Success is everybody’s dream. But what is the key to success? How can you be successful? In my post about defining successful people, I wrote that we should measure success based on how much we give rather than how much we receive. Fortunately, it also works nicely the other way around since those who give more almost always will also receive more.

Based on that, you can see that the more value you give to others, the more successful you will be. So how do you pave your way to success? How do you become more successful? The answer is amazingly simple. Here it is:

The key to success is making yourself as useful as possible to others.

That’s it. Making yourself as useful as possible to others.

If you focus on applying this, others will realize the value they get from you and they will attract more people to come to you. These new people will also realize the value they get from you and they will attract even more people to come to you. The virtuous cycle begins and you are now on your way to success.

With this principle in mind, you should aim at increasing your usefulness to others. How do you do that? Here are some ideas:

1. Be observant of needs
   To be useful to others, you should always be aware of even the slightest clues of needs. The more sensitive you are to the needs of others, the more appreciative people will eventually become. The best scenario is being able to anticipate a need before the other people are even aware of it.
2. Find solutions to the needs
   Now that you are aware of needs, the next step is finding solutions to them. The solutions you offer should be as useful as possible. To be able to do so, there is no other way but to continuously build your own value. It is from the value you have that you could give value to others.
3. Be proactive to help
   Do not wait for the other person to ask for your help. Be proactive. Give your help even before they ask.
4. Be sincere
   What matters is not only the solution you offer, but also the way you deliver it. Being sincere means being glad to help others without expecting anything in return. Make it your joy to give something to others. People can somehow distinguish whether or not you are sincere.
5. Go the extra mile
   Doing the above four steps is good, but add this one if you can: give more than expected. First, give what is expected, and then add a little more. If you do the above four steps people will be appreciative, but if you add this one step they will be impressed.