Service happens in many forms – Customer service, community service, and self-service to name a few. Service can be voluntary or involuntary but always benefits someone or something.
Merriam-Webster online includes these definitions of service:
a : the work performed by one that serves <good service>
b : help, use, benefit <glad to be of service>
c : contribution to the welfare of others
d : disposal for use <I’m entirely at your service>
CUSTOMER SERVICE
We hear about the importance of customer service everywhere we go.
In an age of “Customer Service is Number One” slogans, service is all about giving above and beyond what is expected – at least that’s what the advertisements suggest. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), telling customers about great customer service does not impress people like it used to. This is an area where we can no longer fake it.
“In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.”
– Jeff Bezos
So, what has changed? People are tired of hearing about great service and hungry to experience it. If you are a provider of services, get the equation correct. Spend your time building a great service and people will respond. You don’t need to scream about it.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Community service today is more of a partnership than a one-way relationship and includes transparency and a willingness to empathize. By helping others, we gain the satisfaction of knowing that we made a difference in the life of another. We don’t need to say anything about the experience and we still enjoy the benefits.
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
– Rabindranath Tagore
To be fully alive in this human experience, we need to use our gifts, talents, abilities, time and other resources to benefit those around us. When we do, we will reap the rewards in unexpected ways. Peace, fulfillment, love, and joy – all are the result of community service. The need for people to serve is everywhere. In our businesses, non-profit organizations, churches, schools, and anywhere that we can use our skills to benefit others. We become part of a community when we do our part to support and engage in some way. Not because we have to (because we don’t) but because we want to.
SELF SERVICE
Did you ever think about self-service outside of the gas pumps or the ATM? Self-service is convenient, quick, and serves us in many ways. Self-service is also the habit of developing ourselves into great contributors. By becoming the best at whatever we do, people will flock to us for our help, knowledge, and wisdom.
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
We find out what we are really made of when we use what we have and know with others. By serving ourselves with knowledge, experience, and wisdom, we become a better resource for everyone. So serve yourself well and become the expert that serves others with excellence. This is a cornerstone of creating a successful life.
“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless, and you took me in.”
– Mother Teresa
Thanks for reading!
– Lee (and the LifeSuccess.com Team)
