This I Believe

It has always seemed to me that those beliefs which have shaped my life come from two sources. One is a faith that does not ask for proof. The other is personal experience, the lessons that can be learned only through living. I believe in God because I have faith that there is a supreme being, a power greater than that of man. I believe in people because I have faith that most men and women want to do the right thing. On the foundation of these basic beliefs, life reers are furthered structured drawn from personal experience.

For me an important part of that structure began with an early association with a college professor. This man changed the whole chourse of my life. I wanted to be a mining engineer, to go to the Far East. He urged me to study for the field of business, which I did. More important than that, his philosophy of life made an indelible impression on me. He always said that he wanted his students to remember two things above all others. One was the importance of being able to get along with people. The other a determination never to be satisfied with the mediocre.

Today I can appreciate what he sought to implant in our minds far more than I did then. I believe that only as I seek to understand the viewpoints, the hopes, the aspirations of others can I hope for succes in business and in community life.

There’s nothing mysterious about getting along with other people. In my experience, we’re all much the same in what we like and do not like in the way others treat us. We all respond to human understanding. We’re all eager to plan the team if given a chance. As the founder of our business always said, “You can buy head power and hand power, but you have to earn heart power.”

It has been said every institution is but the shadow of one man. Today in our complex soceity, I believe it is more accurate to say,”every institution is the length and shadow of teams of men.” If success and happiness at the level of our daily lives stem from the practice of good human relations, I believe the same rule applies to the broader areas of understanding peoples of the world. I do not say there’s a quick or easy solution, but when a beginning is made toward finding one, it seems to me that it’ll start with the recognition of the dignity of the individuall, and a respect for the beliefs of others, however different they may be from our own. Those differences may not be as insurmountable as most people think.

I learned a little lesson along that line in Singapore recently. We wanted to give a dinner for our entire organization, but were told it would be impossible. Mohammadans would eat only food prepared by Mohammadans, would not sit at the same table as Hindus, Chinese, or Europeans. Nevertheless, the dinner was held with three separate tables, with different kinds of food, with everybody happy. It was not too difficult to conform to different ideas once the effort was made.

Going back to my college professor, I believe we fall short in the field of human understanding because all too often, the effort made to understand others is not equal to the challenge. In the realm of material things, we have never been satisfied with the mediocre. I cannot help but wonder what might be achieved if that same intensity of purpose were applied in the seeking of better human relations. We have progressed in science, and technology, but there’s been woefully little progess in the creation of a common meeting ground for human understanding. I believe that those who accept leadership today or have it thrust upon them, whether men of nations, are going to have to find such a meeting ground. I believe also the most useful people to the world today are the men and women who know how to get along with other people.