Helping others as the key to your success

Particularly if you’re in a competitive environment, it’s can be easy to overlook the impact that helping others can have on your success.

Zig Ziglar famously said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

So let’s have a look at a few good reasons why helping others should be part of your personal success strategy…

A rising tide lifts all boats

Imagine a boat stuck on the beach at low tide, trying to get free by hoisting its own sail… think that be ridiculous?
The fact is, until there is enough water to float what we want, it’s not happening…
An outward focus, that looks to make a contribution to others, helps raise the tide for everyone.
Put simply, to stay off the beach, be someone who helps others float.

You learn things from helping others

One of the great things about helping others is, that you often get behind the scenes perspective on what’s really required to get the job done.
For example, if you want to run your own events, the fastest way to learn what you’ll need to know, is to help others run their events… it could even save you from make a few costly mistakes of your own, quickly giving you a return on the time you invested helping them.

Helping others makes you ready to understand the need of receiving help from others

One thing that I’ve learned in various projects is to never underestimate my ability to underestimate. Being quick to help others is the fastest way to develop a more measured understanding of the need to work as a team, and be ready to seek out assistance sooner (I think they call that wisdom).

Of course, when you’ve helped others, finding help from others becomes a little easier too.

More gets done when you help

Competition looks to limit the field, whereas help, assistance and collaboration look to create an environment of greater possibility and achievement.
Have you ever noticed that most successful investors look for the right company they can help, versus trying to just invest in their own projects?
There is a leveraging effect to providing assistance and contributing to something bigger.

Helping others help you to align your perspective

It’s amazing how other people’s problems are easier to solve… But even better, once you’ve helped someone else overcome their challenges, you’re not only better equipped for your own, but you understand that this is part of what it takes to get the result (i.e. avoid the victim mentality early).

Helping others builds momentum

Ever seen someone working with a company for years, and then go out on their own and hit the ground running? Odds are, it’s because they understood this principle.
So if you’re feeling ‘stuck’ in a day job that isn’t your goal, perhaps you could pick up gain some momentum for your next step by finding a way to make a fresh contribution where you’re at…

What if helping others is part of your success?

Often I think our plans for success can falter due to a lack of defining what ‘success’ looks like.
After all, getting what you want and being alone could be worse than not getting what you want.

Who knows, in helping others, you may actually find that empowering others is actually the thing you want.