Many people live life with an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch my back,” type of mentality. They wait for others to make a contribution before they return the favor. But those that live a fulfilled life are those that contribute more than they consume. They contribute to the relationships around them more than they take from them.

When it comes to relationships, we must make deposits into them before we can withdraw from them. Think of it as a relationship bank account. What we put into the account is what we will be able to get out of it. No more, no less. We will never be able to withdraw more than we have deposited. If we try, then the relationship bank account goes bankrupt and there are serious consequences.   

If we are not making consistent deposits into our relationship bank accounts we will not reach our potential. When our approach to our relationships in life is to only do for others the things that will benefit us, our story will never reach its full potential. It is said that Abraham Lincoln once stated, “It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit.”

Be the kind of person that does more than is asked of them. Go the extra mile! Forgive even if it isn’t returned to you by others. Love unconditionally. Give without asking anything in return. 

I believe God MEASURES our contributions to the world around us, not by the SIZE of our harvest, but by the number of SEEDS that we have sown. 

Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.” 

It is more blessed to give than to receive. When your contribution is bigger than your consumption you will always live a blessed life. It is when we flip the scales and expect to receive more than we give that life gets messy. When we think we are entitled to “get,” we allow pride, selfishness, jealousy, anger, and bitterness to creep into our story. When these traits creep into our story, the tale of our life always takes a turn for the worse.

So the challenge is to live a life of contribution each and every day. Go out of your way to contribute to others without any strings attached to your good deeds. Do things that will add value to others without a “hidden agenda” behind them. As Zig Ziglar always said, “You can have anything you want in life if you will help enough other people get what they want!” 

Contribute to others first and you will find that life falls into place. When everyone is looking out for the needs of others, everyone’s needs get met. It is when everyone has their arms folded waiting for others to serve them that no one gets served. You will always be lacking something if you are not serving others and investing in their success. You won’t be fulfilled until you do this one thing…SERVE!