Living and Learning

Living and Learning

Sooner or later, a person, if he is wise, discovers that life is a mixture of good days and bad, victory and defeat, give and take. He learns that it does not pay to be a too-sensitive soul; that he should let some things go over his head, like water off a duck’s back. He learns that he who loses his temper usually loses out. He learns that all people have burnt toast for breakfast now and then, and that he shouldn’t take the other person’s grouch too seriously. He learns that carrying a chip on his shoulder is the easiest way to get into a fight. He learns that the quickest way to become unpopular is to carry tales and gossip about others.

He learns that buck-passing always turns out to be a boomerang, and that it never pays. He comes to realize that the business could run along perfectly well without him.

He learns that it doesn’t matter so much who gets the credit, as long as the business benefits. He learns that it does no harm to smile at the janitor and say “Good morning,” even if it’s raining. He learns that most of the other people are as ambitious as he is, that they have brains as good or better, and that hard work – not cleverness – is the secret of success.

He learns to sympathize with the youngster coming into the business, because he remembers how bewildered he was when he first started out. He learns not to worry when he loses an order, because experience has shown that if he always gives his best, his average will break pretty well. He learns that no person ever got to first base alone, and that it is only through cooperative effort that he moves on to better things.

He learns that bosses are not … trying to get the last ounce of work out of him for the least amount of pay, but that they are usually … people who have succeeded through hard work and who want to do the right things. He learns that people are not any harder to get along with in one place than another, and that getting along depends, about 98 percent, on his own behavior.

EFC 1981

I wrote this 33 years ago, but it still has a purpose today. I sincerely hope we all are living and learning – daily throughout our live’s.

Comments are appreciated.