The People We Help
Greetings friends, family, and readers. It’s been a very busy month for me, so I wanted to update you on what’s going on, and share an idea I’ve been thinking about lately.
The biggest update since I last posted here is that I’m moving! Where am I moving? As it so happens, my new place is only three blocks from my old apartment and I’m moving in with my beautiful girlfriend, Diana. This is our first place together and it’s a very exciting time in my personal life.
That brings me to the idea I wanted to share. We couldn’t have moved to our new apartment without lots of help from our friends. It dawned on me then, that every day we answer the question: “Who am I going to help today?” Some people will spend the most time helping their bosses and colleagues at work. Others, might be nursing elderly family members. Or some, might just decide to be a good samaritan and help a total stranger in need.
The observation I’ve made is that the people we help, are the same people who bring meaning to our lives. A recent video from actor Will Smith gives the following definition, “Love is help. Everybody is having a hard time and love is a devotion to helping them through their struggle.” Helping your colleagues and company shows that you love your work and your career. Helping your friends and family is evidence of your love for their wellbeing.
If you want to answer one of life’s bigger questions, “What should I do with my life?” I think people ought to instead ask, “Who do I want to help?”. After all, we are all serving someone, even if that person is ourselves.
Getting good at helping other people isn’t usually regarded as a skill. Yet, I’d argue that helping people at scale is surely a way to success. If you want to make an impact, improve lives, be a leader, or become famous, don’t think you can get there without helping others.
The people we help are the people we love. Thank you for your continued readership and comments. This might be my last post in 2018, so I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and think about who you want to help in the coming year ahead.