Paying it Forward
How one cup of coffee could change the world
Sandi Mann
HarperTrueFate
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London SE1 9GF
First published by HarperTrueFate 2015
FIRST EDITION
Text © Sandi Mann 2015
Cover photo © Shutterstock.com 2015
Cover layout © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015
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Sandi Mann asserts the moral right to
be identified as the author of this work
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Ebook Edition © September 2015 ISBN: 9780008144418
Version 2015-09-03
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'This book is full of heart-warming, real-life examples of paying it forward that will inspire and motivate you to do the same.'
Charley Johnson, President of the Pay It Forward Foundation
Contents
Paying it Forward: How it All Started for Me
Chapter 1: Paying it Forward – What’s it All About?
Chapter 2: Why Giving Feels Good
Chapter 3: The Power (and Discomfort) of Gratitude
Chapter 4: Selfish or Selfless?
Chapter 5: Goodwill Un-Chained
Chapter 6: Trying it Out – My Story
Chapter 7: For the Good of God? How Religious Communities Have Been Paying it Forward for Years
Chapter 8: How We Can All Make a Difference
Paying it Forward: How it All Started for Me
Prior to 2 February 2013 I, like many people, had never heard of the concept of paying it forward. All this changed when a friend in America posted on Facebook her experience of being bought a coffee as part of a pay-it-forward campaign. I was intrigued, and wrote a blog on this for the Huffington Post. The blog received over 2,000 ‘Likes’ and nearly 300 shares and is still being shared and read today. Clearly this is a topic that resonates with a lot of people – including me. I was hooked.
This book has been borne from this one cup of coffee that my friend Debbie was treated to. It is the story of the psychology of altruism and kindness, and it’s also my story, for I couldn’t research PIF without trying it out for myself. It has changed my world; I hope it changes yours, too.
Paying it forward is the one thing on this planet that all 7.1 billion people can participate in. The one thing that allows anyone, no matter what their age, race, religious beliefs or where they live, the ability to make someone’s day better. It can be a family member, a friend, a stranger, a customer, maybe someone you see all the time at the gym – whoever you choose. It can happen whenever you want it to; there will never be a shortage of people who need help or even a little cheering up. It doesn’t need to involve money – all the pay-it-forwards that Sandi Mann carries out in the last chapter cost less than the price of this book. It doesn’t need to make you feel uncomfortable and it can be done for any reason. This world needs more goodness in it, and any reason – no matter what that is – is a good reason.
Goodness