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I don’t know why it is that I can’t escape the aggravation of some people. I must admit that I probably have less patience with obstinate, rude, arrogant, and selfish people than others who encounter these same malfunctioning personalities. I feel like a magnet that attracts this brand of people, while I would much rather reverse my polarity and repel them in the opposite direction. They cleave to me like another layer of skin and rub me the wrong way like a robotic masseuse run amuck. To me, they are just another reason for high blood pressure.
Have you ever encountered a person who can’t seem to stop themselves from telling you about their many successes in life? The first thing you notice is just how much they control the conversation, which means they do all of the talking while you politely allow them to abuse your inner ear. A certain nameless man in our community can’t wait to tell both friends and perfect strangers about his financial successes. The first time I met him it only took 20 minutes for him to all but show me his personal and business financial statements, which included how many rental houses he owns, the number of apartment units he owns, the business properties he owns, the worth of his business, the prestigious university where he earned his degree, and the various boards of which he is a member. He has two brothers; one of them is the president and CEO of a bank, while the other is a partner in a large law firm. It occurred to me that this man is full of insecurity and in a lifetime struggle to keep up with his two brothers in terms of success, which to him is measured in dollars and cents. He mentioned nothing about his church, any volunteer activities that were void of selfish involvement, or any generosity in supporting worthy charitable causes with just a pittance of his wealth and giving back to the community that has afforded him the opportunity to acquire his wealth. Instead he enjoyed telling me how he controlled his business clients and customers with his superior intellect and financial independence and bragged about telling some of his customers to hit the road because they complained about his customer service. What a boring man and human failure he is and will always be because he doesn’t understand true success, meaningful human existence, and how to treat people. He could do much good for his community by the very nature of his business and his financial status, but that he will never do because he can’t measure those actions in dollars and cents, which would cause him to fall even farther behind his two brothers in terms of financial wealth as a measure of his success.
I know business owners in our community who give back to their community proportionate to what the community gives to them. They realize that without the citizens who reside in the community they wouldn’t have customers to purchase their products. What a joy it is to be able to serve your community in a meaningful way, assist friends in their time of need and with no fanfare place a five dollar bill in the palm of a needy person and see how their eyes say everything that words alone could never say. The warmness that this brings to your heart is priceless and there isn’t a place on any financial statement to record this valuable experience. To this unnamed man and others of his kind I can only say, “Realize where your profits come from, repay your community, and reap the benefit of knowing that you have achieved true and meaningful success, in lieu of a bulging bank account”.