Where Win-Win-Win and Golden Rule Intersect
It's not how much money you make, it's how you use that money. It's not the amount of people who will review your book or follow your tweets - it's how much you help them improve their lives.
This universe is actually built from an inter-connected scene. Everything, everyone affects everyone else and everything else. And this is why some version of the "Golden Rule" shows up in every major religion and philosophy on this planet.
Jesus said nothing new when he told people to treat others as you expect to be treated. He was just quoting older sayings in a new version.
Similarly, a current Midwestern phrase is related: "What goes around, comes around." Just look at it carefully. As you act, so are things acted toward you. As you react, you cause reactions around you. Proactive people live less stressful lives - because they are acting responsibly within their environment.
Napoleon Hill, in his "Think and Grow Rich" had it as: "You have to give before you can get."
This is also the old Steven Covey adage (who was really quoting other sources, again) where he recommended that every action and decision you made should be pointed toward achieving a "win-win-win" outcome. Both you and your customer and everyone involved wins something out of your exchange.
You hear in the "news" about ripoffs and frauds - as if this was common place and involved in every commerce transaction. As usual, they are concentrating on a handful and minority of controversial exchanges. (And by concentrating on the controversial, and chaotic, you'll also see that only a small minority trusts any mainstream media to tell the truth.)
Any small business owner or operator knows that your business continues to survive and get new customers only at the whim of neighborhood goodwill.
Where you do have a scam, they try to get around this concept, but the law (natural law, not man-made) eventually catches up with them and shuts them down. Look up anyone who tried to do this as a regular operation in their own business - they don't exist after a few years.
We are all connected. Those who work to help others constantly and improve the value in their lives will profit in turn. (Profit is just increased value in your own life or business, isn't it?)
In order to get something for yourself, you need to help others achieve it for themselves.
Look at Ray Kroc of MacDonald's fame. He helped an industry expand, serving decent-quality food at decent prices. And made untold millionaires from his suppliers as the result of his "millions sold."
Sam Walton of Wal-Mart helped everyone succeed around him, serving a whole set of people who were underserved by the nationwide chains at the time. By pushing the idea that "you'll sell a lot more for a little less" - he made the entire industry realize that giving greater value to the customer would result in greater profit to the store. Suppliers who built warehouses close to his were able to take advantage of his own "hub-and-spoke" distribution lines - saving them money on shipping - which could be passed on as lower prices - which in turn resulted in greater profits.
Win-win-win.
All based on helping.
So the acid test: Did You Help?
