Nuggets for Nuggets: The Give, Get, Give Cycle
One of the things I appreciated most about serving in the United States Coast Guard was that our mission wasn’t driven by quarterly profits or shareholder value.
My work was driven by helicopter rescue, homeland security, and service to others.
The question was always, “How do we serve better?”
That perspective taught me a lesson that extends far beyond military service.
Don’t make money your primary motivation.
Don’t make time off your primary motivation.
Don’t make promotions, recognition, or other benefits your primary motivation.
Instead, become exceptionally good at using your God-given talents and interests in service to others.
Fulfillment is the byproduct of contribution.
One of the easiest traps to fall into is constantly asking, “What’s in it for me?”
Ironically, that question often limits both your impact and your opportunities. When your attention is fixed on what you can get, you become blind to all the ways you can create value.
A better question is:
“How can I use what I’ve been given to serve others better?”
Each of us has been given a unique combination of talents, experiences, interests, and personality. There is great fulfillment when we develop those gifts to become genuinely valuable to the people around us.
When you consistently create extraordinary value for others, it creates a self perpetuating cycle in which everyone benefits.
Opportunity follows competence.
Trust follows service.
Fulfillment follows contribution.
And generally, abundance follows them all.
First, give.
Then, receive.
Then, use what you’ve received to become even better equipped to give.
It’s a cycle that compounds over a lifetime.
The people who build the most meaningful careers are rarely focused on extracting the most from the world.
They are wholly committed to contributing as much as they can.
Paradoxically, that mindset often produces the very things others spend their lives chasing—opportunity, expertise, financial security, and fulfillment—because they were focused on giving rather than getting.
Serve first.
Trust that if you consistently create extraordinary value for others, you’ll be rewarded in ways that prove more meaningful and impactful than when you are trying to get before giving.