Do You Want to Live a Better Life?
A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats
Whether you’re a millionaire who wants to be a billionaire or someone who is struggling to stay alive, we all want the same thing:
We all want a better life.
The toughest part of this statement to grasp is the word “better.”
What exactly does better mean?
Well, it depends who you ask.
To some, a better life means more money, friends, or frequent flier miles. To others, finding a job that fulfills them would be more than enough.
After fumbling through the process of creating my own path, a better life for me is one in which I’m get to actively carry out my personal mission:
To create a smaller world connected by ideas.
I know, I know. This sounds like a junior copywriter’s weak attempt to craft a vision statement for a corporate website.
That doesn’t make it any less true.
In my mind, connecting people with shared ideas will eventually allow them to pursue their own path. All I want to do is help make the process a little more accessible.
Not by charging insane amounts of money for online courses, e-books, or life coaching, but by sharing personal insight and actionable advice.
Over the years, I’ve noticed that one thing has me led to live a better life more so than anything else:
I always aim to be the most helpful person in any room.
Notice how I didn’t say smartest, hardest working, or best looking — these things help in the short-term, but they don’t always translate into a better life down the road.
On the other hand, being helpful might not seem beneficial right away, but it pays dividends in the long-term.
When you pave the way for others to succeed, others notice.
The hardest part is adopting the right mindset. After all, we’ve been hardwired for self-preservation for hundreds of thousands of years, so why would we want to put others before ourselves?
Well, a rising tide lifts all boats in any situation.
Do you want to work your way up the corporate ladder?
Help your boss or manager by making their job easier and they will take note.
Looking for a way to start your own business?
Focus on creating a product or service that truly helps others and the money will eventually come.
Are you building an audience around your writing?
Promote the work of other writers you respect and they will return the favor.
As you can see, it’s possible to be helpful in almost any situation as long as you let those initial survival instincts pass.
Helping others may not help you in the short-term, but you might be surprised with where it takes you in the future.
William Frazier is a designer, writer, founder, and productive fumbler who blogs about making ideas happen at The Imperfectionist. He’s also on Twitter.
