If you planted one kernel of corn in fertile soil and watered it religiously, after a few months, you would have several ears of corn bearing many more kernels.
Consider this for a moment. If you buried something simple, let’s say a pencil, in fertile soil and watered it religiously, would you get many more pencils? Human beings have yet to create a technology that can compare to the simple, elegant and beautiful duplication of one seed into many more seeds with very little effort on our part. Only God (or Nature, if you wish) can create such a system of duplication. God / Nature created this system to populate the earth with a great variety of plant and animal life that has gone forth and multiplied because the word PROSPER is written into its DNA. In fact, the desire for life to duplicate itself is so strong that microbial life has been found on the bottom of the ocean, in all deserts, in the ice packs of Antarctica, in rock cores from thousands of meters under the surface of the Earth and even in boiling hot springs. The only place on the surface of the Earth where life cannot exist is in fresh, hot lava. And, in our opinion, give the microbes a few thousand years to work on it and they’ll probably figure out how to live in hot lava too!
This wonderful system of duplication is the manifestation of a Law given by God / Nature and is called the Law of Sowing and Reaping. It is also called the Law of Multiplication, the Law of the Harvest and the Law of Abundance.
This Law is described in all Spiritual / Religious teachings from ancient to modern; from the East (Buddhism and Hinduism), to the West (Christianity and Judaism) and the Middle East (Islamism). My favorite description of this Law comes from the Holy Bible:
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
This Law is also described in modern secular literature, where it is known as the Law of Attraction. Examples of this are the book & movie The Secret and the Law of Attraction books written by Ester and Jerry Hicks.
This Law reflects certain principles which explain how the world works and how we can use these principles to obtain both spiritual and earthly prosperity for ourselves.
The Nine Principles of the Law of Sowing and Reaping
1) Everything Starts as a Seed
From an agricultural perspective this is obvious. From a human perspective it means that our thoughts are like seeds. Let’s use Ben Franklin as an example. Mr. Franklin was watching lightning from a thunderstorm and wondered if the energy in lightning bolts could be harnessed for the good of humankind.
2) Nothing Happens Until the Seed is Planted
Action is required to plant a seed. In 1752 Ben Franklin, proved that static electricity and lightning were the same with his kite experiment. This understanding of the nature of electricity paved the way for Alessandro Volta to invent the battery, and for Michael Faraday to invent the first electric motor, and for Samuel Morse to invent the telegraph, and for Thomas Edison to build the world’s first central electric power plant that could power 5,000 lights, and for the creation of many more electrical wonders. Ben Franklin’s wonderings about lightning would have had absolutely no value to humankind unless he took action. A seed must be planted in order for it to germinate.
3) What You Sow is What Your Reap
Sow an apple seed and you get an apple tree. Ben Franklin sowed knowledge about electricity and the world reaped all kinds of useful electrical devices.
4) You are Not the Only Sower
There were/are many sowers between Ben Franklin and Elon Musk (Tesla Motors).
5) You Reap in a Different Season than the One in Which You Sow
First your Sow. Then you wait. Then, at the appropriate time, you reap. You can’t make a sprout grown faster by pulling on it. Some patience (faith) is required.
6) You Always Reap More Than You Sow.
God is generous (Grace). If, in your endeavors, you don’t reap more than you sow, something has gone wrong; and it won’t be because there is something wrong with the Law. It’s because you didn’t follow or understand the rules. Find out what you did wrong, correct it and try again.
7) You Can Increase Your Harvest by Planting More Seeds
This seems obvious but it also has a more profound meaning. The English minister and author Matthew Henry reminds us that,
“It is God who giveth us not only a competency for ourselves, but that also wherewith we may supply the wants of others, and so should be as seed to be sown…that upon the whole they may find it true that they shall be no losers, but great gainers. Works of charity are so far from impoverishing us that they are the proper means truly to enrich us, or make us truly rich.”
8) The Time to Sow is Now
Seed is created to be sown. The longer it sits on a shelf, the greater the likelihood it will die (or just be forgotten). This requires a bit of discipline. Regardless of how busy we are, we can always carve out a bit of time each day to sow some more seeds. How do you eat an elephant? One spoonful at a time!
9) Never Give Up
Perseverance is a fruit of the Spirit. It is required for spiritual maturity and earthly success. The writer of Hebrews reminds us, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”
(Heb.10:36)
God calls us to endure in the grace of giving: “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (Gal.6:9)
A Short History of The HandUp Network
Quilting started in Illinois long before the territory became a state. Most quilting was done by woman within their own homes and for their own families. Sometimes woman would gather together in Quilting Bees to make a quilt for a special occasion. It wasn’t until quilting was no longer necessary, because of a rising standard of living, that Quilt Guilds came into being as a way of organizing and repurposing the art of quilt making.
The Land of Lincoln Quilters Guild was one of the first quilt guilds to form in Illinois. Many of our members don’t actually show up to our meetings on a weekly or even monthly basis because they are too far away. So, we created a monthly newsletter to send out to all of our members so we could stay in touch (this was in the 1960’s; long before Al Gore invented the internet!).
Every once in a while, we found out that a member’s husband had lost his job or a member of the family had a terrible illness or some other misfortune that was causing a financial hardship. When this happened, we would write an article in the newsletter about the family’s troubles and ask our members to consider donating whatever they could afford. We did this a number of times and were quite frankly surprised with how much money was being raised (most quilters aren’t rich!).
One of our members was a staff writer for the local newspaper. She got curious and made some phone calls. She found out that quilters are friendly people who like to talk. Imagine that! And if they know somebody who is in need, they talk about it to just about everyone they know: at church, in the grocery store, at Wal*Mart, etc. It turned out that most of the money being donated was coming from outside our little group.
Well, newspaper people know a good story when they see one (and the local paper had printed some human-interest stories about the guild before) so, a new article was published about a local quilt guild’s knack for raising money for good causes, including a few interviews with those families we had helped. The story was so endearing that it was syndicated to a bunch of other Illinois newspapers.
That’s when the “you-know-what” hit the fan. We got tons of phone calls and letters asking us where to send the checks; and a fair number of checks made out to the quilt guild. We called an emergency meeting. Members came from all over the place; members I hadn’t seen in person in years and members I had never met before and knew only as a name on our members list!
We talked and argued (politely) well into the night. No one wanted to turn the guild into a charity, yet no one wanted to insult the good people who had sent money and those who wanted to send money. And, Lord knows, we knew of plenty of people who could use a hand-up (we prefer to give hand-ups rather than hand-outs, as in “teach ‘em to fish”).
Then one of our more senior members stood up and made a modest proposal. We could start a new organization dedicated solely to charity work, staff it with guild volunteers and use our already formidable army of backyard-telegraphers to find suitable recipients of our hand-ups and to monitor their progress. Everyone agreed (or they were just too tired to disagree). And the HandUp Network was born!
We have learned a lot since our founding. Mostly we have learned that soliciting for donations is expensive. We have tried many methods (suggested by the “experts”) that cost more than they raised. Then we remembered the nine principles of the Law of Sowing and Reaping. So, we set a goal to devise a fundraising technique that duplicated our initial success by making the act of donating money to The HandUp Network as good for the giver as it is for the receiver.
The day after we set this goal, we received an email from a member who – a few years earlier – had helped a neighbor after their home had burned down (they had no insurance!). This member reminded us what she had done. She wrote a letter asking the receiver of the letter to donate to a fund to rebuild the neighbor’s house. As an incentive to donate, she would allow the donor’s family to pick as many apples as they wanted from her family’s orchard the next season. She mailed this letter to every name and address in the local phonebook. Within a few days the local paper published an article and printed her letter, in its entirety, on page 1. It took only a few weeks to receive enough money, and pledges from businesses of materials and hardware, to rebuild the house.
Her story inspired us to craft the gifting program described in this letter. Over the years we have tested and tweaked the program more times than we can remember. This version has been working very well for us (and for those individuals on the Donations List) for the past 3 years. So, please take a look and consider giving our little program a try.
DONATIONS LIST
Position 1
SALLY’S FLOWER SHOP
2364 ESSINGTON RD, STE. 253
JOLIET, IL 60435
Position 2
PREMIUM MASSAGE THERAPY
2314 RT 59, #117
PLAINFIELD, IL 60586
Position 3
The Pauling Therapy Essentials Formula (a nutritional supplement) has been shown to reverse atherosclerosis (plaque in arteries) and is endorsed by Dr. Thomas Levy (cardiologist), Dr. Joseph Mercola & Dr. Marcus Laux. Website: SaveYourHeart.com. Phone: 1-800-77-HEART (1-800-774-3278).
Ray Ellis,
President Save Your Heart, Inc.
2710 Del Prado Blvd South, Ste. 240
Cape Coral, FL 33904
Funded Charity
The HandUp Network 1131 W. Jefferson St. #340 Shorewood, IL 60404
Thanks for your donation. God will bless your generosity.
“As you sow, so shall you reap.”
Note: 100% of your donation goes to those in need because
everyone who works at The HandUp Network are volunteers.
Instructions
You will be doing 3 things: 1) You will send five-dollar donations to each of the persons in the 3 positions on the Donations List, 2) You will send a five-dollar donation to the Funded Charity, and 3) You will be planting some seeds (sending copies of this letter to a specific mailing list) which, after a few weeks, will mature into many five-dollar bills showing up your mailbox. This will cost between $400-$500. So, before we get started, let us explain what you can expect.
Over the past 3 years we have been using this exact same letter and the exact same mailing list provider (see below) and have gotten a consistent 6.7% response rate. So, let’s run the theoretical numbers: You mail out 250 letters and get 17 responses. Those 17 respondents send you $5. So, you net $85. Then those 17 respondents send out 250 letters (a total of 4250) and get 285 responses. Then those 285 respondents send you $5, so you net $1425. Then those 285 respondents mail out 250 letters (a total of 71,280) and get 4,776 responses. Each of those 4,776 respondents send you $5, so you net $23,880!
Will it work out exactly this way? No, it will not! Why? Because not everyone along the way will do their part. But even if you get only half this amount, it would still be well worth your time and effort. This is why it is so important for YOU to do your part. You certainly can’t ask others to do their part if you are not doing yours.
We also need to emphasize that you must work the program exactly the way we have described it here. Anything you do to change it, will result in you getting much less or nothing at all. Believe us, we wouldn’t be using the same program over and over again, unless we were getting great results. IT WORKS! So, instead of trying to be a creative genius by reinventing the wheel, just follow our lead and reap the rewards.
At first glance these instructions may look complicated. Just follow the instructions, by focusing on doing one step at a time. Keep in mind that you are doing two wonderful things. You are donating to a worthy charity and, in a few short weeks, you will be reaping the rewards of what you are now sowing.
First Things First
Take 3 sheets of blank paper and write the following on each sheet: “Dear Donor, Please accept this gift from me as a way of saying thanks for helping to fund The HandUp Network.” Fold each of these sheets of paper around a 5-dollar bill and put them in a regular sized (#10) envelope. Write the name and address of each person in Positions 1, 2 and 3 on their own envelope. Note: Some on the list may be advertising a home-based business and may use the name of their business rather than their name. Seal each envelope and affix a 1st class stamp.
Take one more blank sheet of paper and write, “Dear HandUp Network, Please accept this donation for your charity work.” Fold this sheet around a 5-dollar bill, place it in an envelope and write the name and address of the HandUp Network on the envelope. Affix postage and put this with the other envelopes. By the way, if the spirit moves you, feel free to donate more than $5 to The HandUp Network! Take these envelopes to the Post Office, leave them in your mailbox for letter-carrier pickup, or drop them in the nearest blue Post Office collection box.
Sowing With a Computer and the Internet
Create a word file on your computer and name it “The Hand Up Letter.” Go to http://thehandupnetwork.org. Left-click on the “Download File" box (all clicks described here are left-clicks). Move your curser to the upper-right corner of the screen and click the download icon (arrow pointing down). Choose a convenient place to save thefile (Desktop or Documents would work.) In the “File Name" box type "The Hand UP Letter." Click "Save." Click “Save.” Open your The Hand Up Letter Word document and click on “File.” Click on “Open.” Click on “This PC.” Scroll down the list and click on “PDF-The Hand Up Letter.” Wait for file to download. If, after 5 minues the circle is still spinning, click on “OK.” And if you need to, click on "Enable Editing" and "Ok" again. Once you have an editable version, change the Layout Margins to 0.7 for Top and Bottom and 0.8 for Left and Right. This should format your letter very close to how this letter looks. Some things may need to be tweaked. Use the letter you are reading now as your Master Copy and make whatever changes are necessary to make it look good while sticking to 8 pages (4 sheets of paper printed on both sides).
Next, rearrange the names and addresses on the Donations List of your Word file of this letter. Look at the Donations List from the letter you are reading now. Everyone on this list needs to be moved up one position (leaving the Funded Charity alone). This means you will get rid of the name & address in Position 1 and add your name & address in Position 3. Type these changes into your Word file of this letter. Print out a copy of the letter and compare it to the Master Copy. Make sure the names & addresses are correct. Put it aside. Look at it again the next day. If it looks good, print 250 copies.
Go out and buy 250 (#10) envelopes and 250 First Class Postage Stamps. If you can afford it, buy the self-sealing (peel & seal) envelopes where you pull the strip and press down to seal the envelope. They are much quicker and easier to deal with than the ones you need to lick (yuck!) or wet. Buy 2 rolls of Forever Stamps (each roll has 100 stamps) and 3 books of 20 Forever Stamps. The rolls are easier to work with.
Finish up by stuffing & sealing envelopes and affixing postage as quickly as you can. Make it a priority. Why? Because successful people do three things: 1) they recognize an opportunity; 2) they take action; and 3) they follow through. So, make success a priority and follow through. We guarantee you will be happy with the results.
Buy 250 names and addresses from Mark Beshara of Excellent Lists (in business since 1980). Tell him you are working with the HandUp Network and need Mark’s Private In-House Lead List on peel & press labels. Mark never sells the same lead twice. All leads are fresh (only a few days old) and responsive (we are getting a 6.7% response rate). Contact: https://www.excellentlists.com; email: mark@excellentlists.com; Phone: 1-352-503-4668; Mail: 5455 S. Suncoast Blvd, Suite 66, Homosassa, FL 34446.
Sowing Without a Computer
Follow the instructions under First Things First above. Then …
You will be making some photocopies, so decide where to go (Staples, Office Depot, local print shop or office supply store) and gather up the following: This letter, a pen, three (3) 2 inch x 4 inch peal & press white shipping labels (which you can buy at the office supply store). On your way to the store buy 250 first-class stamps.
Put the original Donations List on a table top. You are going to use the 2 x 4-inch peel & press white shipping labels to move each person up one position on the list. Take one peel & press label and place it over the name and address in Position 1. Do not cover up the words “Position 1”. The shipping label will fit neatly between the words “Position 1” and “Position 2”, so you are covering up only the name and address of the person under “Position 1”. Take a pen and write the name and address of the person in Position 2 on the label under Position 1. Print neatly so it can be easily read.
Take another peel & press label and place it over the name and address in Position 2. Write the name and address of the person in Position 3 on the label under Position 2.
Take another peel & press label and place it over the name and address in Position 3. Write YOUR name and address on this label.
Take this sheet, put it next to the photocopy of the original Donations List and compare them. The new one you just made should look like the original, except that Position 1’s name and address has been replaced by Position 2’s name and address, and Position 2’s name and address has been replaced by Position 3’s name and address, your name and address is in Position 3, and the Funded Charity on the bottom has been left alone.
Bring all the sheets of this letter together in the correct order (including the new Donations List), bring them to the photocopier and make 250 copies.
Note: You are making copies on both sides of the paper. Most modern copiers can do this, but if you have never done this before, ask the attendant for assistance (it’s better to ask than to waste your time and energy).
Also: It saves time and energy to “catch” each completed letter as it comes out of the copier and organize them. Some people use paper clips to keep the completed letters together. You can also stack them up by alternating portrait and landscape (right angles to each other). You can also bring a large box and put each letter directly into the box as they come out. Do not staple them together.
Buy 250 envelopes. Stuff the envelopes and affix postage. It is better to stuff envelopes and affix postage at the store rather than at home because there are too many distractions at home. And you can drive by the Post Office and mail the letters on your way home! And remember: As you sow, so shall you reap!