My uncle is one of those rare people who spends most of his energy doing things for other people. During motorcycle road trips with my dad and brother, he wakes up early each day and cleans all of their bikes before they hit the road. When we visit him at Christmas, he’s got miniature trees in our rooms that he’s taken the time to decorate. And his wife is never without a heartwarming story about some thoughtful gesture he made to her recently. He’s a generous, thoughtful, genuinely nice guy who never asks or seems to expect anything in return.

I once commented to him how remarkable it is that he so consistently manages to think about and do things for other people. His reply:

“It comes back to me.”

There are a dozen clichés I could use here like, “The more you give, the more you get.” But sentiments often become overused because they’re true. And this is one of those cases.

The more you do for people, groups, causes, institutions, or others that you care about without expecting anything in return, the more you tend to get back. That’s why college applicants who generously commit their time and energy to a non-profit, their hockey teammates, their fellow club members, their family , their co-workers, etc.—and do so without ever asking what kind of college admissions return they’ll get on their investment—always get more personal reward, recognition, and even college acceptances back.

The moment you don’t expect anything in return is usually when it comes back.