Tag: helping others

If You Can Help Someone…

I usually have
a YouTube video
playing in the background
on mute
as I work.

I’ve created a playlist
of videos
by creators
who are seeking
sponsors.

And I play that playlist.

These creators
attract sponsors
and earn funds
from their sponsors
based on how many subscribers
they have.

They gain more subscribers
if YouTube shows
their videos to more people.

YouTube shows
their videos to more people
if more people watch them
(it is circular, I know).

So I ‘watch’ their videos.
That costs me
very little
and it helps these creators out.

Is that ‘cheating’
the system?

Yes.
But all helping
is cheating the system.

My friends buy my books
to help my Amazon rankings
so Amazon shows my books
to more people.
That’s technically cheating also.

If you can help someone
and it costs you
very little,
help them.

Make their world
a better place.

Donating Office Supplies

It is back to school time
in the Northern Hemisphere.

It is the perfect time
to donate
some of your surplus office supplies.

Because office supplies
can often be used
as back to school supplies.

I had 31 white binders
I had once used
to hold manuscripts.

A primary school
nearby
was happy to have them.

I donated two backpacks
to the Little Free Library.
They were gone
in less than an hour.

I’d been given
those backpacks
as schwag.

I also donated a package
of pens
I’d been given
as a gift.

Donate unwanted
office supplies.

Put that positive energy
into the world.
Make someone’s life better.

We All Had Help

Anyone who is successful
(any definition of successful)
has had help.

They might not acknowledge
that help.
Heck, they might not
KNOW about the help
they were given.

But it was there.

Someone helped them.
Usually numerous someones
numerous times.

I, for example,
a couple days ago,
suggested another writer’s book
for a Best Of 2024 Award.
I didn’t tell that writer.
I just did it.

And if she wins
or is nominated,
I will be happy for her
and I will continue to be silent
about my part
in that success.

Everyone has had help.

Help others.

Hope others help you.

When you’ve achieved success,
realize that someone DID help you.

Ask For One Favor At A Time

A loved one
called today
to ask for favors.
Favors.
Multiple favors.
Six to be exact.

And they weren’t easy favors
to grant.
Each one will take
at least a couple hours
to tackle.

She thought she was being efficient
by saving up the favors
and asking for them
all at once.

Nope.
She was greatly diminishing
the odds ANY of them
will be fulfilled.

I would have put aside time
to do one of the favors.

I don’t have 12 plus hours
to do things for her.

And when I heard her list,
I felt…
taken advantage of,
used,
like an unpaid unappreciated
employee.

It wasn’t a nice feeling.

Ask for one favor
at a time.

Your Good Deeds Will Eventually Go Public

When I help others,
I do it
as quietly as possible.

I don’t want the recognition.
That’s not why
I’m helping others.

But I know
my good deeds
will eventually go public.

There’s always a trail.
And we live in a world
where everyone has a recording device
and is constantly using it.

Someone WILL say something
or post something
or tell someone.

When I help others,
I accept that will happen.

You don’t have to tell others
about your good deeds.

Someone else
will eventually share
that news.

And it will be more powerful
because it is being shared
by that someone else.

There is no need
to broadcast your good deeds.

Inventory Your Stuff

Shoes go bad.
As do a lot of things
you wouldn’t suspect.

Shoes get brittle.
The soles curl.
They go out of style.

Yesterday,
I inventoried my shoes
and I donated any shoes
I didn’t think
I’d wear ever again.

A few of those shoes
had ‘gone bad.’
But many others I donated
while they were in mint condition.

Someone else
will benefit from
the shoes
I am no longer wearing.

There are business supplies
or devices
or other things
in your inventories
that are likely
on the verge of
‘going bad.’

Donate them
or use them
before they lose all value.

Who NOT To Ask For Help

There are people
in this world
who close the doors
behind them.

If a program
or a pathway
or a strategy
benefited them in the past
and they’re now
no longer using it,
they will try the d@mnedest
to eliminate it.

Be VERY careful
around those people.

If you find yourself
on the wrong side of a door,
they will not only
not help you
but they will try
to ensure that door
is never opened to you
or anyone else.

Do NOT ask them
for help.
Ever.
They will make
the situation worse
for you.

And actively work to keep
the doors you have used
open.

Because I guarantee
others are trying
to close them.

Helping Others If You Want Help

An author was complaining
bitterly
that no one shared
his book release post.

I scanned his social media history.
He hadn’t shared anyone else’s
book release posts.

I blocked the author.

I only want generous writers (businesses)
associating with my readers (customers).
The relationship
should flow both ways.

People are more likely
to help people
who help others.

If you want help,
help someone.

If you want shares,
share another person’s post.

Thanking Others

I spent the weekend
with two loved ones
– an older loved one
and the younger loved one
who voluntarily takes care of her.

The extremely bitter
older loved one
didn’t say thank you
to the younger loved one
at all,
not once
during the entire weekend.

I was shocked
by the lack of gratitude.
And I told her that.

She said
if she said thank you
every time
he did something for her,
she’d be saying thank you
all the time.

I told her
yes, that’s what
she SHOULD be doing.
If he takes the time
to help her,
she should at least
take the time
to say two words in return.

Saying thank you
does a number of things.

It makes the other person
feel appreciated.
That alone is worth
uttering those two words.

But it also reminds us
that the other person
didn’t have to take
that action.
They could have ignored us
and walked away.
That’s ALWAYS an option.

It builds gratitude
within us
and gratitude
is the key to happiness.

Yep, we often increase our own joy
by thanking others,
by uttering those two short words.

Say thank you..
for the other person
and for yourself.

The Gift Of Giving

It costs the food bank in my city
$1 to supply someone with a meal.
$1.
Most of us have $1 to give.

That $1 not only benefits
the person needing the meal.
It often benefits us.

When I help another person,
I feel good about myself.
I feel grateful.
I feel generous.
I’m changing the world
for the better,
making a difference.
Someone’s day is happier
because I helped them.

I receive all these good feelings
and more
for $1.
That’s a bargain.

Consider giving to someone or some entity
today.

It could be a free gift
like smiling at a stranger
or holding a door open for them.

But it will make the world
a better place
and might give you
a boost of happiness.