For most of my life I didn't really know how to accept help or gifts. Sure, I'd say thank you, but then I felt like I owed the other person something. in some ways I still do, but now I see the bigger picture. We all need help. So we should all be willing to help others. What a lot of people get caught up in is quid pro quo - something for something else. Trading one thing for another. A favor for a favor. Keep count and make sure you're never owing someone something. Sometimes it's good to have others "owe" you so that you can call in a favor in the future. But that's mercenary thinking. What I've come to realize is that the way the world really works is this: The more you help others, the more they help you. It doesn't matter as much who you help or who helps you back. Being the kind of person that helps others without expecting a direct and equivalent value return is much more important. Help. Give. Assist. Share your knowledge. And it all comes back in much bigger and unexpected ways. You never know who someone knows (you can't count on LinkedIn for accurate information with lots of fake friends). The little things you do for someone could end up generating the connection of your dreams because people talk.   People talk about selfless givers, "Wow, Bob just helped me with... That was a big deal." People talk about selfish givers, "Bob helped me, but I could tell that he's ready to cash it in and try to sell me something I don't need." People talk about non-givers, "I asked Bob if he [...]