Being a life-giver
We all know life-takers–people who impoverish our lives by their negative energy. These are often family and friends we’re kind of stuck with. Obviously, given a choice, we should seek relationships with life-givers, especially when we’re already in a vulnerable situation like unemployment.
To last week’s post on the subject, Tom D. turned the tables and asked how can WE become the life-givers for others. That’s a great question, and I applaud Tom for asking it. Let’s be honest: For most of us m0st of the time, our default mode is WIIFM–What’s In It For Me?
I’ve given this some thought and concluded that it is the on-ramp to a profound life principle. Let me illustrate:
In ancient times wise men throughout Eastern religions and Greek and Roman philosophies agreed on a principle of human conduct that was expressed in Rabbinic Judaism (Hillel) thus: “What is hateful to yourself do not do to someone else.”
Sound familiar? Yes, it’s the Golden Rule, which started out as a negative imperative–thou shalt not. Then along came Jesus Christ, who took it a step further into a positive imperative: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12 NIV).
Humble yourself, and you shall be lifted up. Give, and you shall receive. Etc. Truths so counter-intuitive that they could only come by revelation, and we have to work at grasping their depths.
So, what’s the application for the job search? There’s a lot here to consider. For now, I’ll leave it with the wise words of my friend and career coach Gary Hansen of Inspired Calling:
Let me ask you a key question, “Can your job search actually include serving God’s Kingdom?” The answer is yes, in fact, it must.
STOP asking people, “Can you help me?” or “Can you do me a favor and call …?”
START networking God’s way and simply ask people, “How can I help you?” or “How can I pray for you?” The truth is you can help every single person you meet.
What do you think? Does that provoke some thoughts of your own? It should. We’ll have some more to say about this, too.
Sphere: Related Content
This post reminds me of what has become accepted wisdom in the online marketing world…
Many online marketers have become phenomenally wealthy by giving potential clients/customers RIA – Results In Advance.
The theory is if you can give someone enough free help in terms of ideas and actionable information that will help their business, they will look to you for additional help/information/tools and will buy your products.
There is another model called “Drip Marketing” or “Nurture Marketing”. The theory here is that a business person MUST make at least a dozen ‘deposits’ before they can expect to make a ‘withdrawal”.
The deposits of course, are things that help another person – could be information, a new idea, a new technique, tips, etc.
The withdrawal is a “buy my product” call to action.
Potential customers need to know, like and trust a company or business person before they are likely to buy from them, especially in the online world.
With regards to your unemployment situation, I would sincerely advise you to consider your talents and experience and how you might use them to help others (beyond this blog) and at the same time start a new business for yourself. Blogging is a great way to do that.
There are so many resources online to help people just like you get going in your own online business.
Don’t give up hope! You have within you the seeds and source of a new success!
Comment by Ruby — May 4, 2010 @ 11:41 am