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I read the following in Word for Today and it really made me think about life’s purpose and the achievement of a content and fulfilled life.
Unselfishness does three things for you:
It improves the quality of your life. It gives you an appreciation for life and a comprehension of its higher values. Seeing people in need and giving to meet those needs sets a lot of things into perspective.
One leader writes: ‘There is no life as empty as the self-centred life. There is no life as centred as the self-empty life.’ If you want to enhance your world, focus your attention on assisting others.
It makes you part of something greater than yourself. In the mid-1980s, Merck & Company, the global pharmaceutical corporation, developed a medication to cure river blindness, a disease that infects and causes blindness in millions of people, mainly in developing countries.
While it was a good product, potential customers couldn’t afford it. So, what did Merck do? It produced the drug anyway and announced that it would give it free to anyone who needed it. As a result, they gave away more than 250 million tablets.
George W. Merck says, ‘We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It’s not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear.’ The lesson to learn? Simple. Instead of attempting to be great, be part of something greater than yourself.
It creates a legacy. Jack Balousek, former president of True North Communications, said, ‘Learn, earn, return – these are the three phases of life.’ When you think unselfishly and invest in others, you gain the opportunity to create a legacy that will outlive you. And that should be your goal.
Wise words
Very wise words indeed. I have noticed that many wealthy people are doing exactly this. Bill Gates has committed billions of dollars to eradicate Polio across the world and as he spent a few years away from frontline business his wealth doubled.
It has been a wonderful week this week with the opportunity to run my full day Mental Resilience Masterclass for leaders at Fisher German Property Consultants on behalf of PDW Group. This was an excellent group who engaged so well and made the day so enjoyable.
NEBOSH
I then had the opportunity to deliver my Mental Resilience Keynote talk to the staff at NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) at their annual conference. This was a fantastic experience, and we are in discussions to work together in the future.
I want to personally thank CEO Dr Chris Payne who booked me for this event. We go back a long way, and we have both changed roles over these years. Chris and his staff are doing an amazing job at NEBOSH and I am very excited to be involved with them moving forward.
The joy is seeing lives change
The joy I receive from what I do is to see people’s lives change for the better and to see their ability to cope with adversity improve. That is my main focus and there is no better feeling in the world than to receive an email from someone whose life has been changed forever.
It is amazing to be on the road again and I am loving the interaction of face-to-face meetings. It is so good to be eating in restaurants without face masks and I can really feel life coming back to some sort of normality.
Giving without getting anything back
Without giving any details I am helping someone in need in a specific way which involves quite a bit of logistical planning and time. We are meeting today about an hour from my house so I can take him to lunch and to give him something in preparation for the thing I am planning for him. I will be spending some time with him in a couple of weeks.
He thinks we are going for a meal and chat and doesn’t know about the surprise I am giving him today.
I am actually very excited about meeting him today and seeing his face when I surprise him. The actual treat is in a couple of weeks, but this will help him enjoy the thing I am planning in a couple of weeks.
What I am trying to say in a roundabout way is that when you do something for someone without getting anything in return you experience feelings and emotions you can’t experience any other way and those feelings are amazing.
Thoughts for the week
- What makes you happy and full of joy?
- Have you experienced the joy of helping someone?
- You don’t have to wait until you have made loads of money before you can help someone. You can do something right now.
Well that’s it for this week have a wonderful weekend and make a difference.
Warm regards
John
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