Donna BrownFounder, The Business Design Studio

BIZ BITES with DONNA BROWN: RECEIVING AS A PILLAR OF YOUR BUSINESS

28 Jan 2017 · 3 min

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2:55

In this solo talk, Donna Brown challenges the cultural shame surrounding receiving and argues that the ability to receive is a fundamental pillar for entrepreneurial success. She explains that Western norms often equate giving with virtue and view receiving as guilt‑inducing, yet receiving is simply an exchange of energy that fuels abundance. Brown expands the definition of wealth beyond money to include ideas, affection, and opportunities, asserting that an open, abundant mindset allows entrepreneurs to attract unlimited resources. She links self‑care and self‑love to the capacity to receive, emphasizing that recognizing one’s worthiness unlocks the flow of resources. Using the metaphor of a bountiful harvest, she illustrates the reciprocity cycle: the more one receives, the more one can give, creating a natural, sustainable cycle of generosity. The talk concludes with a call to action for entrepreneurs to consciously prepare for and embrace receiving, positioning it as essential for business growth and the ability to give back.

Chapters

There's something almost counterintuitive about receiving as far as entrepreneurs go. Western culture really has taught us a lot of shame about receiving in the sense that there's usually a lot of guilt about having a lot or receiving a lot. Where there could be nothing further from the truth. It's really just an exchange of energy of what you're giving out and what you receive. And the ability to receive will, in a way that you probably don't even understand or can only intuit in some way, will determine your success. We have to be able to receive everything that the universe and that our clients and that society has for us, whatever you want to call it. But that allowing of abundance and ideas and affection and all— and success, whatever you wish to call it— all these different elements to create what is what I consider wealth, which really isn't just money. Or you can be very wealthy with no money at all. But to me, this act of receiving is something that we're generally not There's the famous expression, it's better to give than to receive. So we've always felt that we're better people if we give rather than receiving. But you can, you can only give if you have something to give. If you never receive, at a certain point you'll run out of things to give because you're emptying yourself out. That's why there's so much emphasis on self-care, which can be interpreted or misinterpreted, but really this act of self-love. And realizing that we are worthy of— that we're all worthy, every person is worthy of receiving unlimited resources, attention, success, whatever it is they desire. So to remove any kind of judgment about the fact that you're receiving, whatever our backstories are, to me is a key to making your business more successful. And the more you receive, the more you're able to give. So just think of a really abundant harvest. If anybody has a vegetable garden or a fruit tree of some kind and there's that bumper crop, the first thing we do is start giving it away to people. So the more we receive, the more we're able to give. It's really just a natural state for us. So be prepared to receive, be open to receiving, and you'll— and from there— You'll be able to give so much more.