You Can Win

6. Selfishness and Greed Individuals and organizations that have a selfish attitude toward each other
and toward their customers have no right to expect growth. Their attitude is to keep passing the buck
without regard for the welfare of others. Greed always wants more. Needs can be satisfied but greed
cannot. It is a cancer of the soul. Greed destroys relationships. How do we gauge our greed index? By
asking ourselves three questions:
Can I afford it? Do I really need it? If I have it, will it give me peace of mind?
Greed comes out of poor self-esteem, which manifests itself as false pride, pretense or keeping up with
the Joneses. The way out of greed is to learn to live within your means and be satisfied. Being
contented does not mean lacking ambition.
WHERE DOES IT END? There is a story about a wealthy farmer who was once offered all the land he
could walk on in a day, provided he came back by sundown to the point where he started. To get a new
start, early the next morning the farmer started covering ground quickly because he wanted to get as
much land as he could. Even though he was tired, he kept going all afternoon because he didn't want to
miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to gain more wealth. Late in the afternoon he realized the
condition he had to fulfill to get the land was to get back to the starting point by sundown. His greed
had gotten him far enough. He started his return journey, keeping an eye on how close he was to
sundown. The closer it got to sundown, the faster he ran. He was exhausted, out of breath and pushed
himself beyond the point of endurance. He collapsed upon reaching the starting point and died. He did
make it before sundown. He was buried and all the land he needed was a small plot. There is a lot of
truth in this story and a lesson to be learned. Whether the farmer was wealthy or not, any greedy
person would have ended the same way. 7. Lack of Conviction People who lack conviction take the
middle of the road; and guess what happens in the middle of the road? They get run over. People
without conviction do not take a stand. They go along to get along because they lack confidence and
courage. They conform in order to get accepted even when they know that what they are doing is
wrong. They behave like part of a herd. Some people consider themselves a shade better because they
do not support the wrong; however, they lack the conviction to oppose. They do not realize that by not
opposing they are actually supporting.