by Judy M McCutcheon, MBA
I recently read about the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success and wanted to share them with you, to help create value in every area of your life. These laws are applicable in your business, in your job, in your marriage, with your children and with your relationships.
You see, we all grew up hearing that it is better to give than to receive, but that in itself, is a paradox. The whole of life is about giving and receiving. If I asked you to take in a deep breath and keep exhaling while I count to 30 or 40 without you taking another breath, that could well be an exercise in futility – you simply cannot keep exhaling without inhaling, there must always be that exchange for everything to work in harmony. Every giving can only happen because it’s receiving. This is the simple secret upon which all success rests – giving and being open to receiving. It sounds simple I know, but it’s very powerful.
So here are the 5 Laws of Stratospheric Success and my interpretation of them and how they can help you create value:
The Law of Value – Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment. How I see it is like this, in everything you do you want to ensure that you create as much value for the other party as possible. Put making money aside for one moment and ask the question “Does it serve?” Is what I’m doing bringing value to others? It’s really about a willingness to suspend self and think about serving others. Giving should be something you do, not because you want to get something in return, but because you love to, because you want to grow and expand the other person, it’s simply a way of living. Once you make serving others and creating value for them your central theme, everything else will fall into place. In business, create more value for your customers than anyone else is doing.
The Law of Compensation – Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them. You see, while the first law determines how valuable you are – it’s not just a matter of value, but also of impact. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, said that “Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve.” When you serve people, it matters a great deal how you serve them, again you don’t do it because you must, you do it because you want to. Enlarge the sphere of people you serve and serve them with gusto and that’s so easy to do – a smile, a good morning, allowing someone to go through the door before you, all these are simple and easy ways to serve others. In business, always create that magical experience for your customers, give them the Disney experience, create individual magic on a large scale.
The Law of Influence – Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people’s interest first. How do we move from me to we to them? We do so by placing the interest of others before our own and not in any superficial way, but in a real genuine and caring way. In your relationships think about how best you can serve the other person, think about what their needs are and fulfil them, this is not about giving away your power, it’s about yielding and the more you yield, the more influence you have. In business, think about how you can take care of your customers needs, even if it means giving the business to the competition. It’s not about you, it’s about them. Place their interest above yours.
The Law of Authenticity – The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself. You’ve heard it said, be a first-rate version of you, rather than a second-rate version of someone else. Skills and knowledge help you reach your goals only 10% of the time, only 10% – the other 90% is simply you. You are all you have to offer, no matter what your training, no matter what your skills, no matter what area you are in, you are the most important commodity. The most valuable gift you have to offer is you. No matter what you think you’re selling, what you’re really offering is yourself. Bring Authenticity to your business dealings.
The Law of Receptivity – The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving. So, we’ve come full circle. You can give all you want, you can create all the value and apply all the other laws but it won’t bring you success, it won’t create the results you want, unless you allow yourself to remain open to receive in like measure. You see, if you don’t allow yourself to remain open to receiving you are refusing the gifts of others – and when you do that you stop the flow. Receiving is the natural result of giving, but you must be open to receiving.
There’s not a book that I’ve read before on success that makes perfect sense as the “Go-Giver.” I encourage you to go buy the book and apply the principles to your life and business. In all that you do, remember to create value for others and put their interest ahead of yours, be yourself and remain open to receive. Be Blessed.
Judy McCutcheon is a partner in the firm Go Blue Inc, a Human Development Company.
