What problem are You solving?

google.com

One of the best ways to be effective in accomplishing our greatest desires in life is to ask ourselves the very potent question, "What problem am I solving?" It's a question that all new entrepreneurs are advised to answer before taking the plunge into launching a venture. But it is a also question that we need to ask ourselves as we approach each new project, large or small. It's a question we should ask of ourselves everyday if we hope to remain relevant and innovative. It is a critical question. It very frequently spells the difference between success and failure in a new venture. It's pretty much the same thing as it relates to the broader picture - life itself.

Am I making a mountain out of a mole-hill here? Is this much ado about nothing? Hardly! The fact is...the quality of the rewards life throws at us will depend largely on the the kinds of problems we solve for others.  And note well - it's the problems we solve for others (not ourselves) that make the difference. It is only as we extend ourselves beyond our own immediate problems, needs, insufficiencies and seek to provide solutions for the bigger issues that surround us that we begin to impact our world and find our own place in the stars.

So how about us changing our focus from "what problems am I facing?" to "what problems am I solving?" and "for whom am I solving them?" Greatness, by God's design and definition, is achieved only in relation to our willingness to serve others. Master motivator, Zig Ziglar is known to have said "You can have everything in life you want if you just help enough other people get what they want." Seems a paradox, but it's true. It is as we give time to finding solutions that other people value that we experience our greatest levels of effectiveness. Tried and proven! Entrepreneurs know that if a product or service doesn't solve a problem, fill a gap or soothe a pain then its chances of doing well in the market is next to none. In the same way, if our lives amount to little more than a self-serving, unintentional, unfocused existence we can expect to remain and/or become unfulfilled promises to mankind.

 So my challenge to all of us today is this.....find a problem to solve; one significant enough to interest enough people in order to sustain it's impact.....And I'm not asking that we  look outside of our strengths, talents and gifts. I'm asking that we  find and harness those talents. If you're a good cook, find a cause that needs your abilities. If you're an artist, know that there are people looking for your creativity. Understand the value of voluntarism to  your growth. You'll likely need to do that, at least initially, to establish a presence in the market place. Go out and solve some problems for the world around you. You'll be surprised at how many of yours get solved in the process.