[sillysaurusx]

By the way, I was always pretty good about step one. The reason I’m decent at raising money for various causes is because I never have my hopes up to begin with. It always astonishes me that people are willing to, and I end up feeling grateful and take the responsibility seriously. This turns out to have protected me from the worst effects of seeking money: when people end up feeling entitled because you worked so hard and therefore you deserve it. I’ve seen this firsthand in various people in my life (especially one particular extended family member) and they ended up feeling crushed when their hopes didn’t work out. Don’t do that either.