Success is a good thing, assuming you come by it honorably. Personally, I don’t consider someone successful in life if they don’t live honorably. And honor is always based in some way on helping others.
Success that is achieved honorably—by helping others—is cumulative.
One success leads to another. Your life just keeps getting better and better as you age. It’s a great way to live.
By the time you die, you have earned the respect of others, have deep and satisfying relationships, few regrets, and enough money to be able to pass some on to those you love.
The alternative isn’t much fun.
You are not honorable if you hurt others on your way up; if you break hearts and laws; and if you are selfish and demanding. Yes, there are plenty of examples of selfish people who make money, but they tend to do it in industries where the main driver is ego rather than helpfulness.
In our daily lives, if we look all around us, we can see that real people working in real jobs can’t afford to be self-centered. They need to be helpful in order to succeed.
Imagine going into a store and the gal at the cash register acts like a stuck-up celebrity. Imagine being tended by a nurse at the hospital who is more concerned about the state of his hair than changing your bedpan.
We’ve all seen celebrities who earn ridiculous amounts of money fritter it all away on drugs and material possessions—and who can’t stay in a relationship more than a few years. That’s not real success. That’s sad and wasteful, and hurtful to those who have tried to love them.
There are many, many people in the world who have come by their wealth by helping other people; they do it by being responsible; by working hard; and by caring for those they love.
In my experience, contrary to what we see on the airwaves every day, this is the norm—not the exception. It is truly the very foundation on which peaceful and productive societies are built. When people aren’t fighting each other, they’re helping each other.
Doing business is just another form of helping someone, except that the person you’re helping is willing to give you money for your help.
If you want to make more money in your life, and be happier while living, I highly recommend looking for ways to help people.
As I have said for many years, I help people all day long; some of them even pay me. 🙂