Measuring Up

As we enter a new year, have you assessed where you are and where you need to go?  Has success been eluding you?  Are you where you thought you would be at this point in your life?  It’s a common feeling.  So don’t let it hit you hard because you are not the only one thinking that way.
A lot of times its just a little change in focus that can make the difference for you.  There is a secret to it and here it is.

ADD VALUE DAILY!

Albert Einstein said,

“try not to be a success in life, simply try to be a person of value.”  

How do you be a person of value?  You do what John Maxwell says;

if you want to feel valuable, add value to other people.

The more you focus on adding value to other people on a daily basis, then you don’t worry so much about where you are or whether you are measuring up because you are making a difference in the lives of other people.  It also makes you change you way of measuring.  You define success differently.

Adding Value

So here’s a few steps you can employ to help move in that direction and add value to other people:
  1. LOOK LOCAL FIRST. A lot of times people worry about what’s going on elsewhere on the other side of the world but there are a lot of things going on right now in your own backyard where you can make a difference.  Your home, for instance.  Adding value to your spouse or to your children.  Adding value to your co-workers in the office or your boss.  Adding value in your daily encounters with other people as you go through the day; the people who work in the grocery store, the people who handle your dry cleaning.  All of these people are looking for someone to add value to them and you can be that person.
  2. CARE ABOUT PEOPLE.  Focus on what you give to other people and that will make a huge difference in the world.
  3. EXPRESS GRATITUDE.  Express gratitude to people for what they have done for you.  To the person who takes your money at the grocery store, express gratitude for the work they do.

Enter the Holidays!

Well, we’ve come up on that time of year where people the world over are celebrating this great event:  Christmas. Even people who aren’t particularly faithful will celebrate Christmas.  We give gifts, we buy gifts for others, we receive gifts from others, we spend a lot of time with family.  And we celebrate Christmas because of the importance of the event and what it means to us; even people who don’t follow it very strongly really understand what Christmas is all about.
Most of us, at least, take a break from our daily working and driving to success to get in a little down-time and relax.  Still there are many that can’t (or mostly won’t) even take a break for one day.  The entrepreneurial mantra is that you are working every day, even on holidays.

Questioning Your Motives

But one question to ask yourself is WHY.
  • WHY are you sacrificing relationships for your work?
  • WHY are willing to put everything else aside to achieve your goal?
  • WHY is it important?
  • WHY are you not able to take a brief respite from driving towards success?
And then one big WHAT question to ask:
  • WHAT is the REAL reason you are driven to meet your goal or achieve success?

Is it to serve yourself or to serve others?  Is it out of deep caring and concern or a need for personal achievement?

I have written before about self-fulfillment motives versus being motivated by the service you  provide.  The key to focusing on serving others is to really, sincerely care for others and believe in others and seek to add value to others.

At the core, what we do has to apply a little bit of the REAL meaning of Christmas to the rest of our lives.

See, at the core, what Christmas is really all about is LOVE!  It’s about how we love others!  How we care for them and nurture them and seek to help them achieve their best.
And this is the opportunity that our purpose presents to us:  the opportunity to love others.  To put the focus on other people in our daily activities – not just once a year but throughout the year – so we can care for them and add value to them.
So here’s a few things that I want you to take from this holiday season apply throughout your life and the coming year to share that love.
  1. Do something for someone else who can never pay you back.  Focus on that, look to do that daily; something for someone who can never pay you back.  That’s what love really means; when you don’t expect a reward or a payback, what can you do for others.
  2. Take time out to appreciate the gift of everyone you encounter.  What’s special about the people you spend your time and relationships with?  Tell them.  Tell them what they mean to you and that will make a world of difference to them!
  3. Look around you and appreciate the LOVE that the creator has shown you by surrounding you with blessings!  Even when you don’t necessarily see them.

You have to see value to add value.  That takes time and reflection.  Focus on the value around you and the opportunity to make it every greater.

That’s your success in 2014!