Fortune does not...

Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.

-Suzanne Necker

I think this is profound. Have you ever known anyone to come into a substantial sum of money? The become different overnight. What is amazing is what some people call a fortune. People's true colors begin to shine through. That being said, I am going to just post some interesting fact I found browsing the Internet. It ought to show you how people are changed by money.

Nearly one-third of lottery winners become bankrupt.“The CFP Board made an offer to the National Association of State and Provincial Lotteries to provide the organization's members with information to distribute to winners. The Investment News article highlighted the lack of financial guidance many winners receive from state lottery agencies; estimates show that nearly one-third of lottery winners become bankrupt.”Source: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. http://www.cfp-board.org/bulletin.html

Wealth brings unhappiness.“A new study by American psychologists has found that cash and popularity do not bring nirvana. Experts say that excessive wealth,particularly for people unaccustomed to it, such as lottery winners,can actually cause unhappiness.(..) There is evidence that there are very wealthy people who are very unhappy, particularly people who were not born to wealth like lottery winners.”Source: BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1162153.stm

A San Francisco Chronicle article titled “Big lottery winners know alot about what not to do” states:“The newly wealthy spend most of their first $1 million on travel” “Research shows that a significant number of lottery winners lose their winnings within five years, said Stephen Goldbart, a psychologist and co- director of the Money, Meaning and Choices Institute in Kentfield, which advices people who come into financial windfalls.”"We've seen people who had decent marriages who came into money and it destroyed the marriage. Bringing a huge amount of money into the scene is a life-changing event," Goldbart said.”“A hermit drank himself to death just two years after winning $2.57million (1.8 million pounds) in the lottery.”“Tom Grey, spokesman for the National Coalition against Legalized Gambling, said Virginia state lottery officials found in 1999 that of300 millionaire winners, as many as 60 eventually encountered financial problems.”Source: San Francisco Chronicle article 2002. http://www.geocities.com/ccd4664/BigLottoryWinners.htm

Researchers have identified many elements that people report wanting that don't really bring lasting happiness once obtained. For instance,there are interesting data on the clinical depression of megabuck lottery winners, or that the reported happiness of the rich is not significantly higher than the average person's. Apparently, large amounts of wealth, fame, power, sex, and prestige do not bring above-average happiness over time.”According to ABC's John Stossel, "Studies of lottery winners found that within a year, most say that they are no happier than they were before they won. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Pantheon/8320/HAPPNSS.htm

It's sad really. I hope that if I ever come into a large some of money, we find out that I am still a pretty good guy.

There is no greater...

There is no greater joy nor greater reward than to make a fundamental difference in someone's life.

- Sister Mary Rose McGeady

For over thirteen years Sister Mary Rose McGeady was the President of the Manhattan based home for runaway teens, known as The Covenant House. She took over in that position in 1990 and continued on until 2003. During her tenure there, she succeeded in rebuilding what had become a crumbling institution. Now that we have the background on Sister McGeady, lets take a look at this quote.

First of all let me say, that when I saw this quote today, so many things came to mind that I may just ramble on for awhile. So, I apologize in advance.

By taking over and running a failing home for runaway kids, I would say that Sister McGeady, made a fundamental difference in the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people. We should all strive to make a difference in the lives of just a few, not all of us can be Sister McGeady's.

I am reminded of the families that my Sunday School class helps each year at Christmas. We took on our first family 3 years ago. I was told of this family that had 5 kids, no dad and mom didn't have a job. They had no idea what they were going to do for Christmas. I went and met with the mother and she could not go the normal routes for help that year, for various reasons. I met with our Sunday School class and decided we would "adopt" them that year. It was incredible. We supplied all the children with necessities, such as tooth brushes, tooth paste, new blankets, pillows, etc. We also got each kid pencils, crayons, notebooks, all the things they needed for the rest of the school year, including clothes plus 3 or 4 toys apiece. On top of all of that, we took enough food to feed the entire family during the Christmas break from school.

On Christmas Eve, we went to their house, and Santa Claus went with us. I will never forget the look on those kids faces when they looked out the window and saw Santa coming with that HUGE bag of toys. We walked in and one of the kids jumped in Santa's arm and said "I knew you would come see us Santa, I just knew you would. I love you." If you've never seen four grown men moved to tears, then come and go with us next year. We were speechless. We finally got the kids calmed down and seated and Santa hugged them and loved them, and he started passing out their giftsand telling them the true story of Christmas. They were amazed. The little girl was happier with her tooth brush than anything else. She grabbed my hand and asked me to help her brush her teeth, she was so excited. You would think that we made a fundamental difference in the life of that mom or those kids. Whether we did or not, I'll never know. But I know it made a difference in the lives of those that went. A true fundamental change. I don't think any of us will look at Christmas the same again. We have continued to do this for 3 years now. Each year it is a new family, and the blessing keeps getting bigger and bigger. It's the one part of Christmas I look forward to.

Now, while we are on the subject, let's talk about Santa Claus. We live the Santa tradition at my house. I have have found that I know several people that don't. I really and truly do not understand this line of thinking. I think you are robbing kids of some of their innocence, by not allowing them to believe in Santa. I'm 38 years old and still believe in Santa. There is no denying the fact that there was a man, the Bishop of Myra, in modern day Turkey, by the name of Nicholas. He lived in the 4th Century AD, and was known as Nicholas the Wonderworker. I am not Catholic, but when you study the life of Nicholas he he did many wonderful things for the people he ministered to. He no doubt fundamentally changed the lives of the people around him.

Nicholas was credit with saying, "...it's good to give and have only God know about it." Now if that isn't the Santa Claus mythos, then I don't know what is. I believe Santa is real. His history and giving, loving kindness lives on in the hearts of millions of people. On Christmas Eve, for the last 3 years, I now know of 13 children that believe in Santa. They saw him, they touched him and heard the true story of Christmas from him. That is something they will never forget. No matter where life takes them or what ever lays around the corner, for a short period of time, those kids believed and it was made real for them. I think we all can experience that if we would take the time to believe, to give in secret and to try and fundamentally change the lives around us.

Any fool...(again)

Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain; and most fools do.

- Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie authored several best sellers including "How to Win Friends and Influence People" and "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living." Over 50 million copies of Mr. Carnegie's books have been printed; they are published in 38 languages. Sounds like a man that could get his message across.

Mr. Carnegie spent a lifetime, touring and lecturing and writing books. His goal was to make each and every person he met a better person, and to help them become the best that they could be. One of his core ideas, was that it is possible to change people's behavior, by changing one's reaction to them. If you're not getting the desired response from the people you deal with on a daily basis, maybe you need to look at how you act or react towards them. Sometimes its hard to look in the mirror and see yourself as the problem.

You have read my previous posts and know that I don't deal real well with all the negativity in the world. Everyone seems to be a part of the problem, and not part of the solution. A fool is defined as someone who lacks judgement or sense. So according to Mr. Carnegie, someone who constantly complains or criticizes, lacks good judgement. Sometimes its best to hold your tongue. I am the worlds worst. I will tell you what I think, before you even ask. However, I have made a real effort to stop complaining. I'm not there yet, but I think I'm getting better. Complaining and criticizing, just for the sake of complaining, NEVER solves the problem.

The next time someone isn't doing what you think is right, or something has gone terribly wrong. Don't let your tongue get ahead of your brain. Stop for a minute, assess the situation, and formulate a plan to fix it. Be a part of the solution, and quit being the fool.