"How do you deserve a fortune?
Render fortunes of service."
-- Jim Rohn
Zig Ziglar said this memorable quote: "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want."
Steve Jobs just passed and his biography by Walter Isaacson was just released a few days ago and I'm sure it is selling like crazy. I just downloaded it to my Kindle so I can read this massive work. As I was thinking about Steve, his legacy and how he has influenced almost an entire planet, I thought about Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn because they taught me a long time ago that it was all about service and the more people you can be of service to, the greater the reward can be. Steve Jobs was in the extreme column when it comes to being of service to many.
It's also interesting for me to think about the past 50 years and the technological progress that has been made. It is astounding.
My first personal computer was an Apple II+ with 64k of memory. We didn't even know what a megabyte was. It had one 5.5" floppy disk drive, and I added a second drive so I didn't have to keep switching disks to save my work. It cost $2,500. I bought it from my boss who won it in a contest but didn't want it for $1,700. Those numbers are ridiculous today, aren't they?
One of my salesmen got one of the first Macintosh computers, and I saw the first full page screen monitor made by Apple at a friends office who did ad layouts and graphics.
My partner just bought the latest and greatest Apple 4 phone, leaving his Apple's 2 and 3 behind. Another partner used his iPad.
When you think of all the products that have come from Apple alone it is massive enough, but what I like to think about is how those products and those ideas have been of service to humanity. Just think of how far and widespread Apple's devices and technology has served and is serving and will be serving.
What is much more interesting to me is going back to the seed of the idea, getting together with Steve Wazniak, discussing ideas and possibilities, then in a garage tinkling and creating a first prototype product. Stop there. Now picture today juxtaposed to that shot. It makes the word incredible seem so shallow and weak.
So, now think about how each of us are of service to many or not so many. I work with a lot of businesses and see how they are of service to many and the more they can be of service to, especially lasting service, the more successful they are.
What it all comes down to is serving, doesn't it? The rewards are different depending on how we serve, but it is all about the quality and the quantity of our service to each other.
To Serve Or Not To Serve, That Is The Question. . .
Spread Some Joy Today--Think about your personal service at work, at home, to yourself. Yes, don't forget about yourself.
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