People will measure your entire existence by what you did for someone else. Everyone who ever knows you, and even yourself, evaluates your success in life based on your level of service to others.

Some people only help others to get recognition. Yes, providing a helping hand to someone gets you noticed. But gaining some form of notoriety isn't (in itself) a valid reason for helping another person. You’re acting selfishly when you do that. When you do things for selfish reasons others soon see what you're doing. In time those kinds of actions hurt your reputation.

In my opinion, the best way to help others is anonymously. (Anonymously means that no one except you ever knows about it.) You just do something that helps the other person. You don’t expect as much as a thank you in return. The thanks you get is that you just feel better because you helped them.

“Charity from the heart brings joy.” The Bratzlaver

That is one way YOU measure the value of your own life.

Remember: When you help someone up, you pull her or him to your level. You help them become a better person. It doesn’t matter if they know it or not.

Another reason to help others is that they're less fortunate than you are. When you're successful in life it's important that you give something back. True happiness comes from sharing. And when you have abundance in your life sharing only makes sense.

Here are some ideas for helping another person:

·    When friends feel sad the best way to help is let them talk about their problem. Don’t say a word. The important thing is just listen to them. You’ll find that act of friendship important to them. (This also works for sisters and brothers.)
·    When someone is hungry, and you have more to eat than you need, give them some food.
·    When you see someone fall, help her or him up.
·    When you see someone having trouble because they have too much to carry, offer to carry some of their things.
·    When it’s raining, share your umbrella.
·    When someone is thirsty, give her or him a drink.
·    Donate things you no longer use or need.
·    Donate a part of the money that you make during your life.

There is always an opportunity to help somebody. Look for the need, and be eager to fill it.

Finding ways to help in an anonymous way might be tough. Sometimes you must work hard to find a way to do this. Of course, when you have to work to find a way to help someone without them knowing it, you always become a better person because of it.

It’s easy to give money anonymously. Just give cash and don’t tell them who you are. You can put it in the tray at church, leave it at a homeless shelter, or give it to any charity you feel strongly about. There are plenty of them.

The work comes when you look for an anonymous way to give something other than money. Check out these suggestions:

·    Help an older person to cross the street. Don’t tell them your name.
·    When you see someone drop something pick it up, and sneak it back to her or him. Do it right and they won’t even know they ever dropped it.
·    When you see someone with a sad face, give her or him a great big smile.
·    Write a letter telling someone how great you think they are. Just don’t sign it. They’ll feel wonderful – even when they don’t know where the letter came from.

When you give something back you help make the world a better place — a safer place — a happier place.

What do you think would happen if everyone did that?

How do you measure your success in life?