A big thanks again to Greg Cooley for stopping by "Help Yourself" last week. Greg gave us some great insight including:

• how to find a great real estate agent
• what the term "buying back your home's equity" means
• whether you should buy a new or existing home
• things to watch out for in today's real estate market

Take a listen and please visit him online HERE.
Thanks again, Greg!

I had a great radio interview with my good friend Mercedes a couple weeks ago. She was plugging my new show by asking what "Help Yourself" would be about and who my target audience was. We started talking about getting self-help and why continual self-improvement is so important. Then we chatted about the way helping others inevitably helps us as well. Not in a selfish way; in a roundabout do-good-and-good-will-happen-to-you kinda way.

The interview really got me thinking about the ways we can all reach out and help others. I've always been a big believer in keeping things simple. Must be the Marine in me. So let's look at some simple ways we can help others as we go about our daily routine.

Smile: Have you ever seen the power of a smile. I'm not talking about a smirk or cheesy grin. I'm talking about a face shining, hey how ya doin' smile. It's really hard not react when faced with a genuine smile. Try it the next time you go to the store and you encounter a grumpy cashier. Do your best to get them to smile back. Make it your daily challenge. Yeah, it's a little thing, but you just injected a little bit of sunshine into someone's day.

Volunteer: There are a thousands of local organizations that cater to those in need. Ask your friends, family or fellow church members where they volunteer. Try to find something in your area. I think it's better to help those in your own backyard before branching-out overseas or in another state. Maybe find something you enjoy doing and use it to help others. Like making cookies or tasty pies? Maybe one of your local churches or soup kitchens takes donated food that's already prepared. Once you start asking around I think you'll have a slew of volunteer options.

Keep an Eye Out: The opportunity to help others may be right under your nose. Deploy your antenna and be on the lookout for those in need. It might be a neighbor you notice taking longer than usual to get out of her car. It could be a co-worker that just doesn't seem to be a peppy as he used to. Take a second and say hello. You don't have to put them on the spot. Just talk to them and see if they'll open up. If they do, you might be in the perfect position to help.

To get more ideas on how to help yourself by helping others, checkout my audio series HERE.

Don't forget to listen to my radio show "Help Yourself" every Thursday at 5pm CST HERE.