Doing Right

I once worked for a fellow who was often quoted as saying:

            “Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do!”

Most of us would scratch our heads and say, OK! But being young, in our 20’s, we usually waved off his comment and being sort of self evident.

Then life’s lessons happened. Doing the right thing is not always easy to do even when it is as apparent as the sun in the sky! Many times what seemed to be the right thing to do was avoided by doing what I could get away with. But soon after I knew in my bones that I could have done more.

With accumulating guilt I finally resolved to make it right if I could, but certainly try to do the right thing in the future whenever I had the opportunity to do so. Those gifts of chance are not always evident; it takes paying attention to spot them.

So, there it is: Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. And it is much easier in the long run as well.

The author of the quote is/was W. Clement Stone, an entrepreneur and successful businessman. He made a lot of money doing the right thing. And he shared his success formula with millions of people.  Why? Because it was the right thing to do! He was generous, a philanthropist, and dedicated to finding ways of helping people. He did this to motivate them, to spread the good news of positive thinking.

Yes, W. Clement Stone was a PMA guru, that’s Positive Mental Attitude! He associated with a number of other PMA-ers like Norman Vincent Peale and Napoleon Hill. He shared his viewpoint, positive thoughts and wealth with the world. His philosophy was simple: do the right thing and others will do the same. That would produce a society of doers and happy people.

Two things I remember personally about Mr. Stone.  First, he taught me to get out of bed each morning with a bounding motion (not always easy to do!) and state the following words: “I feel healthy; I feel happy; I feel terrific!” Usually I would feel those things.

The second thing was something he said to me as I left his company’s employment to work for the University of Illinois – Chicago. He said this: “Spread the word to the students that you learned here at the company; and if I can help change their lives, just let me know.”

Of course he helped simply by spreading the word of PMA. So much of our lives are firmly attached to attitude. We can accomplish great things if we simply try. It helps to believe we can, too! Often the can-do comes after the belief alone!

Although W. Clement Stone and Eleanor Roosevelt were on opposite sides of the political spectrum, they shared similar attitudes of positivism.  In closing, here’s a quote from Mrs. Roosevelt that may serve you well in coming years:

            “Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”

You’ll feel better doing so; others will not.  Think about it!

October 30, 2013