Are You Rejecting Gifts from “Angels”?
08/10/2010 Filed in:
Are You Rejecting Gifts from "Angels"?
Are we too skeptical and
suspicious to accept genuine kindness and generosity?
I’ve been conducting an experiment for 13 years to see
how receptive people will be to helping an older woman
start over after helping police stop criminal activity
and losing everything as consequence of my being a good
citizen. To acquire only a safe place to park my van, a
little water and electricity, I’ve offered very
generous tasks and services to people who are
financially comfortable. I’ve been documenting my
experiences for a future book because, despite
announcing upfront exactly what I’m doing, 99% of my
offers have been rebuffed.
When I heard about a local man who died in his home a week before anyone noticed, I was sad that he’d been so alone. So I was surprised when his sister called me from California. I didn’t know her but wanted to help any way I could. Her brother was a hoarder and she wanted someone to clean out the house and stage it for sale. Having those skills, I was willing to do it for no charge just to have a driveway to park in where I could sleep safely at night. I knew the house could be worth $100,000 if fixed up and I knew my de-cluttering and interior design services – my degree is the same as some HGTV hosts - would add another $10,000 in value and sell it faster despite its being a stigmatized property. I expected no payment, yet she blew me off!
Yesterday I drove by the house, saw that the property had never received any attention, and found a sold sign in front. I looked up the listing to find the list price was $32,000. I determined that if the house did sell for that much the owner likely received $30,000 after the agent’s commission. Had she allowed me to do the work for free to allow me a place to stay and allow me to document the progress of my work for my portfolio to show future prospective clients, she may have netted an additional $75,000 for just saying yes to me. Her refusal to be kind-hearted deprived her of a $75,000 gift.
My book will be filled with these stories. And all I wanted was a safe driveway to park in and an opportunity to acquire testimonials for doing good work so I could begin to land paying assignments.
My advice? Be cautious, but before you reject a proposal out-of-hand, research who the person is and what they are asking in return. It’s not always a case of if-it-sounds-too-good-to-be-true-it-is. If you let your skepticism guide your decision-making, you may deprive yourself of valuable gifts from someone with a good heart and good character.
Comments or questions? Use the feedback form on this site.
When I heard about a local man who died in his home a week before anyone noticed, I was sad that he’d been so alone. So I was surprised when his sister called me from California. I didn’t know her but wanted to help any way I could. Her brother was a hoarder and she wanted someone to clean out the house and stage it for sale. Having those skills, I was willing to do it for no charge just to have a driveway to park in where I could sleep safely at night. I knew the house could be worth $100,000 if fixed up and I knew my de-cluttering and interior design services – my degree is the same as some HGTV hosts - would add another $10,000 in value and sell it faster despite its being a stigmatized property. I expected no payment, yet she blew me off!
Yesterday I drove by the house, saw that the property had never received any attention, and found a sold sign in front. I looked up the listing to find the list price was $32,000. I determined that if the house did sell for that much the owner likely received $30,000 after the agent’s commission. Had she allowed me to do the work for free to allow me a place to stay and allow me to document the progress of my work for my portfolio to show future prospective clients, she may have netted an additional $75,000 for just saying yes to me. Her refusal to be kind-hearted deprived her of a $75,000 gift.
My book will be filled with these stories. And all I wanted was a safe driveway to park in and an opportunity to acquire testimonials for doing good work so I could begin to land paying assignments.
My advice? Be cautious, but before you reject a proposal out-of-hand, research who the person is and what they are asking in return. It’s not always a case of if-it-sounds-too-good-to-be-true-it-is. If you let your skepticism guide your decision-making, you may deprive yourself of valuable gifts from someone with a good heart and good character.
Comments or questions? Use the feedback form on this site.