If the goal in business is to figure out a way to help many others and get them to want to help me in return, then I've gotten off to a good start. However, I'm hoping my investment eventually pays off.
My first foray into helping others was when I posted my lessons online for all to use. If I'd been able to keep my job as a teacher, those lessons would still be free.
Next, I designed online tests and lessons for my school district. Those still exist. The sad part is that the point in creating the lessons in such a way was to allow for new teachers to step in and teach without much planning. It worked so well that I was no longer teaching the next year, though several dozen of my quizzes were.
So I was a bit disheartened. All that I had done for others was taken and used with no pay or credit. But I still believe that helping others will help me. I put 300 lessons online for sale, but I'd rather give them away.
Next, I donated a lot of time to friends who had ideas for websites. I hoped we'd be able to make it big some day, but I never asked for money up front. I trusted, and it's come around to help me, albeit many years later and not to the degree we'd hoped. It was still the right thing to do.
Later, I tried pre building websites in the hopes that they'd be so good none could resist. But they resisted, even friends. Even when it was the cheapest option. It was surprising, but it was also true I had only done this for them, and not a lot of other selfless acts.
