You may have heard somewhere before that we have the “power” to change lives. Usually the context in which this phrase is spoken translates to effect of “each of us possesses the ability to add value to the lives of those around us”. I call this concept unleashing the Midas touch. Unlike the story of King Midas however, whose gift from the Greek god Dionysus turned out to be more a curse, we can activate our Midas touch whenever we please.
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Like anything in life there is a dark side to engaging in the Midas touch, but luckily it can be easily avoided with a little knowledge and understanding of what you are actually doing. The secret to unleashing the Midas touch and unlocking the ability to add value to virtually anything around you is to become economically aware of the power your appreciation truly has.
The Economic Impact of Appreciation
The concept is called “unleashing the Midas” touch mainly for two reasons, but it can have more meanings depending on your personal perception. The first reason pertains to the word “unleashing”. The term “unleashing” refers to ceasing the urge to refrain/restrain from showing sincere appreciation. I believe that many people have this notion imprinted on their subconscious mind that the act of showing appreciation needs to be a zero sum game in order for it to be sincere. If so and so let you borrow their car so you could get to that job interview, then once you have afforded yourself a set of wheels you let it be known that you would do the same for that person, and then part ways. At a glance, two things are clear with this example:
1. The kind gesture of so and so letting you borrow their vehicle added value to your quality of life
2. You did not appreciate the gesture.
Of course this is a straw man example, but digging a little deeper here the idea of unleashing the Midas touch is that the art of appreciation is never a zero sum game. The “so and so” from the example was showing their appreciation for the fact that you wanted to get yourself a job. This meant that the gesture of lending the vehicle was not only a favor to improve your quality of life, but a way of showing appreciation for becoming a productive member of society and as a result value was added to the community.
The Fine Art of Appreciating
If you sincerely appreciated the gesture from so and so, then there are many ways you could unleash your Midas touch and add value through the fine art of appreciation by showing gratitude. Some examples would be:
· Provide so and so with a desired want
· Fulfill a specific need for so and so (both need and want may require some due diligence)
· Value the gesture, in this case that could mean making a conscious effort to excel at your job and continue to increase your human capital
· Pay the gesture back with interest, or pay the gesture forward in such a way to increase value somewhere else
You can see now, how one could come up with a seemingly endless amount of ways to unleashing the Midas touch through the fine art of appreciation. Experiment with the: need, want, value, pay components in your token of gratitude to construct creative and sincere ways to show appreciation, like a fine art.
How Appreciation Adds to Value
The second reason why the concept is called “unleashing the Midas touch” has to do with how appreciation adds value, like Midas turning anything to gold by giving it a touch. Really the “magic” ability to add value here applies specifically to the idea of giving something your “touch”. In “VALUE IS CREATED THROUGH AN EXCHANGE OF RESOURCES” the value is created through an exchange. A single exchange is all it takes for anything to become valuable (hence the concept of sentimental value). A single individual could perceive value in virtually anything. Appreciation is when value perceived by an individual is recognized by at least one or more other individuals within an exchange, and is met with a touch of gratitude (Midas touch). For instance if you invest your time to help out an individual by sharing some valuable advice, and as a result their quality of life improves, then that means the value of the advice has been recognized with a touch of gratitude because they made a conscious effort to follow said advice, and therefore it was appreciated (value the gesture). If the advice is ignored then it does not lose value, because you still give the advice value (so long as you’re following your own advice and it improves the quality of your life). If the advice is ignored it means that the advice was not appreciated, no value was added, and you are at a loss for the time you invested to share said advice. However, there is a risk and reward ratio attached to any type of investment in life, and whether or not that risk is worth the reward is entirely based on your own perception.
The Moral of the Story
The story of King Midas and the golden touch is an allegory from Greek mythology. It’s a story about a king that fell in favor of the god Dionysus, and as a result was granted a wish. King Midas wished for the ability to turn anything he touched into solid gold. If you think about it for a second, then you can see the error in his way, because his new ability made him realize that he took a lot for granted (like being able to handle food). The moral of the story can be interpreted a few different ways, but revolves around greed. Here are some interpretations:
1. Trying to profit off everything can erode value
2. When money is worshipped, sight can be lost on what is really valuable
3. Receiving something for nothing does not increase value
Although the story of King Midas and his golden touch is an allegory about greed, I see it from another perspective. Proving and disproving greed from a moral standpoint may seem like a no brainer, but economically greed tends to create externalities or benefits for many as a result of the benefit created by one. I think what the story of King Midas is missing is another “G” word, and that is gratitude. If greed erodes value, then gratitude must confer value. Unleashing the Midas touch is not about greed, but about gratitude, reaching out and putting your touch on the world and making it more valuable as a result. You like someone’s work? Then recognize it! Has someone gone out of their way to do something nice for you lately, or in the past? Think about the four components that build sincere appreciation, and go create some value. I think we all should really reflect upon ourselves as we “give thanks” this holiday (by stuffing our own faces). Think about what we truly value around us, and whether or not we have sincerely appreciated what we have around us.
The concept is called “unleashing the Midas” touch mainly for two reasons, but it can have more meanings depending on your personal perception. The first reason pertains to the word “unleashing”. The term “unleashing” refers to ceasing the urge to refrain/restrain from showing sincere appreciation. I believe that many people have this notion imprinted on their subconscious mind that the act of showing appreciation needs to be a zero sum game in order for it to be sincere. If so and so let you borrow their car so you could get to that job interview, then once you have afforded yourself a set of wheels you let it be known that you would do the same for that person, and then part ways. At a glance, two things are clear with this example:
1. The kind gesture of so and so letting you borrow their vehicle added value to your quality of life
2. You did not appreciate the gesture.
Of course this is a straw man example, but digging a little deeper here the idea of unleashing the Midas touch is that the art of appreciation is never a zero sum game. The “so and so” from the example was showing their appreciation for the fact that you wanted to get yourself a job. This meant that the gesture of lending the vehicle was not only a favor to improve your quality of life, but a way of showing appreciation for becoming a productive member of society and as a result value was added to the community.
The Fine Art of Appreciating
If you sincerely appreciated the gesture from so and so, then there are many ways you could unleash your Midas touch and add value through the fine art of appreciation by showing gratitude. Some examples would be:
· Provide so and so with a desired want
· Fulfill a specific need for so and so (both need and want may require some due diligence)
· Value the gesture, in this case that could mean making a conscious effort to excel at your job and continue to increase your human capital
· Pay the gesture back with interest, or pay the gesture forward in such a way to increase value somewhere else
You can see now, how one could come up with a seemingly endless amount of ways to unleashing the Midas touch through the fine art of appreciation. Experiment with the: need, want, value, pay components in your token of gratitude to construct creative and sincere ways to show appreciation, like a fine art.
How Appreciation Adds to Value
The second reason why the concept is called “unleashing the Midas touch” has to do with how appreciation adds value, like Midas turning anything to gold by giving it a touch. Really the “magic” ability to add value here applies specifically to the idea of giving something your “touch”. In “VALUE IS CREATED THROUGH AN EXCHANGE OF RESOURCES” the value is created through an exchange. A single exchange is all it takes for anything to become valuable (hence the concept of sentimental value). A single individual could perceive value in virtually anything. Appreciation is when value perceived by an individual is recognized by at least one or more other individuals within an exchange, and is met with a touch of gratitude (Midas touch). For instance if you invest your time to help out an individual by sharing some valuable advice, and as a result their quality of life improves, then that means the value of the advice has been recognized with a touch of gratitude because they made a conscious effort to follow said advice, and therefore it was appreciated (value the gesture). If the advice is ignored then it does not lose value, because you still give the advice value (so long as you’re following your own advice and it improves the quality of your life). If the advice is ignored it means that the advice was not appreciated, no value was added, and you are at a loss for the time you invested to share said advice. However, there is a risk and reward ratio attached to any type of investment in life, and whether or not that risk is worth the reward is entirely based on your own perception.
The Moral of the Story
The story of King Midas and the golden touch is an allegory from Greek mythology. It’s a story about a king that fell in favor of the god Dionysus, and as a result was granted a wish. King Midas wished for the ability to turn anything he touched into solid gold. If you think about it for a second, then you can see the error in his way, because his new ability made him realize that he took a lot for granted (like being able to handle food). The moral of the story can be interpreted a few different ways, but revolves around greed. Here are some interpretations:
1. Trying to profit off everything can erode value
2. When money is worshipped, sight can be lost on what is really valuable
3. Receiving something for nothing does not increase value
Although the story of King Midas and his golden touch is an allegory about greed, I see it from another perspective. Proving and disproving greed from a moral standpoint may seem like a no brainer, but economically greed tends to create externalities or benefits for many as a result of the benefit created by one. I think what the story of King Midas is missing is another “G” word, and that is gratitude. If greed erodes value, then gratitude must confer value. Unleashing the Midas touch is not about greed, but about gratitude, reaching out and putting your touch on the world and making it more valuable as a result. You like someone’s work? Then recognize it! Has someone gone out of their way to do something nice for you lately, or in the past? Think about the four components that build sincere appreciation, and go create some value. I think we all should really reflect upon ourselves as we “give thanks” this holiday (by stuffing our own faces). Think about what we truly value around us, and whether or not we have sincerely appreciated what we have around us.