When you think of "service to others", does your mind conjure up images of the wait staff at your favorite restaurant or the cashier where you buy your groceries? Yes, those people are serving you, but what I mean is something with a higher purpose.

You see, we are all on this planet to learn how to serve each other. Wait, wait, wait. I can see your mind starting to conjure up a bunch of people wandering around in that funny little jackets and serving trays, like Isaac from Love Boat. Stop. That's not what I mean, either.

"Service to others" is a mindset whereby we look at our job, career, or vocation of choice as something that will help other people. Some easier examples are doctors who help heal sick people or firemen who put out fires and rescue people.

If you are a parent, you are serving your children and helping make them well-adjusted adults later in life. If you are a businessman, you are helping match your company's products and services to customers who need them. If you are an attorney-at-law, you are serving people who need help interpreting the law to make sure they don't run afoul of it or maybe they've already run afoul of it and need help deciding how to rectify the situation.

While nearly every occupation qualifies, there are many ways people make money that fall under the heading of self-centered. Those are usually people who end up getting in some trouble or other or who enable those behaviors. Not surprising, too, that these occupations are the first to go when "civilization" breaks down; how many politicians does a country without a functional government need?

What we as a society need to do is keep the focus on service to others, since this will keep the self-centered behavior on the fringes. Each day before you start your job or occupation, if you ask yourself how you can best serve others today, you can make a difference--a real difference--in the Big Picture.

Thank you for taking time to read this article!