth, generous leaders give people a sense of importance, they give them visibility and encouragement. People who work with generous leaders learn about sharing knowledge, experience, encouragement and forgiveness. Being with generous leaders teaches us about how to share fears and differences with no shame, and more specifically, generous leaders teach us that everyone has the right to opportunities and second chances.

Indeed, true leaders are generous because they know that life is not just about themselves and their little concerns for glory. Generous leaders are full of humility and gratitude. They know how to give part of themselves generously because they already received the gift. Generous leaders are not afraid of giving away their power, money or sparkly influence, because they are self-confident: they love themselves and others. More importantly, generous leaders are true believers: they believe in the gift of humanity.

Nobody ever forgets an unexpected act of generosity, which makes us feel incredible and automatically pushes us to replicate this act of kindness around us. No one can stop you from giving a part of yourself. The time we spend assisting others is a beautiful gift we offer to others and to ourselves too. There is nothing more rewarding than sharing your knowledge and experience with someone. There is nothing more beautiful than having the opportunity to interact with someone and impact their life through a simple gesture of generosity. True generosity is beautiful and contagious, it is the essence of humanity and it gives us so many precious life changing lessons.

The beautiful loving power of giving empowers us

Generous leaders lead with generosity in their heart. They lead by example and with a deep purpose. Generous leaders are ready to undercover who they truly are. They quickly understand that people are not just motivated by financial compensations. In the workplace, generous leaders know that people want more meaning in their daily mission without them asking for it. Generous leaders understand that the people who work with them want to be part of something bigger than a sad job description, which should not define them anyway. People want to be visible and matter, they want to be fully acknowledged for who they are and their personal contributions, as small as they might be. Leaders with generous spirits can fully comprehend and integrate those needs into their vision.

I give, sacrifice, devote, dedicate, connect... and I love, love, love...

Today, more than ever, it might be the right time to start engaging ourselves in this beautiful, loving power of giving. Although I know that most of us are knocked out by a frenzy of advertisements for materialistic goods everyday, I am surely not talking about giving the most attractive, easiest, well-wrapped gift. Indeed, let's all think about being really remarkable human beings by starting to develop more of our selflessness. Let's start giving more time to ourselves and others through the best gift we can ever offer: our beautiful and priceless selves.