Do you remember being in school in your earliest memories and painting your hands and placing each hand on a large piece of paper? Multiple colors and multiple handprints eventually defined your masterpiece. Your name and class/grade was written on the bottom too. This masterful work of art was then hung up and displayed for your parents to see on open house night. Some days later you were able to bring home your artwork and it may have been placed on display for a week or two at home somewhere.

In the winter after a snow fall if you walk outside in fresh snow with your boots on, you leave behind each of your footprints from your boots in the fresh snow.  If the snow continues to come down your footprints may become covered up again as if you were never there. Just like walking on the sand at the beach. When you walk along near where the water washes up to the sand, each of your footprints behind you disappear from the waves coming in and rearranging the sand where your footprints existed just a few seconds ago.

Unlike the examples above, when we add value to someone, we potentially are empowering them with new insights or information which if acted upon might change something in their lives.  We would assume for the better since you have added value to their lives. You may be thinking – “how can I add value to someone’s life?  I have nothing to add to someone’s life, I can barely keep my own life in order.”

Here is the fact – each of us has our own unique and one and only fingerprint. No one else has the same fingerprint as you.

In a similar fashion each of us has our own experiences, our own viewpoints, our own spin on life, business, family and more.  There are people who would appreciate hearing what each of us have to say to them, if they are willing and able to, listen and hear what we have to say or teach.  Done in the right format, with the proper delivery method, depending upon the specific audience, we in essence leave our own unique fingerprint on each person’s life. One of the greatest gifts we have to offer to our fellow earth inhabitants is to add value to others in our own way each and every day.

How do you add value to others?

Do you feel it is important for you to add value to others?

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified executive and personal coach who resides in Stamford, CT.