It's Not What You Have, It's What You Do With It

Nothing other than life itself really has intrinsic value. In order for anything to have value, you must know what to do with it. And the more productively you can use it, the more value it has.

Knowing what to do with something is more important than the thing itself. This holds true not only for tangible, material things but also for things such as ideas, business contacts, skills and information.

Most people are caught up in the endless pursuit of trying to get enough, of trying to have enough. Such an approach will never work, because just having enough is never enough. You must know what to do with it. In fact, when you know what to do with what you have, you'll discover that you already have enough! That is a very powerful concept. It frees you from the dead-end approach of getting, and focuses you on the wealth-creating approach of giving.

In order to produce wealth, you need to figure out what to do with what you've got. How can you produce maximum value for others, using the skills, knowledge, contacts and resources at your disposal? Answer that question, and you'll immediately start creating wealth.

-Ralph Marston