Nice Guy's Finish

There was a study released today which determined that "Mean People Make More Money."  It's an interesting study, but one that shows a dangerous trend: To have the American dream, you have to be a jerk.  The study - like most others - doesn't attempt to preach the benefits of a life lived doing good deeds for others, it only states the results of an investigation.  In fact, most information from studies are only meant to deliver facts about trends and human behavior.

In the same news cycle was a story about a police officer who was shot outside of a McDonalds by a suicidal drug addict just minutes after the cop bought cookies for a 13-year-old boy and delivered sage advice encouraging the boy to work hard and follow his dream of being an NBA star.

The slain police officer in this story wasn't trying to get ahead by stepping over the weaker people in his way to achieve the goal of more, more more -  he was risking his life every day to protect and serve those who needed him.  It was his dedication to betterment of his fellow man that drove him on his path to success, and success for him was a life in service of others.

There is no difference between the jerk who leaves nice guys in his wake to have more things, and the police officer who lost his life doing good for others - each man will one day be underground and all they will have left will be what others say about them.

List of nice rich guys:  Warren Buffet, Richard Branson, Tom Hanks, Ron Howard.

Anger and mean behavior comes from fear.  There is no shame in being a nice guy, no reason to succumb to anger and mean behavior just because you fear being poor.  You want to make money?  good... you can be assertive and go for what you want, that's the American way!  But mean behavior, treating others poorly, or looking down on others who have less is not American, it's not anything - it's just not necessary.

Good deeds, like the one the slain officer did moments before his senseless death, define us long after our money, toys, and greed get snatched up by our ungrateful, spoiled kids!

Know yourself, don't NO yourself