“Our standard is giving more than what is expected.”
Hello, and a great September to everyone! The fall time is near here in the northern hemisphere, and spring is certain to arrive in the southern hemisphere soon! A great time of year in both locations indeed! Soon the holidays, including the new year, will be upon us, and we will be reflecting on what we accomplished in 2022.
I have always been one to remind people that we don’t have to wait until the year is ending to reflect on the year; we can do so right now. I also have found that when I reflect on my “accomplishments,” I look at them a little differently than most. This could be because my cheat sheet is the TLC core values.
When most reflect on the accomplishments of the year, they might list things like weight loss, a promotion or raise at work, or maybe a new relationship. Some might list a new home or car purchase or maybe run their first marathon. All of these are great accomplishments indeed, but maybe we should gauge the success of our year not on what we accomplished but rather on what we gave or helped others accomplish.
That’s right, what did you GIVE this year? Many people had accomplishments this year, but a much fewer number of people gave up this year. This is because we have long gauged our personal success based on personal accomplishments. Many of us have been conditioned to think this way in our homes, schools, and our workplaces. I am here to offer a better way this week.
What have you given or helped someone achieve this year? That is how I suggest we gauge our success so far. Have you given your time by volunteering? Have you given your ear to someone who needed to talk? Have you comforted someone by hugging them or visiting them when they were sick or in prison? Did you coach or mentor someone to become greater at something?
Many of you may have answered no to these questions but said to yourselves, “I don’t have time for that; I am too busy trying to be successful,” well, that is what’s holding you back. I have learned that in order to be successful, you can’t focus on yourself. Instead, you need to focus on others. We spend so much time and energy trying to personally succeed that we forget that helping others succeed is actually a better plan. Just give every day!
I like to explain it this way to help it all make sense. If you live a long life, which I wish for you, then you will surely have a list of accomplishments that will be shared with those that attend your funeral, but there is no guarantee that very many will be there to hear them. If you instead live a long life of service and giving unto others, you will surely have many people sharing with others how you impacted their life. This, my friends, is a success!
I don’t mean to bring up dying to explain my point, but the good news is that this is also true now! You can give and impact so many people, or you can focus on you only and impact just you and maybe your family. If you do a really good job at giving to others, you will actually accomplish both! There is an old saying that it’s good to kill two birds with one stone. So go out there and give this year and help others find success, and watch your success come too!
I want you to have a very successful life, but I want you to give others more than they could ever expect because those same people will want nothing more than to see you succeed and help you do it anyway they can! It’s September; we have four months left to go in 2022. There is definitely plenty of time to succeed and plenty of time to give, so let’s go!
I want to truly thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading each week and possibly sharing this message with others. It is my hope that I have inspired you with my words and that you have inspired others in the same way. God bless you and have a great week and make sure you GIVE because the world doesn’t expect it, but it sure does reward it!
