Creating value

Life is not about taking. What you take has no value to you. Life is about giving and creating value. About making a difference. If you try to shortcut the process, it is you who will come up short in the end. When you take something you don’t deserve, you might get it but you won’t own it—it will own you.

To create value in your own life, look for ways to make a difference in the world. The bigger difference you make in the lives of others, the bigger results you’ll see in your own life.

And there are countless ways to do that.

Solve problems. The bigger the problem, the more people it affects, and the more elegant the solution, the more effectively it can be delivered, the more value you create. Perhaps you have solved a problem in your own life in a way that is very effective. Consider that there are probably many other people who have the same problem. Think of the value that your successful experience could provide.

Provide opportunity. That’s something that everyone needs and values. And there are many kinds of opportunities. You can provide people with the opportunity to make money, to meet other people, to experience something unique, to learn, to improve health and fitness, to have fun, to travel, to improve relationships. Providing opportunity is often no more involved than making people aware of opportunity and showing them how to take advantage of it.

Improve on something—make it faster, better in quality, more affordable, more readily available, more convenient, more informative, more understandable. Or find a completely new use for it.

Look for ways to make a difference in the world. Improve the quality of life. Find ways to create joy and beauty, to give comfort, to provide meaning to the lives of others. Look for things that need to be done.

The more value you provide, and the more people you provide it to, the wealthier you will become—both materially and spiritually.