33 Reasons People are Everything

Since Donald Trump has taken office, I’ve seen a lot more disrespect amongst people. I’ve heard more arguing amongst friends (and no, not the productive kind), seen more name-calling, more racist and hateful remarks, and much, much less respect for others–from both sides. Not only is treating people with disrespect wrong, because it’s hurtful towards others, but I also believe it is extremely hurtful for the person delivering the disrespect, as it negatively affects their ability to live a productive, fulfilling life long-term.

I’ve always preached that “people are everything”, and that no matter what you want in life-love, riches, fame, recognition or appreciation-it’ll only come to you with the help of other people. Since people seem to be forgetting just how important it is to treat their fellow human with kindness, I decided to make a list of 33 times you’ll need people on your side:

1. Every job you ever get will be because a person hired you, and most likely because you were highly recommended to that person, by another person.
2. If you ever start a business, you’ll need to convince people to buy from you, people to work for you, and people to invest in you, and you must have all 3.
3. If you’re looking for love, people will set you up on dates.
4. People will be who you date.
5. People who date you will want to know what other people think about you before dating you.
6. People who date you will change their minds about how they feel about you if their friends, or parents, don’t like you.
7. People will save your life if you ever go to the emergency room.
8. Or come to your rescue if you’re unable to get to the emergency room.
9. People will keep your neighborhoods safe so your children can play outside without you worrying about anything happening to them.
10. People will watch your children when you need a night (or nights) to yourself.
11. People will deliver your children.
12. People will teach your children.
13. People will teach you!
14. People will be there celebrating for/with you as you pass every major milestone in your life. Every birthday, job promotion, school graduation and of course, your wedding day!
15. If you’re renting, a person is giving you a place to live without having to buy a home.
16. If you’re buying an old home, a person is selling you their home.
17. If you’re buying a new home, people are building that home for you.
18. If you ever run for any office, you’ll need people to vote for you, and lots of them!
19. Every piece of food you’ve ever eaten unless you’re a farmer, was grown, harvested, and checked for ‘safe to eat’ by other people.
20. If you don’t feel like cooking, you can go out and have food cooked for you, by other people.
21. If like me, you stop for coffee every morning on your way to work, your caffeine fix is being prepared by another person.
22. If you have a cavity, there’s a person for that.
23. If you need a massage, there’s a person for that.
24. What about a ride? There are people for that.
25.  All the news, information, knowledge and wisdom you acquire throughout your life will be acquired through other people.
26. And everyone needs a hero! Guess who yours is? Another person.
27. A Mentor? There’s a person for that.
28. A God? Depending on your faith, that could be one ‘person’ or several. And if you’re looking for a person who can bring you closer to God, there are Rabbis, Priests, Pastors, Nouns, and several other spiritual leaders for that.
29. If you’re looking to excel at anything athletic, you’ll need a coach. And a trainer! There are people for that.
30. But most sports are team sports, so you’ll need other people for that, too.
31.  If you’re looking for a book to read, you’ll need people to write those!
32. If you’re looking to write a book, you’ll need people to read it!
33. If you want to create anything, ever, you’ll need people to create it with, and people to create it for. You think Thomas Edison invented the light bulb by himself, for himself?

This list took all of 5 minutes to jot down. If I had the time this morning, I’m sure I could come up with 1,000 other reasons why people are everything, but I hope by now you get the picture.

Every time you’re unkind towards someone, sure, it hurts that other person in the moment, but it hurts you far more because it negatively impacts your ability to enjoy any of, or several of, those 33 things. In the moment, it may feel great to ‘blow off steam’ or tell that jerk at work ‘how you really feel’, but in the end, the person you’re really doing a disservice to be being unkind to others is…..yourself.

So go out there today, be kind to every person you meet, treat others with respect and love, and selfishly, your own life will flourish.