365 Lessons-Lesson 102: Live your Life with the Purpose of Doing Good for Yourself and Others

The more you focus on helping others, the more you will succeed in reaching your own goals. Helping others is the most direct and effective way to reach your goals in your personal relationships, at work, and in your community. There is no better or more rewarding purpose you can find each day, and no more practical tool for getting where you want to go.
-Peter S. Temes

My husband likes to get movies and books from the library. They are free, so why not? He rides his bike down to a branch of the Seattle Public Library near our house and loads up. The other day he brought home the book The Power of Purpose: Living Well by Doing Good by Peter S. Temes.

I haven't read the entire book, but it's one of those books you can pick up and flip to a particular chapter of interest and get so much out of it. In the preface, the writer talks about landing a job at Harvard University as a junior professor. He was so happy to be working there. The prestige of it all! But his salary as a junior professor at the time barely covered what was needed for his family.

He started thinking about all the things he wouldn't get to do with his daughters. It was hard to make ends meet. He decided to give up his prestigious title and do business consulting. He set a goal to make one million dollars in three years. This may seem a bit lofty to most people, but he was determined. He put all his business skills to use and started consulting businesses like Goldman Sachs, Citicorp and Ernest and Young.

Within three years, he had well over a million dollars, just like he said he would. He then put his next plan into action. He got rid of all his clients.

Now you might be saying, "What?" or "Why did he do that?"

Because all along he only wanted to make money for two reasons: to help his family and to help other people.

He devoted the rest of his time to teaching, writing and nonprofit work.

I'm am amazed by this book. It agrees so much with what I have always thought. That we are all connected and when we help each other, we help ourselves. Of course, if we are not good ourselves, it will be very difficult to help others.

First we have to make ourselves very strong. We have to devote all our time to building up a healthy body, mind and spirit. Once we are strong, there is no end to what we can do for this world.

Step by step, if you are committed to first taking care of yourself, you will eventually build up enough strength to expand the energy you have outward.

If you find yourself right now in an unhealthy situation, what are the steps you can take to make yourself strong? They don't have to be big steps, just steps. It's helpful if you can make these steps each day.

If you understand that by making yourself happy and healthy, others will see this and see a change in you and will want to be good too. You are setting a great example for others. Just by helping yourself, you are helping all those around you.

Once you are strong enough and you feel happy where you are in your body, mind, spirit, work and relationships, you can start by generating this energy outward to all those around you. You will start to find opportunities to help others without even looking for them. If your reasons behind your goals are to help yourself and help others in a positive way, than you will be successful.

Just this very thought is success in itself. You are well on your way!!!!