Hey, everyone!
I’ve always looked up to my friends that “made it.”
What I loved the most is watching them choose to use their powers for good - like building schools in 3rd world countries, or funding charities that helped address the clean water crisis in Ethiopia, or using their influence to spread awareness and build movements for humanitarian efforts.
To me, it shows these people care about something outside of themselves, and are using their resources to support a cause. They’re doing it because they can. And because they can, they realize they must.
A long time ago I had decided when I finally “made it,” I would do the same thing. I would use my power for good.
But recently I’ve come to realize I might have been thinking about it the wrong way.
You see, it’s action that matters, not the scale of the action. The action comes from character. We might see a person writing a huge check. But in reality, the person is dedicating their resources to a cause.
When we think resources, we might immediately think of money. And it stands to reason that a wealthy person has a lot of money to use for a cause. So we might conclude that because we don’t yet have a high net worth, we haven’t made it yet.
Certainly, that’s one way of looking at it.
But money is not the only valuable resource. In fact, if you ask people who are financially successful what they believe is the most valuable resource, do you know what you’ll hear them say?
Time.
We ALL have a limited amount of time. The only difference is how we use it, and how we dedicate our time.
So a thought occurred to me: That’s not the only resource we all have. What if we already had very valuable resources within us?
I believe even when you have nothing, you have something.
Think for a moment about yourself and the abilities you possess. For example, you have the ability to communicate with others. You can form relationships (and nowadays, you’re not even limited to your geographical space or circle). You can meet just about anybody. From this, you can form connections.
And connections can provide tremendous value to others.
Suppose you met somebody who was desperately trying to solve a problem. And as they described their problem to you, you remembered you knew someone else who just so happened to have the exact solution to that problem.
If you were to introduce those two people to each other, you’ve helped provide a solution to somebody, by using your resources. In this case, your resource is your network. By doing so, you have provided somebody tremendous value.
In that sense, this could mean just as much to somebody (and possibly even more) than you simply writing a check.
When you provide value to others, you have made it.
Do you see where I am going with this?
Don’t wait to become somebody to take action.
Take action to become somebody!
I’ll be discussing this concept in much greater detail in my upcoming book, “The First Step.”
I published these articles this week. Be sure to check them out!
Why “Get Over It” Is Terrible Advice (And What To Do Instead)
Use a technique so simple, a child can understand.
Feeling Insecure About Your Writing? Good! You’re Doing it Right
The creative struggle is fraught with doubt. Keep shipping.
An Open Letter to Millennials From a Gen Xer
Believe it or not, you’re doing fine. And we’re with you.
And that concludes this week’s newsletter. Until next time, keep stepping!