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Growing yourself enables you to grow others

If you are not doing something with your life it does not matter how long it is!

Adding value to other people should be a high priority for leaders in both the profit and nonprofit arena. Benjamin Franklin once wrote, “I would rather have it said ’He lived usefully’ than ‘he died rich.’” 

According to Dr. Jon Van Hornes of the Library Company of Philadelphia stated that Franklin’s philanthropy was what I call a collective nature. His sense of benevolence was aiding his fellow human beings and doing good to society. In fact Franklin’s sense of benevolence was his religion…doing good for mankind was in his sense, divine.”

Gordon MacDonald suggests a series of questions to ask of who encourages us and then become a person who encourages others…

• Who mentors you and offers a baseline of wisdom?
• Who mentors you to aspire to be a better person?
• Who challenges you to think?
• Who cheers you to dream?
• Who cares enough to rebuke you?
• Who is merciful when you fail?
• Who shares the load in pressurized moments without being asked?
• Who brings fun and laughter into your life?
• Who gives you perspective when you become dispirited?
• Who inspires you to seek faithfully after God?
• Who loves you unconditionally?

1. BE GRATEFUL – People who are not grateful are not givers. They rarely think of others – they constantly think of themselves. Zig Ziglar stated that you can get everything in life you want if you help enough people to get what they want.
2. PUT PEOPLE FIRST – Possessions are temporary – people are what really matters.DON’T
3. LET STUFF OWN YOU – Richard Foster writes that owning things is an obsession in our culture. If we own it, we feel it will give us more pleasure.
4. DON’T LET PEOPLE OWN YOU
5. DEFINE SUCCESS AS SOWING, NOT REAPING – Robert Louis Stevenson said “I consider the success of my life based upon the seeds I sow, not the harvest I reap!”
6. FOCUS ON SELF DEVELOPMENT, NOT SELF FULFILLMENT – Self fulfillment thinks of how something serves me. Self-development thinks of how something helps me serve others.
7. KEEP GROWING TO KEEP GIVING – Whenever people stop actively learning and growing, the clock starts to tick down to a time that you will have nothing to give of worth.

The greatest gift you can give to someone is your own personal development – Jim Rohn

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Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!