"Getting Ahead"
"Today was worthless because I didn't get anything done.
"You don't get
ahead at work by being the nice guy."
That's all you hear these days. We measure ourselves by how much
we do. The
more we do, that is how we determine if we have a good day or not.
Do you
feel guilty if you sleep in, or if you don't check everything off your
"to do
" list?
Each week I talk to friends I've made over the internet. They
live at
Opportunity Village, a residence for the "handicapped" in Clear Lake,
Iowa.
Here's what they tell me about what's important to them:
"I enjoy doing e-mail because I love working on the computer, I love
typing,
and meeting new people, I love getting e-mail." I try to be nice
to everyone
and I have lots of friends. I think everybody should be nice.
You don't get ahead in life by being mean."
"Hello! How are you doing today?..." "I'm doing really good today."
"Your
pal..."
What the residents at Opportunity Village see as important is not "what"
you
do but rather "how" you do it.
So the next time we "normal" people think about the handicapped as "slow"
-
think again - who's really getting "ahead"?
When you reach the end of your life and look back, will you be glad
you raced
to the finish? Or will you be looking back, exhausted, to the
"slow" ones
and seeing their smiles?
Take a risk today. Don't do something you wanted to get done.
You might
surprise yourself and have a good day.
Slow down and get ahead. The handicapped already know that.