Symbiotic Service is the serving of others profitably.
I work for three reasons:
- to satisfy creative desire
- to affect the world in a positive way
- to be profitable
I must satisfy creative desire. I have god in me, as do we all, and I will create the universe daily. I am unhappy when I am not creating something. If I can couple my creative desire with my work, then I am happy in my work. The fear with this of course is in perverting your creative process to “try and make money from it.” I did that years ago when I tried to make money from my music. I was creating music for music sake, and then I decided I was going to “make money doing it.” That was a mistake. With RevenFlo, I started a business to solve real world problems that people would be happy to pay for. I started with the notion of serving people in a symbiotic way. I put my creative mind and desire to that question. That’s how I ended up in a situation where I create daily for pay.
I must affect the world in a positive way. Not only do I want to do this through symbiotic service, one person or company at a time. But I want to do this on a grander scale. That’s part of what drives projects like Aday Remus and Old Town New World and such. I want to have a larger impact than just the person to person service RevenFlo provides… though I do often remind myself that serving a person is serving the world.
I must be profitable for three reasons:
- sustainability
- lifestyle
- legacy
Sustainability means that I can keep going. I have to provide security and stability to my family. If I cannot, then I have to change how I spend my time, change the work I do until I can. I have to afford to keep working, or I have to quit. It may be fun to run a company like RevenFlo, but if I can’t afford it, then I have to close up shop. It may be fun to travel and speak on economic development, but if I can’t afford it, then I have to quit. Any endeavor must be profitable to be sustainable, otherwise it must be subsidized by some other source.
Lifestyle is how I live my life. It takes money to have nice things, shop for quality food, eat at nice restaurants, travel, buy my kids and wife presents, and so on. I want this freedom. So, I work hard for it.
Legacy is what I pass on to my kids – education, access, cushion, investments, etc.
The opportunity to work in meaningful ways is the greatest gift we have, for it sits on the assumption of health, intelligence, infrastructure, and more. It is the outcome of courage and awareness and love.
I love to work.