"The Gift of Empathy" by G.

So let's take a brief journey into imagination land, and plop yourself into this scenario. BAM! Your king/queen of the world. You have an infinite amount of money, resources, and power. You've always had everything; nothing was ever out of your reach. You do have everything, right? Not necessarily. The love of others. Their respect. These cherished gifts are not material, and cannot be bought. Having raw wealth is only one of the means to the end. Empathy is a powerful tool, and in a world with millions of people interconnected so heavily, it's vital.

A few months into writing this blog, I wrote a post simply titled "Smart". The basic idea was that intelligence can't be measured by some cookie cutter test; it's a constantly evolving concept. Different people have different talents; some less appreciated than others. Remembering a bunch of terms doesn't make you a genius; it means you have a sharp memory. In that post, I equated being smart to being very creative. It isn't usually the people who have the most knowledge that go the farthest, but the ones who are more creative and continue to persist. Once again, having the knowledge and power without having the people skills to deal with those around you makes that information in your head pretty useless. This is where empathy comes into play.

Do you know who we love to hear about? Ourselves. Who do we appreciate more? Someone who understands our troubles and our needs. Even with all the money and fame in the world, you cannot win loyalty and respect without putting in the effort to understanding other people. People who put this idea to work realize that by working to understand and help others, good fortune will naturally come their way. Strong bonds of friendship have been created by people simply willing to listen to what another has to say for a few minutes. That scenario I was talking about at the beginning? If all that wealth and power was stripped from you in that moment, what would you really have left? The one who had empathized with others in their time of need will find that people will be willing to come to their aid. That is the true measure of self worth. When people are willing to risk their assets and time helping you, because out of a sea of apathy you chose to pay attention. A person's net worth cannot buy a heart and mind.