Self-Help Means Helping Others
February 7, 2012
There is a simple concept that separates those who experience great success from those who do not. I am going to tell you all about this concept in a second, but first I want to talk a little bit about self-help. I have read countless books that discuss various methods of improving one’s life and career. I have always found it interesting that these books are almost always classified as self-help. The first self-help book ever written is generally considered to be Samuel Smiles’ Self Help, originally published in 1859. The book begins with the sentence “Heaven helps those who help themselves.” The principle that self-help seems to be founded on and seems to revolve around, is that people need to take charge of themselves in order to improve their lives. Most books that fall within this classification generally offer the same prescription for improving any area of life:
- Discover what you want!
- Have a positive attitude!
- Create big goals!
- Have discipline!
Helpers and Non-Helpers
January 5, 2011
In the book All I Want Is Everything, Marion Preminger discusses the viewpoint of her husband, a missionary doctor in Africa: “Albert Schweitzer says there are two kinds of people. There are helpers, and there are non-helpers. I thank God he allowed me to become a helper, and in helping, I found everything.” Preminger’s life story is so instructive and inspirational because it discusses a woman who moved from being a non-helper to a helper and describes how stunning this transformation was for her. In my experience, I would say the author is correct in saying that there really are two types of people in the world, helpers and non-helpers. Choosing to be a helper or a non-helper will have a major impact on the course of your life, no matter how much education you get and no matter what sort of job you get. Life, in general, revolves around finding opportunity, making money, developing friendship, discovering love, moving toward those [Read more]
