A the age of fifty-three he had become the richest man on earth, but his relentless pursuit of money had taken its toll and destroyed his health. With an income of over one million dollars a week, (this was 1890 and if adjusted for inflation that’s over 25 million a week today) he had lost his hair and could only eat crackers and milk. With no hope of recovering, he decided to use his wealth for the greater good of others. He turned his thoughts from making money to using the money for good. An amazing thing happened, his health returned, and he lived to be ninety-eight. Who was he?
John D. Rockefeller discovered the truth that the Bible mentions six times in the four Gospels. And here it is, if you try to find your life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life (in service towards others), you will find it. If life is a teacher, and it can be, I’ve observed that the most fulfilled, emotionally healthy and happiest people are those that find something outside of themselves, bigger than themselves, that makes them forget themselves so that they can give themselves. Prosperity without purpose is a dangerous thing, but not a purpose for us alone but one that uses what it has for the benefit of others.
If your world is filled with emotional unrest, stress, and worry or if you are striving for something that seems never to show up, stop! Change your focus, see life as something you get to give to others. If John D. Rockefeller could find emotional and physical health by giving his life away, why can’t we? A smile, a kind word, words of affirmation, doing things for others. It’s this type of focus in our daily lives that will produce excitement, energy, and emotional health.
For a lot more on this subject download my series “Moving life Forward.”
