Last week, I wrote a post about XR.com, the URL shortening service launched by Richard Lau. Despite what some comments in the post claimed, that post was not a paid review. Richard emailed me about his service and asked me to help him get some feedback. I didn’t know who Richard Lau was. I figured he was a struggling entrepreneur trying to get his business off the ground on a shoestring budget. I mean, the XR.com blog is hosted by Blogspot!
It turns out that Richard Lau is a pretty big guy in the domain industry. He was named 2004 “Domainer of the Year” and has generated millions of dollars in revenue in the domain industry. I didn’t know any of this at the time. I was just helping out a fellow entrepreneur. So, imagine my surprise when the FedEx man showed up at my doorsteps a few days ago with a check from Richard for $5,000! This is the second highest amount I’ve ever been given for writing a free “pay it forward” post. The last time, I received $10,000.
Paying It Forward Again
With the holidays around the corner, I’ve decided that the best way to use the money is to pay it forward again. With that in mind, I donated the $5,000 to the Union Gospel Mission for their 68th annual Christmas Dinner drive.
Challenging My Readers To Pay It Forward
I’m challenging my readers to match the $5,000 donation to the UGM. In the past, I’ve asked you to donate and I would match your donation. This time, I’ve made the donation and now I’m asking you to match it so we can bring the total donation to $10,000.
A complete Christmas meal cost only $3.29. I think this is an amount we call all afford. Make a donation at the UGM online donation page, then email me a copy of the receipt to johnchow @ johnchow.com. Feel free to leave a comment about your donation as well.
All readers making donations will be recognized in a blog post next Wednesday. If you have a website or blog, I will link to it. If you think about it, this is a pretty inexpensive way to get a link on John Chow dot Com. 
I would really appreciate it if you could help me spread the word about the UGM Christmas Dinner drive via blog post, twitter, IM, social media, etc. The meals and other services we provide can be the start of a new life and new beginning for those in need.
Paying it forward does amazing things. I am where I am today because I know that in order to receive any blessings in life, you must first give. The more you give, the more you receive. Whatever you pay forward will be return to you ten folds. It doesn’t make sense, but it’s true.
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{ 57 comments }
whats the name of that movie about this? was it called “paying it forward” lol? anyway, nice post, this is the stuff i dont mind you straying from mmo for
Nice gesture, John! I bet UGM is very appreciative of the contributions you help bring them.
Pay it forward, best advice a man can get.
Awesome John, very nice to hear it.
Yeah.. Philantrophist on the run again.
Wow that’s tight. When I lived in Key West . I was always amazed at when I helped someone I always got so much in return. Put me down for 25. I wish I had more.I’m just getting things rolling and this is a path I’d like to take. I’ll have the receipt sent
Thanks
PS matter a fact I’ll make it 32.90, I ate at places like that before not to long ago in fact
and I mean as a client so it will be nice to give a little something back
Now you have me thinking I have to do something similar on my blog for XMAS
Pay it forward was corny but a cool movie non the less
Thanks John
thats very nice of you
John is always very nice.. right?
I think it’s great that you and the other guys went down to the UGM today John. Very respectable.
Thats awesome.. He seems a good guy and you seems much gooder them him by donating the money.
I am donating some and will mail you.
Great work john,, Keep up the spirit
That’s great, good job, its very nice to know that there is still some good people around.
I donated, thanks John
Me too, a very small amount, but I guess everything counts!
Same here.. its the thought that counts!
Men like Richard Lau are rare! Sometimes I am so cynical, and I think you would be lucky to get a fruit basket from someone you helped like that. An email thank you, sure. But $5K?
Rarer still is you passing it on to the mission, you are a dot com mogul with a heart.
Good to see you giving back, as you have blessed financially beyond belief John. I will be making a donation this weekend to both UGM and my local charity here
You kid looks Beautiful
Congratulations you did a nice gesture
What could have been an awesome idea is to run a competition on your blog where your readers can win the $5,000 but they HAVE to donate it to a charity of your choice. This would be a great idea and would mean loads of exposure for you.
he already is well known. Does not need any backlink caz he is banned on google
and also contest means more time its good to give to charity straight away and move on 
You kid looks Beautiful
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It’s nice to know that there is still some good people around. I will be making a donation this weekend
nice..Thanks Mr. Chow for giving away..
That is mighty decent of you.
And pardon me for asking this as I am somewhat new here, but is the kid in your lap yours? Cute
Although a lot of people start their own businesses to live their life on their own terms, they sometimes do not define their own terms! Giving back to people, and in such a fashion, is a personal commitment that MUST be part of one’s whole personality.
Good going Mr. Chow. God bless, and good luck with your conquests and queries,
M.
You have a very kind heart John. Keep it up. Good karma is just a corner away.
This is great! Helping other people is always good!
I did pay it forward!!!! Great to help someone!
Made my donation glad to help people that are in need this Christmas. John your doing good cause going to do my best to get the word out so you can raise far beyond your goals for the Union Gospel Mission Everyone twitter this blog post IM it to your friend’s do anything to get the word out!
when i get my ad money i hope i will have money to help.
Nicely done! To me, this highlights one of the fundamental reasons for the worldwide economic crunch we’re seeing right now – the greed that has become the standard for so many businesses with little thought about how to give back when you’ve been blessed with success.
Wouldn’t it be cool if what you’ve just done was no big deal, but rather just becomes the normal behaviour that we all did?
Nice going. I already support some charities & will definitely help out with this one.
This is a great story, congratulations. It’s definitely Karma.
Dang John, people might as well throw money at you! lol
-Mike
You are doing good stuff for the community ..keep up the good work
Great! Just donated.
Keep up the good work!
Another way to help!! The XO laptop by OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) program is available. For $399 you get a laptop and you send 1 to a child in a poor country.
more at: http://www.bangbam.org/2008/11/xo-laptop-from-olpc-available-at-amazon.html
Hi John.
Great cause. I will donate and spread the word thru my blogs.
Thanks
Lew
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http://www.fln50.com
http://www.comicseye.com
Just donated John.
Lew
The video itself is very heartwarming..
There will be no Twitter shout out at Dot Com Pho tomorrow. Instead, I will be sending a shout out to everyone who made a donation to the UGM.
Charity starts in the home…
Great job…keep up the good work
Weird. I was just watching the movie “Pay it Forward” a few hours ago…
You did a really decent thing here, John. Many people (including me, LOL) would have just taken the $5K and bought something with it.
Here’s something I always like to remember: “Always give more than you receive”
Great! John. I liked the phrace ” The more you give, The more you receive” It is a fact. More rewards are awaiting for you by GOD.
Hi John! Of course, I had to donate… It’s a charity near and dear to my heart, and I would have donated anyhow… But chose to donate to help you reach your goal. Thanks so much for highlighting this awesome cause — I’ll blog about your goal early next week as well.
You rock, as usual!!
This is a superb idea. And thank you to opening my eyes to this charity.
Bests,
JohnC
Happy to help meet your challenge. Donation made.
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Buildify is also happy to help you reach your goal… Awesome goodwill…
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It is a great feeling when you can do a thing like that. Donate money to a charity and feel proud the same time of your acomplishments and hard work that caused the money to come.
I just donated as well John. I’m looking forward to your follow-up story letting everyone know how much was donated due to your efforts.
The donation is done. Thanks again for making us aware of this opportunity to help others. We can make a difference!
Can you pay it forward it to me too ??
I want to buy a car
Pay it forward
– Great movie great advice
i guess, you have a good point.
Paying it forward is an interesting expression. Recently I read about another called GPT … Get Paid Today. The proponents of this state that MLM is dead (which is probably true for all but the well established) and they talk about people wanting immediate money, not money in five years time.
Makes sense to me, so I had a look and there’s an interesting video that explains what is wrong with MLM and this new approach in the tour at http://tinyurl.com/6z2f9l Unfortunately, you’ve got to give your email address etc to see the video, but you can always unsubscribe afterwards.
I’ve tried MLM and I must admit that it never did much for me.
Robin
It is good to paying it forward…i alway believe the more you give, the more you would receive….