Today in the New York Times, I read the story of the end of the fraud trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. He could potentially receive a 110 year sentence after being convicted of cheating investors out of billions of dollars. I don’t claim to be an expert in these matters. In fact, my wife and I tried to figure out how cryptocurrency works and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Still, smart investors are involved, and there are people in the industry who wanted this verdict because they said it would signal that the “wild west” days were over.
One of the factors that caught my attention is that Mr. Bankman-Fried is said to have begun this process with the goal of making a lot of money and giving it all away. Since this is one of the goals of my work (not the making a lot of money part, but the giving what I can), it has helped me more clearly define what contributions are. They constitute gifts to others that enhance their life processes. These gifts could come in the form of trades (as in you trade money or resources with me for a work that you feel truly lifts your life) or outright gifts.
What contributions definitely aren’t are resources taken from one source without his or her knowledge. This could happen in my work when I take time or resources away from one customer’s process in order to give to another. If I am giving, then it comes out of my pocket. This can be complicated at times, but business and contributions work this way in my view.
