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Zusatztext 90858950 Informationen zum Autor Jenny Santi Klappentext A guide to how giving can be the key to happiness-combining the latest research with firsthand accounts from Goldie Hawn, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, and others. As a Philanthropy advisor, Jenny Santi has met some of the world's most notable and inspiring change-makers. Despite their diverse backgrounds, each of these people has related to Santi that the thing in their life that has given them the most joy is the simple act of giving. In this inspiring book, Santi shares their stories - how they found purpose, healed from past wounds, and discovered meaning beyond material success - as well as her own personal struggles in finding happiness in order to inspire readers to discover the power of giving in their own lives. Told firsthand by such notable people as Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp, philanthropist Richard Rockefeller, environmentalist Philippe Cousteau, and many others, the stories in this book make an eloquent and passionate case that oftentimes the answers to the problems that haunt us, and the key to the happiness that eludes us, lie in helping others. In this book you will discover: - How altruism activates the same pleasure centers of the brain stimulated by food, sex, and drugs - Practical, universally applicable lessons on what kind of giving makes people happy and what doesn't. - How to give your time, talents, and treasures in ways that are more impact-oriented, energizing, and rewarding than ever In this inspiring book, Santi reveals giving is the secret to living a life that is full of meaning, purpose, and happiness. PREFACE The Most Satisfying Thing You’ll Ever Do Confessions on What Giving Does to the Giver Seven years ago, I stumbled into the unusual career of advising extraordinarily wealthy people on their charitable activities. Straight out of business school, I was hired by one of the world’s largest private banks to be part of their team of in-house philanthropy advisors, and I relocated from New York City to Singapore. It was a dream job for many, including me. To this day, almost every day, I get random requests from people wanting to hear how I landed a position that they perceive to be about “telling rich people how to give away their money.” (The job definitely had aspects of that, but as with any corporate job, it was not nearly as glamorous as people would imagine.) My job exposed me to an extraordinary world where the clients I met were hundreds of times richer than Madonna. My clients had made enough money—hundreds of millions, even billions—to give in a significant way, often through a formal family foundation or a charitable trust. Week after week, I met with them privately, listening to the stories of what moved them to do what they do, probing deeply to understand their values and motivations so that I could guide them toward the most appropriate and natural course of action. Reflecting on the stories my clients told me in those meetings over the years, I realize that most of these tales were yet unheard, except by me, because it was my job to listen to them. In those meetings set in skyscraper penthouses, five-star-hotel lobbies, and wood-paneled offices, my clients told me how their own acts of giving were transforming their lives and bringing them fulfillment in a way that was different from—and sometimes greater than—what they got from material wealth. I saw many of them cry, but only happy tears. Through my work as a philanthropy advisor, I also had a chance to meet and speak privately with so many men and women from the social sector—social entrepreneurs, nonprofit professionals, young students, and volunteers from different walks of life. Not everyo...
