The business of living your dream

Building a life of service is the essence of living. With service to others, you will attain riches far beyond your wildest dreams. The mindset of service to humanity will bring you wealth, contentment, peace and happiness. Begin this by giving to others without expecting anything in return. And keep your deeds to yourself.

Resolve from today to make service to others your obsession. Do not allow your situation to be an obstacle. “It is not good for a man to be alone,” so sayeth the book of Genesis in the Bible. This means you must support others always. You serve humanity better by allying yourself with other like-minded people.

Life is a business; you cannot thrive in it alone. The parable of talents comes handy. A travelling merchant gave his three servants his goods for handling while he was abroad. To one he gave five portions. He gave the second two, while to the last he gave one portion.

Upon his return, he demanded his servants’ account for the money he had given them. The first two servants had doubled their money. But the third servant returned to the master the single talent he had given him. The master was upset with him because he had not utilised his gift, but had hidden it.

This parable teaches the importance of maximising every opportunity you are presented with in life. It implies all life is business and you must serve your customers for profit and service.

Thus, your dream must be pursued as a business in expectation of fulfilling your vision of serving others. It is the same way in marriage. Your spouse expects fulfillment in return for her investment in you. If her relationship with you isn’t yielding the expected return, she might want to reallocate her resources elsewhere.

But the keys to happiness in marriage are: One, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.” Two, “Love your neighbour as yourself,” (Matthew 22:35-40).

Once you obey these two laws, you are bound to have a happy marriage. In accomplishing your dream, you need the same resources as would need to build a business. You need knowledge, good health, labour and skills.

Also, you need the ability to leverage your resource, the know-how of others, how to create a platform from where to launch your vision.

Your task is to let the world know your vision. Then, the world will help you get what you want. People and companies cannot help you unless your plans serve their purpose.

Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world because of his unceasing love of humanity. He shared his Microsoft success by producing two other billionaires, Paul Allen and Steve Ballmer.

He made his company the one with the largest number of millionaire-employees, with robust ownership stakes in the company. Serving others is the secret of his success.

However, for you to accomplish your dream, you must exude integrity, which means honesty and truth as the foundation of greatness. Wealth with integrity produces peace of mind.

Integrity is manifested in how you see yourself, your skills and vision. Indeed, champions need to recruit others to supply the resources and know-how. In the pursuit of your goals, never violate spiritual laws and the rights of others. Never enter a transaction that does not benefit all concerned.

Integrity is a constant, never a variable. Be prepared to stand alone when integrity is concerned. Avoid following the herd; time will prove you right. Whenever you sacrifice your integrity, you have sacrificed your dream.