I can't ignore my own needs while helping others. I actually put more people in my debt when I give things away than at any other time. "What?" you say. "You give so you can get something back?" Not exactly. I don't give just to throw my money away. What I give should be placed so that even though I can't demand it back, it might still come back to me. A favor should be invested like treasure buried deep in the ground — treasure you wouldn't dig up unless you really had to.
I cannot be neglecting my own interests while I am doing this: at no time do I make more people in my debt than when I am giving things away. "What?" say you, "do you give that you may receive again?" At any rate I do not give that I may throw my bounty away: what I give should be so placed that although I cannot ask for its return, yet it may be given back to me. A benefit should be invested in the same manner as a treasure buried deep in the earth, which you would not dig up unless actually obliged.