Step 2: Provide Value to the World

If you’ve found this article, but have not yet read the introduction ‘10 Steps to Success‘, I highly encourage you to do so before continuing. This is part of a series of articles that read in order will give you valuable insight as to how to become successful with anything you envision.

Personal Success and Outcome Based Success

When someone has cleared themselves such that they are welcoming success, they have at that point already become successful because they know in their heart (and are demonstrating in their being) that there is no other outcome available than that towards which they are directing themselves. It’s that confidence and presence in the now that is success. So, when I know that I am already ‘being’ successful, why all the discussion (this seems simple!)?

Many people gauge success in terms of feedback or appreciation by an outside entity. If you use Maria Nemeth’s definition of success as ‘doing what you said you would do with clarity, focus, ease, and grace’, then the focus is really on taking the actions that are under your control rather than the outcome which is the result of those actions. In this definition, success might be measured by opening a store, or developing a new ad campaign, not necessarily by the sales of the store, or the response of the campaign. The focus is on what we can control, rather than what we can not.

Its a beautiful definition which is extremely empowering to the individual. It forces us to continually focus on our own personal development, asking questions like ‘what can I learn from what has happened’ rather than ‘why have things gone wrong in my life’. And while it does not guarantee an outcome which is under the control of external factors, it does guarantee a path of personal discovery and development that leads to the highest likelihood of our desired outcomes which are influenced by external factors. This distinction between personal success and outcome based success needs to be clearly delineated. To generate outcome based success (not only personal success), one must provide value to the world for others!

Creating Value for the World

As you are seeing, personal success and outcome based success are measures to two very different things. The remainder of these articles will focus on results in both of these areas. For those reading this article, you may very well be focusing on one or the other. Please note that these are highly intertwined and in most cases its impossible to focus on solely on outcome based success without focusing on personal success and vice versa. Being conscious of both will provide the highest likelihood of success in all aspects of life.

When looking for outcome based success one must provide value to the world. To make this simple, lets look at an example. If I have a goal to make money, I need to offer a product or service that someone finds valuable enough to spend money on. Furthermore, the value of the product or service that you provide needs to exceed the cost that they pay for it! In this way, you are not only providing an adequate value to the world, you are actually creating a surplus of value!

So lets make the concept very real. If I open a sales consulting business and I know that I can support clients in building more sales, then I have a business proposal that creates value to the client. This one is easily measured in monetary returns. As a consultant I may charge $5,000, and in return the company might measure that during the time we worked together they increased revenues by $10,000. The net value created was $5,000. In this model, the client is definitely happy, they will provide referrals, they might hire me again. I am happy because of the monetary value I received, and my client has provided value to their clients by offering them the product or service that they have been selling.

If you do not provide value to the world greater than your cost, you may make a ‘dummy’ sale now and again, however any gains will be short lived and soon people will recognize that your product or service is not worth it. Generating a surplus of value is the key in building outcome based successes - particularly when measured in financial returns. Its quite possible to have a service that has value, but not enough to make a purchase worthwhile for the audience that is trying to be reached.

When looking for outcome based success the question should not be how can I have more outcome, rather it should be how can I provide more value and communicate this to those that would benefit from that value.

In another example, job hunters may find that they only qualify for low paying jobs. A question might be how can I improve myself such that I offer greater value to a potential employer. When my cost exceeds my value, then I am likely not considered to be an asset to the company.

How do I do it?

Any time I am searching for increased revenue, more sales, a job with higher pay, more hits to the website, having more dates, any result involving others, then I am focused on outcome based success rather than personal success. When one is struggling to reach these goals, and is are clearly on the path towards personal success, then one must ask themselves the following questions:

• Have I truly given this the time it needs?
• Have I set measurable goals that are in alignment with my personal vision
• In a nutshell, have I followed all of steps 3-10 in the Ten Steps to Success

If the answer is clearly yes, then you must assess the value that you are currently providing to the world. Often our own personal judgements can be skewed when we’ve got an emotional attachment to the project or path we’ve taken so the opinion of an outside expert/entity can be extremely valuable.

To provide greater value, one can increase their education -many ways to do this are outlined in the linked article. Information is rampant today, using the Internet, public libraries, books, classes, courses, educational institutions, the opportunities are endless. As you grow in a directed fashion, your personal value increases, as does the capacity to offer a greater value to the world.

Be Well