Provide More In Value Than You Take In Cash

_{I just finished reading “10x is Better than 2x,” by Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan—a fantastic book! It gave me so much personal insight into my behaviors. This book takes a unique approach to improving your relationships and offers more value than just compensation. Ben clears up the misconceptions of traditional 10x thinking and teaches us to embrace abundance over scarcity. Highly recommend it!}

_{Ben and Dan Sullivan introduce the term "Unique Ability." Let me share one of mine: giving. Without expecting anything in return, I dedicate an immense amount of time, energy, wisdom, and love to my family, community, team, and clients. It's just how I've always been. I discovered this about myself while serving others, and that's also when I had the most incredible tortilla ever.}

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_{“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” -Confusious} 

_{Confucius' beautiful sentiment resonates, especially if you're among the fortunate ones living your passion daily.}

_{But what if that's not you?}

 _{Bills to pay and mouths to feed can complicate matters. What about that trip you promised yourself? Or the house you planned to have by a specific age?}

_{What does it mean if you're still searching? How do we find our place in a distracting world? How can we land that dream job?}

_{Moreover, how do we juggle long hours, late nights, early mornings, and work weekends while maintaining a social and family life?}

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_{‍“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Seneca}

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‍Find Your Purpose In The Service Of Others 

_{While helping and serving others, I find the most peace and joy.} 

_{If I shift my focus to money or see relationships as transactions, it becomes cumbersome, and I resent what I do.}

_{So, how can I make work enjoyable and give it a sense of purpose?}

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_{‍“Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it, and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”  -Luke} 

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_{I went to Agua Prieta, Mexico, six years ago with my wife and parents. We spent a week between Christmas and New Year's, building houses for those in need. I was excited yet worried since it was my first time in Mexico.}

_{When I told my boss about my vacation plans, she couldn't believe I would use half of my yearly PTO for service work. She was even more surprised that I paid for this experience.}

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‍Dark Water And Deep Transformation 

_{When I arrived at the job site, the poverty in Agua Prieta was unlike anything I had ever seen. Most homes in the area, known as casa paletas or pallet houses, were constructed using leftover lumber, tin, and scrap materials salvaged from other projects and the local garbage dump.}

_{Stray dogs roamed muddy streets, searching for scraps. Children played in trash-filled fields—debris scattered from unfinished subdivisions - broken glass, crumbled brick, old soda bottles. But the faces of the humble locals brought excitement. They smiled upon seeing us, speaking broken English as I struggled with broken Spanish.}

_{The family we built the house for was a single mother of two children. She made exquisite piñatas for a living, which we bought for our kids. Erecting a house in under a week was hard work. Each night, I enjoyed my simple yet delicious meal, took a cold shower, and fell asleep quickly - no worries, no stress, no insomnia.}

_{All tools, materials, and laborers were volunteers or donated. It was a phenomenal experience. I'll never forget 30 volunteers, men, women, and children, working together to build two houses from the ground up in just seven days.}

_{I had never worked so physically demanding for so many hours every day for a week straight, but I didn't mind. To me, the work was fun, and every minute was enjoyable. We smiled, played, and joked as a team, knowing our efforts made a difference in someone's life.}

_{On the 17-hour drive back home, I felt blisters on my hands as I gripped the steering wheel. My arms, legs, and back were sore. But these minor discomforts became badges, my reward for giving my best and providing a home for a family that couldn't repay me financially. What they gave me was far more valuable than money - the peace I had been searching for from the busy corporate world.}

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‍Evaluate And Recenter

  _{As Monday arrived, I made my way back to work. Sitting in my desk chair after the morning standup meeting with my team, I took a moment to reflect on the previous week’s achievements. It made me realize that this is how I want to spend my life—not necessarily constructing houses but serving others in a way that doesn't feel like work.}

_{The following year, my boss refused my vacation request. Sighting, she was so impressed with my dedication that she granted me the time off without using my PTO. Additionally, I received a Christmas bonus covering the amount needed for my wife and me to be of service.}

_{Although the master builder has retired, the lessons learned from constructing homes for the homeless will always stay with me.}

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‍The Best Tortialls I Will Ever Have 

1. Your situation is always better than you are making it_.

_{On a cold post-Christmas morning in Agua Prieta, I witnessed a dedicated mother of four waking up before 6 am. Despite the chill, she diligently washed her family's clothes on a rock and washboard as steam filled the air.} 

_{Meanwhile, I couldn't help but feel the cold myself, clad in my warm, high-quality clothing, leather gloves, and waterproof shoes. It was humbling to observe this hardworking mother doing her laundry before heading to work. I ask myself when my day is hard, but am I doing laundry in the cold?} 

2. If you work to serve others, it feels like something other than work!

_{While roofing, my dad and I saw a guy bringing a heavy stove to our site. Notably, it was his from his kitchen. He chopped wood for kindling while two talented women rolled out tortillas and cooked them on the stove.}

_{These ladies noticed our work and wanted to show their appreciation. We were moved to tears as we savored the most incredible tortillas we would ever eat.}

‍3. Putting your customer's needs first will bring new opportunities.

_{I wanted to join my Mexican friends one of the years I served, but my wife and I needed more money for our home. We were saving up for it. How could I not go when I desired the same thing as the people we helped?}

_{Our third and final child was born that year, and I went alone. Knowing something will present itself as an opportunity. “Luckily,” my New Year's bonus exceeded our down payment, and by February, we were in our new house.}

‍4- To be a leader, practice serving your team. 

_{Find their needs and genuinely help them succeed. Management is a title, but leadership is how you act. My best assistant is a mother of three in the Philippines. I teach her about what she wants most, self-reliance, and she's a fantastic team member who is always eggar for more, as Dan Sullivan says, a “transformational relationship.”}

‍5- Forget yourself and serve your clients. 

_{Offer them something unique, exceed their expectations, and surprise them. My clients often wonder why we don't charge for our consulting and brand management services. At My Retail World, as an Amazon brand agency, providing complimentary services is built into our business model.}

_{Our values allow us to go above and beyond without any expectation of compensation. We enter into a mutual agreement where we sell their products, and they gain control over their brands, imagine on Amazon.} 

_{The people of Agua Prieta didn't have wealth or riches. Despite what seemed like scarcity to me, they found abundance. While I saw ruins and desolation, they saw family and sacrifice. I never asked for payment, but their smiles, warm hugs, and the best tortilla I'll ever eat are worth more than they could have given me.}