One of the most rewarding things you can do for yourself is to help another person. Helping people, whether you know them or don't know them will enrich your life by leaps and bounds, and perhaps theirs as well.

Though helping other people can be a great gift to them, it is easy to allow yourself to spend a lot of time helping them and not getting done with things that need completed in your own life.

For example, my dad (who was a preacher) has a big heart and he loved going to jails and hospitals to visit those who lived there and to encourage them and take a load off their shoulders. He would also be there for anyone else who needed him, no matter what it was for. Seeing as he was a preacher, it was a part of his job, but it came at a great cost - his family. Though we were there, he was hardly ever around (though he didn't leave us) and few of us know who he is. Happily for us, he realized this last year and left the ministry to get to know his own family. Trouble is, most of us are already grown.

Make a list of your priorities and make sure that you keep those priorities while you help. Though the person you are helping may appreciate it, you could be forgetting to do something important.

Do not let yourself become obsessive over helping someone else through a situation or problem. This will only run yourself down and you won't be able to help anymore and may require help from someone else.

Being helpful is an amazing quality, but you must keep it in check by taking time for yourself and for your family, so that you maintain your health and your own happiness.

If there is a big project that needs to be done, or you need others to help you help someone else, let them know and encourage them to help. Not only will this get you more help, you are giving them the gift of being able to help.

Many people desire the feeling to be wanted or needed and would love to help in any way. However, though you should not feel guilty about asking for help, do not run them down either by constantly asking for it or by pushing them too hard.

And remember to thank all those who do help you, so that they know and understand they are appreciated.

Now that you have been cautioned, go an be generous with your spirit and your time. As I said above, helping someone is not only a gift for them, it is a gift for you.

The only society that works today is also one founded on mutual respect, on a recognition that we have a responsibility collectively and individually, to help each other on the basis of each other's equal worth. A selfish society is a contradiction in terms. ~ Tony Blair

I just know that there are a lot of people out there who are younger than I am, and I wish to be a role model for them. If they have a dream, I want to help them keep that motivation high, so that they can realize their dream. I want to show people that they CAN have fun in life. ~ Takafumi Horie