As the carpenter built a new desk for Michael, they talked about the latest challenges at Social Connect. Michael shared all they had been doing to put Love, Serve, Care into action, and the frustrating results of acquiring only one new customer.

“I see it differently,” said the carpenter. “I believe you should be thankful that you got a new customer. The more you are thankful, the more you will have things to be thankful for. The more you and your company appreciate each new client, the more you will become a magnet for new clients. This appears to be a wonderful growth opportunity for you and your company,” he said with a warm smile.

Michael nodded, knowing the carpenter was right. He had been focused on what Social Connect lacked instead of what it had. He had been looking through the lens of pessimism instead of opportunity.

“You also have to remember what I told you the other day,” J. said. “Success takes time. Clients won’t recognize all that you are doing to love, serve, and care right away. The outside world won’t immediately see what you are doing on the inside. You won’t always be recognized. That’s okay. Just keep doing the work. Keep loving, serving, and caring. Keep making a difference. Over time people will notice, word will spread, and the truth will shine through.”

The carpenter picked up a piece of wood that would become one of the desk’s legs. “Everyone wants the quick-fix solution. They want convenient, immediate success. They don’t want to get messy. But there’s nothing convenient about loving everyone we are meant to love. There’s nothing easy about serving others when your own life is challenging and you want someone to serve you. Sometimes it’s hard to care when you don’t feel like caring.”

“It’s not easy at all. Love, Serve, Care sounds so simple, but it takes a lot to truly live it,” Michael said as he looked at the Heart of Success model on his wall. “It’s easy to have a great mission statement, but it’s pointless unless your people are on a mission.”

“That is a powerful truth,” the carpenter said. “That’s why you can’t just talk about the mission; you have to be the mission. Everyone on your team and in your business must live it, breathe it, and share it.

“You need to dig down and love deeper, serve greater, and care more. The love of what you are building has to be greater than the challenges you face. Serve greater! Become a mighty servant who serves in small ways, big ways, and sideways. Serve everyone as if they are the only person on the planet. And care more. Care so much that you care enough for everyone.” The carpenter could tell Michael was a little overwhelmed. Michael was already doing all that the carpenter asked but now he was asking even more of him. But that’s what great coaches do. They push you beyond your limits and past your comfort zone. Getting Michael to do more was the only way to build something great.

“Do you know what drives us to love deeper, serve greater, and care more?” J. asked.

“I have to be the mission?” asked Michael.

“Yes,” J. answered, “but there’s something before the mission. The key is finding the purpose that inspires you to be the mission. Let’s face it, you won’t always feel very optimistic. There will be days you don’t want to get out of bed. You will have moments when the last thing you want to do is to love, serve, and care. It is during these times that you need to remember your purpose. When you know your why, you will know the way and you’ll find a way. Your purpose will inspire you to love those who are hard to love, serve when you don’t feel like serving, and care more when you don’t feel very caring.”

“So how do I put this into practice?” asked Michael. “And how do I help my team love deeper, serve greater, and care more?”

The carpenter picked up another piece of wood to measure it. “You and your team complete this sentence: ‘I love, serve, and care because________.’ When you can complete this sentence you will become a powerful success builder. And if you do what I tell you next, you will become one of the greatest success builders on the planet.”