"I do," said Doug.

"Good. Welcome Doug."

"Doug!" everyone shouted.

Janet continued. "Now, let us go around for our 45-second introduction and taglines."

I had no idea I needed to speak at all and my heart rate started to increase. If I ever become famous, I will have a major problem on my hands, as I do not do well with public speaking.

"I'm Michael," the first person said, standing up. "I'm an investment banker. I've been in this chapter for five years and it has generated hundreds of thousands of dollars for me. My promotional tagline is 'Be wealthy and God-loving. Give me your money, and I'll make you more.'"

"Michael!" everyone shouted.

This was proving to be a combination of Alcoholics Anonymous and KKK meetings.

The next person was a Life Coach. I can't speak for all mental health professionals, but many see this discipline as ill defined and poorly monitored by state licensing boards. Some professionals see it as sheer quackery, even more so than a lot of people see therapy.

"I'm Jim, Life Coach. I've been in this chapter for one year, and it's brought me dozens of new referrals. I work mainly with corporate executives helping them realize their goals and the obstacles that impede the path to those goals. When I see a person with a high six-figure income, I help them to get to a seven-figure income. That's what I do; I realize your potential. My tagline is 'When you live with Jim, you live...on purpose.'"

"Jim!"

Janet looked at me next, studied my "Hello, my name is Rob" nametag, and asked me to introduce myself to the group. Nervously, I stood up, accidentally striking my fork with my hand and propelling it halfway across the table.

"I'm...Rob. I'm a Psychologist. I help people with psychological and emotional difficulties through the use of talk and behavior change. I also write a web site. You probably haven't heard of it. It's...informative. I...um...don't have a tagline, or a business suit."

"Make one up now," Janet said.

"Make up a suit?"

"No, a tagline."

"Oh. Um...'Rob Dobrenski is your one-stop mental health shopping warehouse.' Except for medication because that is generally reserved for psychiatrists. And for children under seven. I don't see little children because they are out of my area of expertise. I've also recently had a difficult experience with an elderly patient so maybe I temporarily shouldn't..."

"Thank you Rob," Janet interrupted.

"Rob," the group said, but without any of the verve needed for an exclamation point.

After the introductions were completed, Janet asked people to — while standing of course — give out referrals to the other professionals. The real estate agent gave a list of names to the mortgage banker; the chiropractor got phone numbers from the acupuncturist; the investment banker got a stack of business cards from everyone else who was looking to diversify their portfolio; and so on. When that was completed, Janet spoke.

"Members, I hope you feel good about yourselves. You have given business to others, asking nothing in return, even though you have likely profited from your generosity. Giving is the cornerstone of this group. We do not come here seeking wealth; we come here to give it. And if and when it comes back ten-fold, we must accept it."