DSD-027 The Habit of Helping

I went to the woods because I needed to. A good friend of ours bought some property in the mountains. 38 acres or so with nothing on it. Well nothing manmade. Lots of trees, deadwood, completely undeveloped. He started by building a shed and needed help putting it together. Lots of help. My wife, daughter and I went up to lend a hand.

On my way up there in the Jeep, ahead of the girls, I get a phone call. It’s my friend. He’d forgotten to grab his 3½” deck screws. I was miles away from a Home depot, Lowes or even an Ace Hardware store. However, I did find a Bomgaar’s, a store I never heard of before but was listed by Google as a hardware store. I got the screws for him. He’d also called a friend to get screws to my daughter who was coming up later in the day. Plan B, in case I was too far into the trip to find his solution.

Now, here’s a man who knows what he wants. He also knows how to go about getting there. He does, sometimes, get hung up on the details, but figures it out and keeps going.

I’m not a carpenter, nor am I an architect (the shed was 16x8, so not a huge architectural challenge). I do have a talent for seeing how to get something done better. We had 13 trusses to build from scratch. He had 6 hands and he was too busy figuring out the next steps. I was figuring out how to use these men efficiently. Three “assembly line” stations and I was the guy helping each one stay one step ahead. The result was 13 identical trusses made in a relatively short period of time.

Little things done well, mean a lot over time.

Here are three ways you can help other people.

Knowing what a person wants solves the problem of purpose.

Help them discover what they really want. Some people need to hear

Knowing how to get there solves the problem of direction. Some people need a secondary point of view to help them see

Help them find the way. Some people need a secondary point of view to help them see

Knowing the details gets them there in a timely and efficient manner.

Help them with the details. Some people need others to show them the steps and

Helping other people succeed is the greatest calling a person could have.

Zig Ziglar said it best…

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

You may be thinking, “Well, Bill, what did you get out of helping someone else with their little building project?”

I gained the satisfaction of helping someone else reach for their goal.

I got the opportunity to use my talents is a way that helped other people.

I gained the knowledge of how to build a shed. Learning some carpentry skills/knowledge.

I gained the reputation as an organizer of efficiency that everyone there appreciated and took note of.

I build more trust on a growing friendship as well as on developing friendships.

I gained more than a shed. I gained respect by showing up, giving and using my gifts to help.

Look for opportunities this week to help people. Coworkers, strangers, even your boss. Do so without expecting anything in return. Give, just because you can.

As John Maxwell has said, “Giving is the highest form of living.”

Content based on the book "Conquer What's Next" available now. Bill McConnell is the content creator and author of the book.  amzn.to/2HBZ6s8    Websites:https://DoingStuffDaily.com  https://BillMcConnell.me  Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/wmcmcconnell  Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/DoingStuffDaily  Twitter:https://twitter.com/DoingStuffDaily  Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/billmcconnell  Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+WilliamMcConnellDSD LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bill-mcconnell-5b96aa80/