My Goal

by Dr. James W. Jackson
Founder, Project C.U.R.E.
Author, The Happiest Man in the World: Life Lessons from a Cultural Economist

There is no secret regarding my goal for the balance of my life: I am determined to spend the best of my life for the rest of my life helping other people be “better off.” I say that with boldness because I have empirically experienced that I have received and am receiving everything I need and desire in my life in direct proportion to my helping other people receive what they need and desire. The minute the formula is reversed and I begin focusing and striving to attain the selfish aspirations that I demand the more I end up losing.

The more energy and creativity I invest in personal accumulation and attainment the less satisfaction and peace I experience. The more I grab onto the things I want and demand the more they elude me. The more tightly I squeeze the things in my hand that I am determined to keep, whether it is accumulated assets, position or relationships, the more I regrettably squeeze them through my fingers and they escape my grasp.

However, it seems that the more I relinquish my own selfish pursuits and become aware of the needs and desires of others the more my own life takes on qualities of peace, satisfaction and fulfillment. And the mysterious thing that happens is that I find at the end of the day those things I truly needed and desired in my life have been fully met at the very same time I was focusing on helping others!

Anna Marie and I spent a lot of time in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales getting Project C.U.R.E. organized and registered as an official “Registered Charity” in the U.K. Somewhere in our travels I encountered the following true story. It serves to remind me of the importance of consciously trying to help everyone around me be “better off.”

There was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, the man heard a cry for help coming from a nearby peat bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself.

Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what would have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Fleming had saved.

"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life."

"No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is this your son?" the nobleman asked.

"Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "At least let me do this,” offered the nobleman. “Let me provide him with the level of education that my own son will enjoy. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.” And that he did.

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from Mary's Hospital Medical School in London. He then went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, “the man who discovered Penicillin.”

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? That’s right . . . Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman was . . . Lord Randolph Churchill and his son's name was . . . Sir Winston Churchill.

You will always have everything you need in life if you will help enough other people achieve what they need to be better off.

Dr. James W. Jackson often describes himself as "The Happiest Man in the World." A successful businessman, award-winning author and humanitarian, Jackson is also a renowned Cultural Economist and international consultant, helping organizations and governments to apply sound economic principals to the transformation of culture so that everyone is "better off."

As the founder of Project C.U.R.E., Dr. Jackson traveled to more than one hundred fifty countries assessing healthcare facilities, meeting with government leaders and "delivering health and hope" in the form of medical supplies and equipment to the world's most needy people. Literally thousands of people are alive today as a direct result of the tireless efforts of Project C.U.R.E.'s staff, volunteers and Dr. Jackson.

To contact Dr. Jackson, or to book him for an interview or speaking engagement: press@winstoncrown.com