The principle: Business isn’t just about what you can get. It’s about what you can give. Help your customers. Teach your people. Make the introduction. Share what you’ve learned. Bring something of value to every relationship you can. You don’t have to get something back every time. Give more than you take, and let your reputation do the rest.
Give more than you take.
The Hard Truth
Give your time. Don’t keep score.
Tell us how this plays out in your company.
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the Rules matter.
đź‘Ą Executive Insights
Jake Ray, Founder, Jake Ray Retirement Strategies | Alpine, UT
“Give more than you take” is something I really try to live by, not just in business.
One of the things I took from The Go-Giver is that not every conversation has to lead to a sale. Sometimes you can answer a question, make an introduction, share something you’ve learned, or simply point someone in the right direction.
I genuinely enjoy helping people, even when there’s nothing in it for me.
My belief is pretty simple: take care of people, provide more value than you expect in return, and trust that good things tend to come back around.
More about Jake
Before helping individuals and business owners plan for retirement, I spent more than two decades serving as an officer in the United States Air Force, where I led teams, made decisions under pressure, and learned that the best outcomes always come from having a solid strategy.
Today, I bring that same strategic mindset to retirement planning.
I work with individuals and families who want more than just an investment portfolio. Together, we build retirement strategies designed to create reliable income, reduce unnecessary taxes, protect what matters most, and help you enjoy retirement with confidence.
I also work with business owners to design retirement and employee benefit strategies that help attract and retain great people while creating long-term value for their companies. connect with Jake on LinkedIn
đź“– the book behind the Rule
The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg and John David Mann
The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. And so one day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman.
Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of “go-givers:” a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial adviser, a real estate broker, and the “Connector,” who brought them all together. Pindar’s friends share with Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and teach him how to open himself up to the power of giving. Joe learns that changing his focus from getting to giving—putting others’ interests first and continually adding value to their lives—ultimately leads to unexpected returns.
Imparted with wit and grace, The Go-Giver is a heartwarming and inspiring tale that brings new relevance to the old proverb “Give and you shall receive.” https://thegogiver.com/the-go-giver/
“Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”
—Bob Burg
The best people in business are the ones who leave more on the table than they take home. Share what you know. Make the introduction. Help someone who can’t do anything for you. The people who spend their careers looking for what they can get eventually run out of people willing to help them. The people who consistently give become the people others want to know, work with, and do business with. In a world obsessed with getting ahead, the most successful leaders and businesses flip the script. They give; value, time, insight, connection, first and consistently. Not as a tactic, but as a principle. Because when your reputation is built on contribution, trust follows. And trust drives everything. Give your time. Don’t keep score, and, always give more than you take.
🎓 MASTER Rule No. 48 —Give more than you take.
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October 2026
This Master Class is in development.
Help us build each of the 50 Master Classes, by adding your insights and sharing your entrepreneurial stories.
Class begins Monday, January 4, 2027, with each Rule being built out as we go. Each will contain the study sections listed above and will continue to evolve through your contributions. As business leaders continue to challenge these ideas, the Institute becomes more and more valuable, not because it’s finished, but because it never will be.