Service: Your Key to Prosperity

The problem of the society is not that there are no jobs or works to do. Rather, the problem is: the people to do these jobs or works are few.
Mankind is faced with the problem of satisfying its needs. These needs are insatiable. We all need food, clothing, and shelter. In addition, we need other items including luxuries, entertainment, education, etc
Now, the human resources required to meet these needs are inadequate. No nation is completely self-sufficient. Similarly, no person is self-sufficient. We all need each other’s services. Even if you can do everything for yourself, you will still need the services of others, because you cannot do everything for yourself at the same time. In addition, employing others to perform certain services relieves you the burden of doing it yourself; and this gives you ample opportunity to face other meaningful tasks.
The population explosion worldwide necessitates the need for more product and services to meet the demand of the populace.
Maximum success is anchored on your ability to produce or supply products or render service to meet the need of the people. In return for providing the products or service, the society rewards you all the time.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “It is one the most beautiful compensation of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”
“Give first” is the prerequisite for receiving. Unfortunately, many people want to receive and keep receiving without thinking of giving something to the society.
I know a graduate who clings to this mentality of “receiving” and not giving. This graduate keeps telling people: “I like keeping friends that I can benefit from. What is the essence of friendship if I cannot gain anything from friends?” And you know what? The more he holds tenaciously to this philosophy, the more disappointed he becomes. People soon get tired of him and dump him.
Perhaps, this is one reason many people are complaining of unemployment. They expect the government or an employer to come and give them job.
Granted, there is problem of unemployment. But what we are saying here is that if you are willing to serve humanity, you will never lack what to do. You don’t need to be an employee before you can render service to humanity. And service to humanity is your key to prosperity.
Put others first. The “what- is- in- it- for- me” (WIIIFM) mentality should not be your priority. Your focus should be what others stand to benefit from you – your service or product.
Can you provide quality service or product? Can you sincerely say that people will benefit from your service or product? Just as you hate trash, so also others hate paying for poor quality service or product. Don’t expect to be highly rewarded for poor service or product you provide. People don’t pay for service or product, but for the quality.
You need to examine the product or service you are rendering. Can you also say that you value or derive any benefit from it? Compare your service or product with similar ones provided by other persons. Is yours better? Does it measure up? Or is it below standard?
What can you do to add value to your product or service? What improvement can you bring to bear on your service or product?
Service is the key to Jesus’ success in his ministry. All his life, Jesus did not live for himself, but for others. Everything he did was not for the benefit of himself, but for the benefit of others. He taught his disciples that their greatness in life is anchored on service they render to humanity.
You cannot achieve greatness if you are not willing to serve humanity, because true greatness lies in service to humanity.
Many people lived and died with their knowledge, skill, experience and talents (gifts) buried with them. It is either they never valued these gifts of theirs to the point of sharing or blessing mankind with them or they are being selfish, or they think there are not many people yearning to know or acquire what they have got.
The road to prosperity begins with what you have and what you do with what you have. It does not matter whether what you have is big or little. It is what you do with what you have that matters. Prosperity begins from the moment you start to think of what you can do with the little that you have to benefit the life of others.
Your knowledge, skill, experience, and talents are money spinning diadem. They can launch you into prosperity if you are willing to serve humanity with them.
You need to value what you have. There are thousands of people, if not millions, who are yearning to have what you have and are ready to pay to get them. That is why you must value what you have. Until you do, you may never see any need to share it with others or serve others with it.
There are many people who may not be as smart as you are, but are making millions from their gift. I have bought and read some booklets written by people who, I may say, cannot be called authorities in their fields, yet, they are making money selling their little knowledge and skills which they put down in the booklets.
Are people not buying the booklets? They are, because they want to acquire the knowledge and skill embedded in the booklets. These authors are making money from their booklets because they do not conceal their gifts. They use them to serve humanity.
Life is “give and take”. You give first before you take. And this is the major distinguishing characteristic of a successful person. A successful person is one who sees the need of the masses and devotes his entire life providing this need.
If the likes of Gates, Dell, Dangote, Ibrahim, Adenuga, etc, decide to keep their products and service for their own use, they would be as poor as the church rat.
We should take a cue from them. Your focus should be how you can serve the masses starting with what you have.
Your gift is like a seed. While the seed is with you, it remains of little significance; when you till the land and plant it, it germinates, grow and produce fruits in hundred folds.
The same thing applies to your knowledge, skill, experience, and talents. While they remain with you, they serve little purpose; but when you share or use them to serve humanity, you will be richly rewarded. There is no service to humanity that will go unrewarded.
Below are steps you can take to serve humanity with what you have –
1. Examine yourself. Identify the knowledge, skill, and experience you have acquired over the years. Identify the talents you have.
2. Think of people who desire what you have or who can be assisted with your gifts. Think of how you can use your talents to serve mankind. Can you sing, write, speak in public effectively, and entertain audience like the actors/actresses do? What about sports? Can you run, play football, lawn tennis, table tennis, hockey, handball, etc? What are those things you are passionate about? Are you passionate about politics, leadership, impacting lives, or entrepreneurship?
3. Pick up a pen and paper and start jotting down the knowledge, skill, and talents that you have. Also jot down those things you are passionate about. Jot down as many as come to your mind.
4. Select one or more from your jottings, especially the knowledge, skill, experience and talents that you have mastered so well; that you are most passionate about; and that you feel the masses need most.
5. After making your selection, place them in the order of priorities. Then, take the first one first. Polish the knowledge, skill, or talent. If it means going for training or attending seminar in order to polish it, don’t hesitate to do so. Your knowledge, skill, or talent cannot be delivered to the masses raw. They have to be processed, diligently packaged, and presented to the masses at an affordable price.
6. You can package your knowledge, skill, and experience as a product, book, eBook, audio or video in CD/DVD; you can also package them for seminar or for practical training class; you can also make yourself available where your talent is needed or use your talent to meet the need the masses.