Why does it always come back to the ageless truths? Mostly because that which is truth is ageless and truth doesn’t change with the wind. “The Right Philosophy” can be defined by any number of phrases, but it always comes back to the “golden rule.” It’s rephrased, but the essence is the same:

You can have whatever you want in life if you will just help others get what it is that they want.

This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky-feel-good theory, this is practical and will be strongly linked to your success, no matter what field you’re in. It shows that all aspects of success—business, personal, etc.—are linked together and will all have an impact on your financial success.

Everyone largely wants the same things in life; to be happy, healthy, to have at least some amount of prosperity, to be secure and have friends, to have a happy family life, to have peace, and to have hope.

Abraham Maslow called it the Hierarchy of Needs: our physiological needs are met, then we move on to the need for safety, then to the need for love, then on to the need for esteem, and finally what he called “self-actualization.” Fancy words to say that we all need the same things (the basic needs met) before we can achieve success, however it is that we define success.

No matter what your religious beliefs are, the golden rule is inherent in each religion; each just uses different words. The philosophy that you need to care for others (the “do unto others”) as you want to be cared for yourself (“as you would have others do unto you”) is at the heart of my phrase above—you will find success when you consider the needs of others as not only achievable, but something with which you can help.

When you do this, you not only set yourself to be assisted as you face needs in the future, but you also show others (and yourself!) that your own ambition hasn’t blinded you.

Remember: success doesn’t happen in the vacuum of work only. It’s something that touches every aspect of your life and the right philosophy will help get you there!