My grandfather, Norm, grew up dirt floor poor. Being a waterman on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is a hard way of life. Norm was motivated by the financial struggle around him. He went on to become the first person in his family to go to college. Then started his own successful business. Norm says prioritizing was the most important part. There was no other way to have success without prioritizing his own interests. When I confronted him about how exactly he made so much out of nothing his answer was, “I had to sacrifice everything to get ahead. Whether it was my friends I left out or not having meal money.” I took these words to heart. Success does not come without making tough decisions. The last sentence is very overused, but for a good reason: it holds truth. Just as Norm put himself first, I live my life with my personal needs first. When a person helps somebody else before helping themselves, they are denying their human instincts. Charles …show more content…
There are too many talented people in this world to allow others to jump in your way. For example, if there was one promotion for 10 applicants, and you were one of them, how far would you go to be first? Let’s say you were having a great conversation with the interviewer and your colleague pulls you aside so that he can speak to the interviewer. Some might say “okay” to be polite, but not me. The situation at hand shows exactly whose interests come first in a person’s mind. If a person says, “Sure you can go talk to him.” That person does not want a higher quality of life. Yes they will have their job tomorrow, but no they won’t be sitting in that corner office. However people who prioritize their needs say no, “I am talking to the interview. You can talk later.” These people wake up in the new office. Those lucky few thrive. This example is not just hypothetical. Norm found himself in the exact same scenario. He didn't
To read a story that deals with this theme makes us realize that it is not everyone that can accomplish what they really want in their
In my opinion, I have been through lots of obstacles. From one of my best friends dying to my grandmother passing, it’s hard. But I didn’t quit, I didn’t give up on life I moved on and lived for them. Purpose; be unique, not average. Growing up our biggest want is to fit in. The last thing we want to do is stand out. We should have a purpose in our life span. I want to make a difference wherever I can, and impact somebody in a massive way. Sacrifice; seek wealth not riches. A few things we sacrifice each day that go unnoticed are, Time, Money, Relationships, and health. All of those things we sacrifice leads up to us creating wealth. Not necessarily money, but having what we need to be successful. Use your wealth to change others. Even with money, don’t let it change you. I write all of this to say, I want to be the best me I can be. I constantly want to work on becoming a better version of myself. The goals I have set for myself aren’t what a normal person should believe. I am working on being unique and not average, but also keep a high quality of life and thought. If I practice these 7 keys throughout my journey, I will definitely see you all from the
Rather than focusing on what I don’t have and lack, I will try to appreciate what I do have. I will try to approach the life with an open mindset and not with a victimized mindset. I also want to be able to experience the peace that Liz Murray mentioned of not having to worry about always receiving more than giving. I do not want to surround myself with a restless mentality of counting things I could have and the things I do not have. Cynicism will definitely get the best of people and I do not want to live in a world where everybody scrambles around trying to chase down a materialistic lifestyle while having no concern about others. Liz Murray has taught me to embrace the notion of community in addition to improving oneself. English was a second language for me and without the help of the precious individuals who I have met along my journey I would not been able to write this essay today. A person simply does not live by himself, but also with other individuals within a community. If we feel the need to improve the quality of our lives, we also have the responsibility to look out for those who are not capable of doing it
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.” We are All Bystanders by Jason Marsh and Dacher Keltner is an article that reflects on the psychological and social phenomenon that refers to cases in which people do not offer any assistance or help to a victim. Studies say that a person's personality can determine how they react to a bystander situation. In a book called, The Heart of Altruism, author Kristen Monroe writes the altruistic perspective. Altruistic people are strongly connected to other humans and have a concern for the well-being of others. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief exemplifies the bystander theory through Liesel and
Living every day like it is your last is good way to live. He wanted to know what his life was worth. So he decided to make something of it. He went to Stanford dropped out, best decision of his life, then started up his own company. He realized that one day you can be the richest man on earth then th...
No matter the walk you take in life at the end of the day are you rich with love, respect and honor. Or, are you poverty stricken simply because you choose not to allow love, respect and honor to shine through. Not only on yourself but, also on those around you. In life a hard lesson needs to be learned and we can only learn this for ourselves, be rich because of who you are and not what you have because in the end people will not remember the house you had, the material possessions you bought or gifts that you gave, what they will remember is if you held your head high, even through the rough times, the respect you gave and most importantly, the love you
“Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.” (Michelle Obama). From this quote we should learn that your success is up to you. You determine how successful you are not anyone else. This means you need to work hard in order to have a successful life and be a successful person. You and only you determine your
We should not let our hardships and challenges defeat us, but rather we should conquer our challenges.
Oprah Winfrey said, “My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” The Consolations of Philosophy, written by author Alain de Botton, is a perfect example showing six philosophers who had philosophies that were relatable and applicable to bettering everyday life. Socrates, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Seneca, Epicurus, and Montaigne each have a chapter based after them, where de Botton discusses their philosophies. What these great men were doing and saying wasn’t always seen as right, and they were often viewed as crazy, but their goal was to show people how to make life easy to get through while putting them in the best place for future success. de Botton does an excellent job of picking the right philosophies to break down and simplify, as Socrates, Schopenhauer, and ______, are three of the philosophers who demonstrate the most relatable, and helpful philosophies for everyday life.
Today many people undergo challenges in their lives and they can either let it stop them or push forward. As the eldest child of a single mother, one huge adversity I had faced growing up would be helping my mother with my two younger brothers. My parents divorced when I was six years old and my father being in the military was deployed around the world. I don’t think not having my father active in my life put me at a disadvantage but there were times where things would’ve been easier if he were there. My mother wasn’t able to work most of the time because she had to watch my younger brothers. Therefore, we are considered a low-income family. Throughout my life, I had to learn how to prioritize and balance my education with home life. As I
The obstacles which we must face are not there to hinder our daily life. They are there to provide countless opportunities to obtain greater success. In order to be successful we must look at every obstacle as a new opportunity.
How do humans actually behave when faced with the decision to help others? The innate desire that compels humans to help is called altruism by psychologists. Through this feeling, humans transform from a selfish jerk to a more compassionate and caring person. Some psychologists believe that this feeling stems from nature itself. Despite the fact that some altruistic acts originate from the pressures of society, altruism predominantly comes from the survival of the fittest, the feeling of empathy, and the selfish desire to benefit your own kin.
As I started to look around me and who I was surrounded by, I realized that in my neighborhood I was surrounded by lower middle class and poor people. All of which who did not have motivation or ambition to carry on throughout life themselves, so they settled for what was in front of them instead of reaching for what was above them but was possible to reach with motivation and determination. When I also saw how my family struggled to pay bills, buy toiletries, or even sometimes struggle with buying food that made me check my own reality and come to my senses to know there has to be more to life then struggling. Another factor that motivates me is I never want to relive my past or let my own history repeat itself. I live by this quote to simply remind myself that I can do better than what I came from. I want to achieve success so that my children can have someone who leaves the impression of triumph in their mind. I want my children to realize that there is more to life than the eye meets and I never want them to have to beg or ask for anything the way I did as a child. Furthermore, I also learned about myself in the process of finding my motivation, and I learned that when I am rejected, I am driven to achieve more. The encounter that made me very obsessive over achieving success was when one day I stayed at church later than expected and I was in need of a ride home because my parents were at work. I asked someone to take me home, they agreed at first but then when it was time to go, they asked me if I had a bus card and told me I should get on the bus because they didn’t feel like taking me. At that moment, I picked up my dignity and pride, walked away from the car, went to the bathroom and cried. I cried because that day I realized if you have just enough to barely survive, people won’t really help you as long as they know you’re still living.
Bibb Latané and John Darley, two psychologists, studied the bystander effect during their experimentation after the murder of Kitty Genovese. The Bystander Effect refers to the effect that bystanders have during the intervention of an emergency. Latané and Darley used a series of experiments to look at different aspects of the bystander effect; The series of experiments included smoke, a lady in distress, hand in the till, stolen beer, “children don’t fight like that,” and fit to be tried (Latané & Darley, 1970). Latané and Darley asked, “What is the underlying force in mankind toward altruism?” and “what determines in a particular situation whether one person will help another?”
"With true discipline, passion, hard work & sacrifice...dreams become reality...I grew up poor in the ghetto." - Will.i.am