ENRICHING AND BALANCING LIFE THROUGH SERVICE 

By Barry Russell 

Short Sale Specialists USA 

Metro Property Advisors LLC 

As we get underway with the new decade, many thoughts may be running through our minds as we evaluate where we are in life. The words of Mahatma Gandhi stand out to me where he says: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” To me, as a relative newcomer to St. Louis [since 2005], this metropolitan area seems to be a very philanthropic city. Many folks have already put their shoulder to the wheel to serve their favorite church, favorite non-profit or school. 

Helping others through business and through some thoughtfully chosen, charitable organization are consistent with a worthy motivational basis for life. That old saying that “Giving never impoverishes the giver” is so true. Over many decades, I have discovered how important it is to have the intentions and actions of a giver. 

My real estate career started in 1969 in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest, where I did my first real estate development, a small vacant land subdivision. I confess that for many years, I was all about doing deals, making money, and with an occasional philanthropic activity randomly thrown in. My exhilarating ride in real estate development covered everything from the first self-service storage projects to mid-rise office buildings. 

What largely was missing was a consistent dedication to giving. Sure, I was involved with family and church, but my approach didn’t get me out of my head. and beyond “self”. 

My first taste of a service organization was in the late 1970’s when I became a member of a Rotary Club for a couple of years. Honestly, I joined for the reason of the prestige factor in the small city in which I was living. Being part of a service organization was a life clue which I chose to under-value. When I moved from that city in Washington to Seattle, I felt I didn’t have time for this worldwide philanthropic organization which does such good. 

Decades went by and I found myself in West St. Louis County, meeting many busy, productive and community-oriented people. In June of 2008, I found Rotary again, and this time, I was ready for it. I finally resonated with and began to understand its motto of “Service Above Self”. 

The world-wide outreach of Rotary International has significantly led the way in many activities including virtually eliminating polio, as well as drilling water wells and funding micro loans for women in Third World countries. Locally, our Club gives time, service and money to a number of deserving NPO’s including a food bank, a school/prison for teenage boys and an organization that cares for handicapped people, to name a few. 

I am amazed at the range of philanthropic opportunities available to the member to serve, through the Rotary platform. We are exposed to an array of options for giving service locally and across the world. 

An added bonus to being part of a service organization has been meeting some really wonderful like-minded individuals who have become friends. 

It doesn’t really matter where one is in the journey of life. One could be at the beginning of a career, midway or in retirement, of modest means or monetarily successful. Service to others could enrich, inspire and balance one’s life.