Thinking Outside The Box
From an email:You are driving down the road in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop and you see three people waiting for the bus:
1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect partner you have been dreaming about.
Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could
only be one passenger in your car?
Think before you continue reading:
This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application. You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus, you should save her first. Or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect mate again.
The candidate who was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer. He simply answered: "I would give the car keys to my old friend and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind, and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams."
1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:
"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?
I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello."
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.
A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached..
It read:
"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away... God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.
"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.
By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table.
There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, was one quarter, two dimes and five pennies.
You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.
Selections fom the book published byArgus Communications, Illinois, 1973.
| A winner makes commitments |
| A loser makes promises. |
| When a winner makes a mistake, he says, "I was wrong." |
| When a loser makes a mistake, he says, "It wasn't my fault." |
| A winner works harder than a loser and has more time. |
| A loser is always "too busy' to do what is necessary. |
| A winner isn't nearly as afraid of losing. |
| as a loser is secretly afraid of winning. |
| A winner goes through a problem. |
| A loser goes around it and never gets past it. |
| A winner knows what to fight for, and what to compromise on. |
| A loser makes compromises on what he shouldn't and fights for what is not worthwhile fighting for. |
| When a winner says, "Let's find out." |
| A loser says, "Nobody knows." |
| A winner shows he’s sorry by making up for it. |
| A loser says, “I’m sorry but does the same thing the next time.” |
| A winner would rather be admired than liked, although he would prefer both. |
| A loser would rather be liked than admired, and is willing to pay the price of mild contempt for it. |
| A winner does what is necessary with good grace, saving his energy for situations where he has a choice. A loser does what is necessary under protest, and has no energy left for moral decisions. |
| A winner acts the same toward those who can be helpful and those who can be of no help. |
| A loser fawns on the powerful and snubs the weak. |
A winner listens. |
| A loser just waits until it’s his turn to talk. |
| A winner feels strong enough to be gentle. |
| A loser is never gentle – he is either weak or pettily tyrannous by turns. |
| A winner says “There ought to be a better way to do it.” |
| A loser says “That’s the way it’s always been done here.” |
| A winner respects those who are superior to him and tries to learn something from them. |
| A loser resents those who are superior to him and tries to find chinks in their armour. |
| A winner paces himself. |
| A loser has only two speeds – hysterical and lethargical. |
| A winner takes a big problem and separate it into smaller parts sp that it can be more easily manipulated. |
| A loser takes a lot of little problems and rolls them together until they are unsolvable. |
| A winner knows that people will be kind if you give them the chance. |
| A loser feels that people will be unkind if you give them the chance. |
| A winner knows when the price of winning comes too high. |
| A loser is overly eager to win what he cannot handle or keep. |
| A winner focuses. |
| A loser sprays. |
| A winner has a healthy appreciation of his abilities, and a keen awareness of his limitations. |
| A loser is oblivious both of his true abilities and his true limitations. |
| A winner learns from his mistakes. |
| A loser learns only not to make mistakes by not trying anything different. |
| A winner tries never to hurt people and does so only rarely when it serves a higher purpose. |
| A loser never wants to hurt people intentionally, but does so all the time, without even knowing it. |
| A winner is sensitive to the atmosphere around him. |
| A loser is sensitive only to his own feelings. |
| A loser becomes bitter when he’s behind and careless when he’s ahead. |
| A winner keeps his equilibrium no matter which position he happens to find himself in. |
| A loser is afraid to acknowledge his defects to himself or to others. |
| A winner is aware that his defects are part of the same central system as his assets, and while he tries to diminish their effect, he never denies their influence. |
| A loser is envious of winners and contemptuous of other losers. |
| A winner judges others only by how well they live up to their own capacities, not by some external scale of worldly success, and can have more respect for a capable shoeshine boy than for a crass opportunist. |
| A loser thinks there are rules for winning and losing. |
| A winner knows that every rule in the book can be broken, except one – be who you are, and become all you were meant to be, which is the only winning game in the world. |
| A loser leans on those stronger than himself and takes out his frustrations on those weaker than himself. |
| A winner learns on himself, and does not feel imposed upon when he is leaned on. |
posted by Victor Lai @ 2:08 PM
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