Enrich yourself by enriching lives of others
- Kyle Snyder: Live on Purpose
- March 11, 2022
- 1496
“I enriched myself because I enriched so many other people.” —Sam Walton
One day I was reading a book when I came across a story about Sam Walton. I always admired his strong character and how he put people first. This story highlights that.
As the story goes, Walton had a habit of visiting every one of his Walmart stores at least once. One day he took his jet to Texas to visit a Walmart. When they landed, the pilot wondered where the limousine was. Sam pointed to a Walmart 18-wheeler and said that was his ride. Why would a billionaire ride in a truck rather than a limo? The truck driver had called into the home office with a problem, so Sam had him pick him up at the airport, then listened to the trucker’s problem on the way to the store. (Little known fact: Sam was scheduled to come to the Millersburg store, but he passed away just days before the visit.)
A business is only as good as its people, and people are only as great as how they treat others. If we use and abuse others, no matter what we think we might gain, it comes at the cost of our very soul. I think most people want to be successful, but true success is partly determined by how we look at others. We can look at people as being in the way, or we can help draw their potential out of them. I believe if we help others, that can help us to think and get ideas of what we need to do in order to help ourselves. So often I am too close to my problems, but giving of myself often helps refocus my thoughts, and I perform so much better.
The days in which we are living are hard for so many people, with gas and food prices going up. A nice word, an act of kindness or just someone to listen — many people need to hear a kind word right now. First, it was two years of COVID-19 — and I hope it’s at least getting to a place where it is manageable — and now it is inflation. It seems like we are being hit from all sides. We need to hear it’s going to be alright, and it will be.
Some people can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our words can bring life into a situation that is on life support. Proverbs 18:21 states, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Oh, I can’t begin to count how many times I thought about giving up and someone made a comment that kept me going.
One thing people want to know is will the future be brighter than the past. Life is full of ups and downs. Now we just happen to be in down times. It was Charlie Chaplin who said it the best: “Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles.”
When we give of ourselves, we shift our focus from what is wrong to finding what is good. If all we see are problems, then we will miss the good things we have. If we take time to enrich others, then we will see the good in our own life and enrich ourselves.