Train the Brave, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 32Lift others as you climb

Over the years I've learned that not every opportunity or client is the right one for me, and nor am I the best person for them. So I've built a broad referral network to refer people on to whenever I assess that they'd be a better fit or simply find more value elsewhere. Ironically enough, the more I've referred people on to others the more work has flowed back to me and the more enjoyment I've had from the opportunities, people and organisations I have engaged with.

Of course, there are many people who have a similar mindset. People who are secure in their value and unthreatened by the value, talent and strengths of others. However, I've also encountered many who haven't shared my mindset. Likely because they feel that helping someone else succeed will lower the odds that they will succeed too — as though there's only so much opportunity to go around. The fear that feeds this scarcity mindset drives people to see every situation as ‘win–lose'. That is, if I help you get something, then I'll have to lose something. It can keep people from sharing a great resource, sending on a referral or making an introduction that could help someone else move forward. And while people with a win–lose mentality can always find ample reasons to justify it, the truth is that when you lift others, you lift yourself. As Napolean Hill wrote, ‘You can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed'.

BEING GENEROUS CONFRONTSOUR FEAR OF MISSING OUT.

While ...