Several of us attended a lunch yesterday where the speaker talked about reality. That is, REALITY in relation to all the stories and not-necessarily-factual information that one can conjure up as the reasons why things are or are not the way they “should be.” If you cut out all the things you can’t verify as fact, a lot of stories we spend needless time on and stress out over become a lot less significant.

One thing I found particularly helpful was the segment where she talked talked about the one question we can all use to make a real difference: “How can I help?”

That’s all it comes down to. That’s what we all want to do for each other and our clients every day. Help. I might be able to help you with a strategic website plan. I can help you with some business insights. I certainly know someone who can help you with establishing a strong social media presence or someone who can design a killer logo, write amazing headlines, or put your ad in front of a highly relevant audience.

The key here is that I can help. I want to help. Either by doing it myself or by finding you the person or resource that can help. And I think that’s what we all want to do – we all want to help each other do the things we need to, and want to do. So why does it always seem more difficult than that?

What I’m really stressing here is the mindset of, “How can I help?” rather than telling you that “I can help” or just telling you that you should want to help people.

The next time you’re faced with a situation where your typical reaction might be, “OH MAN! That request should have come in 3 hours ago – there’s no way I should have to do this now!” think instead about how you can help. Resistance before action will only slow things down. Providing feedback afterward, however, can help influence future decisions.

Reality is reality. We can fight it, or we can help and do some positive things toward making reality a better place to be.

How can I help?