Giving It All Away...and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously

by David Green, Bill High (With)

Overview

Self-made billionaire David Green, founder of America's craft store giant Hobby Lobby, tells shares the secrets he's learned to building a powerful legacy.

Generosity. It's the foundation for building a lasting legacy not just of money but also of the enduring values of faith, family, and openhanded living. In this book—part memoir, part personal manifesto—David Green shares lessons that can help you reap benefits for multiple generations.

In 1970, Green began making picture frames in his garage. With hard work, he and his wife, Barbara, turned that grassroots beginning into the world's largest privately owned arts-and-crafts retailer, employing thirty-two thousand people in more than seven hundred stores across forty-seven states.

Green's story includes inside details of the 2014 Supreme Court case over Hobby Lobby's right-to-life stance. But it's not all about business. Giving It All Away . . . and Getting It All Back Again changes the paradigm by emphasizing that true wealth is more than money—it's about faith, family, intellectual capital, and spiritual capital.

He has stayed true to this philosophy by adhering to three principles, which he shares in the book:

• Work with all your heart for God, not men
• Hold your plans lightly because you don't know what God has in store
• And consider now what you want your legacy to be

Green sees the life of giving as a life of adventure. But it's a life that pays the best rewards personally, offers a powerful legacy to your family, and changes those you touch.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310347941
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	04/25/2017
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	402,923
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

David Green is the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, the largest privately owned arts and crafts retailer in the world. Hobby Lobby employs over 33,000 people, operates 800 stores in forty-seven states, and grosses more than $5 billion dollars a year. Currently David serves on the Board of Reference for Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2013, he was honored by receiving the World Changer award and is also a past Ernst & Young national retail/consumer Entrepreneur of the Year Award recipient. In 2017, the Green family opened the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.

Bill High practiced law for twelve years before becoming the CEO of The Signatry. His mission is to help others live a life of significance through family, legacy, and generosity. He and his wife, Brooke, have four children, two sons-in-law, and three grandchildren. He can be found at billhigh.com and thesignatry.com.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: A Shared Vision
Thesis: The transfer of wisdom I gained through the lessons learned along my journey. (Introductory)
Punch: A path to success means nothing if not shared.
Chapter 2: The Invisible Legacy
Thesis: The legacies are not made of money alone. The greater part of our legacies is made of invisible things.
Punch: The value of a thing handed down does not depend on its bottom line.
Chapter 3: The Joy of Giving*
Thesis: Giving of our resources, time, and money is a joyful experience.
Punch: We learn the hidden power of joy when we learn to pour into others.
Chapter 4: Journey into Generosity
Thesis: Where Giving Begins
Punch: Generosity does not depend on how much money we have, but the posture of our heart.
Chapter 5: The Nuts and Bolts of Generosity
Thesis: Learn to take first steps towards generous living wherever you are.
Punch: Here’s how generosity looks in my life? How about yours?
Chapter 6: Passing the Torch
Thesis: Timeless principles of work, including the value of character.
Punch: Our life values persevere only when take the time to pass them on well.
Chapter 7: The Rule of Peace
Thesis: We and everything we own is God’s. (SCOTUS)
Punch: Putting my faith where my money is; a chance to show that legacy is more than cash.
Chapter 8: A Company Owned By God
Thesis: God stands with us.
Punch: Hard decisions reveal God’s steadying hand. It’s all God’s: a truth well learned.
Chapter 9: The Art of the Generational Handoff*
Thesis: The “Why” of the plan and how it affects the generation behind us.
Punch: My lived story of daily giving everything away, to God, my family, and the community.
Chapter 10: Staying Rich
Thesis: Realizing that legacy is more than leaving money behind.
Punch: I discovered true wealth encompassed all of life.
Chapter 11: How To Build a Legacy Among Your Kids
Thesis: Practical advice for families about leaving money for your kids.
Punch: Here’s what I learned over the years about building invisible legacy into your family.
Chapter 12: For Such a Time as This
Thesis: Why has God entrusted us with these resources to steward?
Punch: This is my call to action: We need a sense of urgency around God’s priorities concerning the resources we’ve been given.

Editorial Reviews

04/10/2017
Green (More Than a Hobby) channels his formidable business acumen into this practical guide to living a life of generosity—the kind that returns to the giver in great abundance. Green’s basic concept is simple: share your blessings, and many blessings will be returned to you. Readers will recognize the author as the founder of Hobby Lobby, a company that made national headlines when it challenged the federal government’s requirement to provide abortion-inducing drugs to employees who desire them. As a committed evangelical, Green argued that such coverage would be contrary to his Christian ideals. The Supreme Court sided with Hobby Lobby, setting a precedent that delighted religious institutions nationwide and taught Green a lot about standing by one’s convictions. Green fills out this brief treatise with ideas on how to adopt a loving and giving attitude. His many suggestions, down-to-earth tone, and relatable counsel will surely be welcomed by Christian readers who have struggled with ways to reach out to those in need. Agent: Christopher Ferebee, Christopher Ferebee Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

This book is a compelling case for radical generosity borne out of personal experience. Read it. It is practical, inspiring, and challenging.

J. Frank Harrison III

I’ve long known of the Green family and their extraordinary generosity. I also know that when a man like David Green writes a book, I want to read it cover to cover.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez

To me, David Green is truly a hero of the faith. It is a privilege to recommend this book, which reflects the proper perspective on stewarding what God has entrusted to each of us. May each of us follow his example.

Ron Blue

David Green has publicly taken courageous moral stands with Hobby Lobby, a company he founded, but which he knows belongs to God. I loved this wonderful book of wise and integrity-permeated perspectives on God-honoring values in the workplace, enduring family legacies, and the heartfelt joy and enduring rewards of giving.

Randy Alcorn

I can think of few people living out the idea of biblical generosity like David. The values expressed in this book are timeless because they are biblical. I commend this book to all seeking to leave their family’s legacy for generations to come.

Chris Holdorf

This book shares one man’s story of learning to live with an open hand and the blessings of a God who is faithful and extravagantly generous. You will find wisdom that comes from walking in everyday decisions that lead to the peace and security of God’s plan to give it all away.

Lee Truax

This book lays out tested biblical principles for family legacy and wealth management based on real life examples from the Green family. Your business and your family will be the beneficiaries of their strong thinking.

Greg Leith

We tend to overestimate what we can achieve in short periods of time and underestimate what God can do with a man or woman over a lifetime. Look at the principles, lessons, disciplines, and results of David Green’s life and be inspired to trust God!

Dr. Roy L. Peterson

This is a landmark book on the delight and joy of generous giving. May it ignite a massive movement of lavish generosity with eternity in view! David Green gets it. (And he gives it away!)

Dick Eastman

By any measure, David Green is a successful businessman. But much more important, David is a faithful man and a generous man, because he sees life with an eternal perspective. He understands that God entrusts us with his resources to do his work here on earth, for the purposes of heaven. This is an inspiring and challenging book that has the potential to change the way you look at everything you do.

Jim Daly

David Green has lived out his true calling to lead a company owned by God and for God’s glory. The way of living generously comes from humble life lessons. David not only learned these critical lessons but applies them daily in all aspects of his life.

Terence Chatmon

I am honored to give my unreserved endorsement to this wonderful book! I believe it will become a classic and treasured work and an inspiration for countless others. I read it with great joy and will recommend it to our team and members as soon as it is available.

Buck Jacobs

David Green’s new book is hands down the most amazing story about giving I’ve ever read. Get ready to be blessed as you read this power-packed book sure to inspire you to embrace a life of extravagant generosity.

Craig Groeschel

Because of his faith and generosity, David Green has changed the world. His love and friendship have changed our ministry. His story will change your walk with God.

Dr. David Jeremiah

If you want to be smart, you find out what smart people do and imitate that. And I’ve known David Green long enough to understand that he is worth imitating. His business wisdom is surpassed only by his integrity and faith. This book reflects David at his very best.

bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio Dave Ramsey

David Green’s remarkable story of building a business and then making its assets available to the kingdom of God involves an unswerving commitment of stewardship over the wealth God has entrusted to him. This book will inspire you to do as Jesus said: “Seek first his kingdom.

Dr. George O. Wood

David Green shares the biblical principles that guide his family’s radical generosity. Candid and compelling, this book will change the way you look at your possessions and inspire you to believe God for opportunities to give more away.

Hal Donaldson

Wealth is found in our families through the values transferred from one generation to the next. David Green has demonstrated not only to his own family but to the family of believers worldwide how we can all be truly wealthy only by giving it all away.

Paul Weber

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