A teenager commented to me that “It’s nice to know some rich people are good”. I cringed. That’s like saying “It’s nice to know some poor people are good”. The comment showed the teen’s conditioning.
There are “good” people, however you may define that, in all economic classes; and there are scoundrels in all as well. People are people. What I want to say to the teen is that people who are good at earning money are with scarce exception, good people; otherwise they would not be good earners.
Making money requires cooperation with many others, and few would want to do that if you were a jerk. Further, those that make no money do not hire others, and even those that are not ambitious require a job to stay out of poverty. To create a successful business that hires others requires risk taking and a lot of hard work to create a product or service that people want to trade their money for voluntarily – because they can see they are better off than not doing so. In this way, businesspeople help others by providing all the products and services they need.
Lastly, my advice to this teen, is that if she sees herself as the kind of person who will never have money, who thinks that others who do have it are not honorable in some way, and as the kind of person who will struggle forever – then she will repel prosperity, because your income will never exceed your self image.
And that is the product of our media and her upbringing. Unfortunately there are many who think that way! I’m living daily as our state battles “good vs. evil” of the socialist mentality.
I wi be sharing your message, Larry.
Wow! That’s powerful! I say that sometimes myself and didn’t realize it until Now! I’ll change that now:). Beliefs from long ago come up every now and then I guess:))
And do we think she would read your comments all the way through to the end and learn something?
It breaks my heart to see that people barely read anymore.
Making decisions on “sound bites” is dangerous.
I taught a class of 6th graders for junior acheivement yesterday- it was amazing ti see and very obvious that the kids ideas about finance & careers were a direct result of their families ideas and experiences – we all need to do a better job of talking to young children and teenagers about the possibilities the world and our country can offer
I have long believed thatperson financial education & basic business should be taught in schools starting at a very young age and continuing thru high school –
AMEN BROTHER!!! CERTAIN GOVERNMENT IDEA’S ARE TO CREATE A NEEDY SOCIETY, THEREFORE, THEY WILL LOOK TO THE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. VERY SAD. UNFORTUNATELY OUR SCHOOLS ARE FULL OF TEACHINGS THAT BRAINWASH YOUNG PEOPLE IN BELIEVING THAT THE RICH ARE EVIL.I HAVE FOUND THAT MOST PEOPLE THAT HAVE MONEY ARE THE MOST HONEST, HARD WORKING AND GIVING PEOPLE THAT I HAVE EVER KNOWN.
Larry, I typically agree with almost all of your posts, and this one is no exception. You are spot on. All of us are products of our environment, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change things. The real solution needs to be a combination of parenting, education and self-motivation. None of these things are truly provided by a well-meaning government with all of its programs and expense.
Wow! Maybe all we can do is educate one person at a time. The media has brain washed not only our teens, but alot of adults as well. I know someone who thinks that anyone who owns a business is a sociopath filled with greed. Really? ???? And unfortunately there are many people that think like that. What they don’t see is how giving & charitable business owners are. ..just sit in on any Rotary meeting. Thank you for touching that person. ..who might spread the word. Let’s all educate ….one person at a time 🙂
The decline of a great nation starts when the very idea of being enterprising and successful becomes something that is generally reviled by young people (i.e. the future generation). There has been a constant drum beat in this country over decades now that has turned general perception of people that are enterprising as having an affliction. The challenge for us is to find a way to alter that mis-perception.
Money is good, people are good. More or less money to me does not determine a good person.
“Money is the tool of men who have reached a high level of productivity and a long-range control over their lives”
Ayn Rand
The world is a diverse place with a variety of personalities. Some have little or no desire to establish personal goals and many have the ambition and desire to Excel in in many different levels. The point I think is to keep God, people and country in your heart and strive, with this in mind, to run your own race to achieve your goals.