Most of us are fortunate enough to never experience a life of being homeless. That gift alone should be something we value every day when we wake up knowing we won’t want food, shelter, or safety. I am not promoting the concept of entitlement, because I personally believe that a person being given everything without a means to become self-reliant will never be happy or have self-fulfillment. The more we are capable of helping ourselves, the more we will feel compelled to help others. What I do want to promote is the importance of giving with a purpose, but at the end of the day, when we see someone in need, we should just do the right thing and offer a helping hand.

I’ll share one quote from my book, The Power of Strategic Influence: “Have a go-giver attitude. When you arrive at a position of success and influence, make the conscious decision to transition from a go-getter to a “go-giver.” – Gary C. Laney

Please share a “Give Back” story!

#share#giveback#positiveinfluence

For the next two months, I tried to track down John. He had told me he worked for an IT software company. On my next trip to Henderson, I visited the same business complex and found the phone number of the management company on a sign near the complex. I called the number and asked if they had any software companies leasing a space, and they gave me the name and building number of one software company in the complex. It was close by so I decided to walk to the building. I walked into the office and was greeted by one of the employees. I asked the employee if they had a John who worked for them. He responded, “yes, our CTO is named John.” I then explained I was looking for a software executive named John who had stopped to help me change a tire a few months ago and I want to thank him. He said he would contact the CTO and see if he was the person who helped me. He then left to find him. A few minutes later, a man entered the room and I instantly recognized him as the John who had helped me that day. He invited me into his office which turned into a very enjoyable and engaging discussion. I then asked him why had he stopped to help me that day and he responded, “I try to help people whenever I have the opportunity.” I guess I was the lucky recipient of John’s kindness and the opportunity he was looking for on that particular day.