In 1950, Rotary International adopted two mottoes. One was “He Profits Most Who Serves Best” (Rotary did not officially welcome women until 1989), and the other was “Service Above Self.” To this day, Rotary continues to use the latter motto.
After being a member of Rotary Club of Los Gatos for a few years, I am convinced that a better motto for Rotary might be “Work Hard, Play Hard,” since that is what I have observed occurs, at least at our club. The club members combine service projects, providing financial support to our schools, giving financial support to other local needs and international causes, fundraising events, and other endeavors, with barbecues, once a month social get togethers, holiday parties, and our annual roast and toast dinner to honor our departing president.
Perhaps another motto for our Rotary club might be “From Strength To Strength.” I found this one from the book by Arthur Brooks, of the same name as my motto. In addition to being a prolific author, Mr. Brooks has a podcast titled “How to Build A Happy Life” and he is the William Henry Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School and Professor of Management Practice at the Harvard Business School. Before joining the Harvard faculty in July 2019, he served for 10 years as president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI), one of the world’s leading think tanks.
Mr. Brooks spent years considering how to go from disappointment arising from his declining abilities (as a French horn player!), into a rich and rewarding rest of his life. The major takeaway from his research is that to build relationships with others, remove yourself from the pursuit of meaningless rewards, and instead seek to connect with others and to provide service to others.
As I looked around the room for my first meeting as a member of our Rotary club’s board of directors, I realized that my colleagues on the board embraced Mr. Brooks’ lessons. Each of our Rotary club’s leaders were or are stars in their respective careers. Yet they were humble and laser focused on the club’s goal of “Service Above Self.”
My other suggestion for a Rotary motto is “How To Make Friends And Influence Your Community,” which is of course a takeoff on Dale Carnegie’s book that was so popular in the mid and late 20th century.
I never thought it was possible for me to make friends so quickly, after moving to Los Gatos a little more than two-and-a-half years ago. Yet, by joining a service provider organization and committing to help, when possible, I encountered so many club members it became easy to find people with similar values and interests.
We have many great service clubs in Los Gatos in addition to Rotary, such as the Lion’s Club and Kiwanis. I happened to have picked Rotary. However, regardless of the service club you choose, you should pat yourself on the back for your “Service Above Self” and for going “From Strength To Strength.”
Jeffrey P. Blum is a family law mediator who lives in Los Gatos.
