I wake up today and realize I forgot my laptop charger at my grandma's house. I power on the laptop, but it's dead! I can make it to her house in 5 min. with my bicycle.
But then I stop. Well, what do they need? She lives a 15-minute walk from the nearest bread store, and my uncle has to go get it. She had an extension cord that I borrowed a few days ago but didn't lend back. And her TV was having audio issues, with a delay between the images and the sound. (I made a quick fix yesterday, but didn't expect it to last.)
So before I go, when I go out to buy some baguettes (French bread) right next to where I live, I get some extra for her, the amount she usually needs. After looking for a bit I also find the extension cord and put both in a bag. Ready to go, I get my bicycle and ride on.
Spotting her in the courtyard, I spot her and ask how she's doing. I deliver the bread directly and give her the extension cord. Shocked, she thanks me for the bread and gives me back ten times what the bread costs.
After that, I ask about her TV. The fix I did yesterday didn't work and the issues came back today. The uncle steps in and says he knows. He powers off the tv, plugs in out and back in and it works. But I think that the problem will resurface. I try something else and factory reset the TV, spending 15 minutes going back through the setup, and it updates itself. I tell her that this might not work, and if it comes back just do like my uncle said and plug it out and back in.
Finally, I get my charger and tell her I forgot it. We chat a bit and I ride out, greeted by her and my uncle on the front porch. We chat happily and they wave away (which never happened before).
So what's my point?
I think that if I had approached it selfishly, came sneakily just to get what I wanted (the charger), and disregarding what she wanted, then I would likely not have gotten the same results at all. I know because in this exact same situation, just a few months ago, I did exactly that, and there were no friendly greetings, quick chats, or appreciation! It was all about what I wanted.
But by approaching it in the way that I put what others wanted first, and providing as much value as I could, not only did I feel better for helping others, but I got my own selfish desires in the end (and even got some money out of it!)
What if we put others ahead of ourselves? What if we forgot our own little world, and instead go help others get what they want?
But then I stop. Well, what do they need? She lives a 15-minute walk from the nearest bread store, and my uncle has to go get it. She had an extension cord that I borrowed a few days ago but didn't lend back. And her TV was having audio issues, with a delay between the images and the sound. (I made a quick fix yesterday, but didn't expect it to last.)
So before I go, when I go out to buy some baguettes (French bread) right next to where I live, I get some extra for her, the amount she usually needs. After looking for a bit I also find the extension cord and put both in a bag. Ready to go, I get my bicycle and ride on.
Spotting her in the courtyard, I spot her and ask how she's doing. I deliver the bread directly and give her the extension cord. Shocked, she thanks me for the bread and gives me back ten times what the bread costs.
After that, I ask about her TV. The fix I did yesterday didn't work and the issues came back today. The uncle steps in and says he knows. He powers off the tv, plugs in out and back in and it works. But I think that the problem will resurface. I try something else and factory reset the TV, spending 15 minutes going back through the setup, and it updates itself. I tell her that this might not work, and if it comes back just do like my uncle said and plug it out and back in.
Finally, I get my charger and tell her I forgot it. We chat a bit and I ride out, greeted by her and my uncle on the front porch. We chat happily and they wave away (which never happened before).
So what's my point?
I think that if I had approached it selfishly, came sneakily just to get what I wanted (the charger), and disregarding what she wanted, then I would likely not have gotten the same results at all. I know because in this exact same situation, just a few months ago, I did exactly that, and there were no friendly greetings, quick chats, or appreciation! It was all about what I wanted.
But by approaching it in the way that I put what others wanted first, and providing as much value as I could, not only did I feel better for helping others, but I got my own selfish desires in the end (and even got some money out of it!)
What if we put others ahead of ourselves? What if we forgot our own little world, and instead go help others get what they want?
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