I had a very powerful meeting yesterday. It was one of those rare instances where the people I was speaking with were focused on building a relationship first and doing the “business thing” second. It was a real exercise in understanding who we were and how we would be with great clarity. It enabled trust to happen. If there is one thing I’ve learned in my years of professional selling, trust is everything. In fact, if we are able to trust one another, we get more business taken care of faster and more profitably than could otherwise be possible. (Trust-Based Selling is a great book on this subject.)

It is a rare thing that you meet an individual who is focused and present when you are speaking to them. That is because it is so easy to be mentally busy. We all have a lot of concerns on our mind about how the global economy is doing, how our own 401k’s are looking. It’s at times like these when it is challenging to put others first – to be really fully focused on whether we’re making a difference by our actions or just making a living.

Perhaps that is why my meeting yesterday was so refreshing. We spent time talking about a passion for helping disadvantaged children through the Crenshaw YMCA. Did we get business accomplished? You bet we did. But we also talked about how business can be a vehicle for making a difference: transforming the lives of children in poor areas of Los Angeles and transforming ones industry by holding a higher standard of integrity.

In his recent article, “Can You Make a Living and Make a Difference?” Dawud Miracle touches on this subject as well.

It’s an interesting thing to contemplate. Am I just running my business to make money or am I running my business to make other people’s lives better.

It’s a question, actually, I ask myself often. As a business advisor and web developer, I have plenty of opportunity to make money. That’s never an issue. Prospective clients contact me constantly asking how I can help them.

And there lies the purpose – helping the coaches, consultants, therapists, healers and other small business owners who contact me. That’s where my business makes a difference.

So, how about you? Are you making a living? Or are you making a difference?