Turning Your Service Light On
In my house, I have what I call a morning candle. I keep it in the kitchen and light it as I’m making coffee. For me, it’s a way of acknowledging the new day. I might then go for a dog walk, or to my (home) office to get some work done. When the rest of the house wakes up and wanders into the kitchen, it’s a way for them to feel remembered and greeted. This little act of love has become a ritual.
At a time when we all feel we are in the dark of uncertainty, even the simple act of turning a light on can feel like a comfort. It is a point of connection.
If there is one word I have been living, practicing and teaching to all of my clients–corporate and entrepreneurs– it’s SERVICE. Service is all about giving. It is about ideas and generosity and sharing and contribution. It is about pausing to see what other people need, instead of racing ahead to try to get what you might need from them. Service is the opposite of scarcity, desperation, gripping, hoarding, and trying to get (and keep) things for yourself.
Don’t feel bad if you’ve been feeling desperate. These are scary times. We are all vulnerable. But we have a choice in what we do with this vulnerability. And if we have been making choices that don’t feel good, we can choose differently– starting now.
In my opinion and lived experience, service is the only thing that can actually strengthen you and your business during a time of uncertainty.
Service requires us to slow down and get curious. What do the people around me need right now? What are they up against? How can I help in a way that feels good to me? If I don’t know, how can I invite them into a conversation to find out?
In my own work, I am serving my clients–in whatever ways I can– because I care about them. I believe in the work they are doing. And I want them to succeed. So I propose ideas I feel aligned with, that I would love to work on, and I find ways to bring them to life that don’t demand more of me than I can give right now as I work from home with a 6-year-old maniac child.
I am encouraging my clients to do the same. For corporate clients, I want them to see how they might serve other departments in their company. For example, instead of fighting to prove your worth inside an organization, how can you expand the definition of your role to be in deeper service to your company, or to an individual within it that you care about? Needs and priorities at businesses have shifted, so what you contribute should, too. What are ways you can be proactive about this?
With entrepreneurs, the focus is on serving your customers and clients, showing up as helpful, relaxing boundaries and fees, and seeing the humanness of what your clients and employees are up against. It's about applying for grants and bringing your costs down to lower the financial strain. This way you can show up to serve, instead of being scarce and needing to charge for every little thing just to survive.
As I lit my morning candle today, I couldn’t help but think of it as turning on my service light for the day. The question, “Who can I serve?” has become my guidepost for a productive day.
I read in Maria Shriver’s Sunday paper, “don’t ever doubt that your act of service, and so many others are, in fact, the very acts that are creating our future.”
How can you turn your service light on?
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