Sometimes, we may find ourselves pondering if any of it is worth it; that when we do our absolute best, work our hardest, and never stray away from our focus, but seem to keep coming up short in recognition, promotion or career progress, what reason is there to keep trying?

Speaker, author, marketing/media titan and creator of Wine Library Gary Vaynerchuk, a.k.a. Gary Vee, is one beast of an entrepreneur that I was introduced to while working as an assistant to a marketing CEO. In one of his books, Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Gary addresses the engagement and nurturing processes, how communication and context are key, and that developing high-quality content that’s perfectly adaptable to all the right platforms has changed the winning combination of jabs and right hooks for ultimate success.

Another way he translates that combo is “give value, give value, give value, and then ask for something in return”. A great example of this is a career coach who provides resume critiques absolutely free, as well as different self-assessment exercises for potential leads that he gets on a call with, determining a winning strategy towards that new career, and then asking how they would like to proceed.

There is also a particular devotion in the Catholic faith that takes on a similar translation of offering value and asking for something in return, centering on the Passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Known as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the devotion is structured around the rosary. With each Our Father bead is an offering (“give value”):

Eternal Father, I offer You the body and blood, soul and divinity of your dearly beloved son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.

With each Hail Mary bead comes the plea for mercy (“ask for something in return”):

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

When introduced to this prayer for the first time, my best friend was struck with the realization that, within our relationship with our ongoing nurturing process with God that stems from the Passion and Resurrection, we are owed absolutely nothing. But the opportunity is always there to continue to nurture that relationship and provide value, not simply to the Creator, but to the people around us here on Earth. That realization lead my friend on a path where he would continue to nurture that relationship, from our time at Virginia Tech, through his years in the seminary, and to his service as the Director of Campus Ministry to VMI before his unexpected death earlier this year (I will write more about him in future posts/publications).

In today’s world, “entitlement” is a buzzword–initially defining one generation, but now seemingly redefining others–and we seem to be becoming more conditioned to expect to have various services “provided” or “owed” to us. But the truth is that we are owed absolutely nothing from anyone.

However, “owed” is not the same as “deserving”. My friend set his life in motion with a direct mission to serve others and to serve God, working hard towards that goal, growing as many relationships as he could–as well as growing those others’ relationship with God–while letting go of how he showed that everyone is deserving of God’s love until he was called home.

No matter how hopeless it may seem in you career or job hunt, never give up. Set your mind towards a goal, work tirelessly towards, let go of how it comes to pass, analyze and present the value to our efforts.

You absolutely deserve to serve. Show them why.