There's an F. Scott Fitzgerald line about, “The rich are different from you and me,” to which Hemingway is said to have observed, “Yes, they have more money." LOL!
But it's more than that...
I was sitting in a waiting room today when two women sat down and chatted with each other. Oh my gosh!!! It was a virtual Sidewalk lab. Thanks to @MJ DeMarco we now can use a scientist's observing mind to dissect the non-productive verbalizations and behaviors we see.
I'm not saying everyone is like this. I'm not debating assistance programs. I'm just giving y'all a glimpse of what I witnessed this morning in the span of maybe five minutes.
Returning to the Fitzgerald line, YOU (the rich) are indeed different than these individuals.
~~
THEY WASTE TIME
Two TVs were on in different sections of the waiting room. These obviously-experienced TV watchers debated the merits of each show.
THEY ARE THE SUM OF WHO THEY HANG OUT WITH
We hear this ^^ all the time, but think about it. It's true.
Take most any random C&B/ BnP/ fastlane meetup conversation, and it's top drawer, high level. Even the humor is above average.
vs
These ladies in the waiting room: "The [TV] show used to be Kelly alone. Now it's Michael & Kelly. Well, it's Kelly and Michael. Before that it was Regis & Kelly." Yada yada.
THEY ENVY
- "I bet Regis is rich now."
- "She only has to pay $106 rent" [because of the benefit assistance program this certain person is on].
THEY HATE ON PEOPLE
- "Hillary Clinton said they were bankrupt when they got out of the White House. Now they're worth like $100 million dollars."
- "All politicians are crooks."
THEY FEEL THINGS "HAPPEN TO THEM"
Social Security cost of living allowance went up $11 for so and so person. And then "they" took money away from her pension, and it was only $25 anyway, and they took away $24 of it, and the gov't used all that paper [resources] to send her a one dollar check every month. And then they changed her food stamps down.
THEY SUFFER
- Such and such happened and then, "they cut off my Medicaid, didn't even give a 30 day notice or nothin."
- "My food stamps don't come til the 10th, and they hardly last."
- "Mine [food stamps] last 4 days."
- "You can't hardly make it. If I wasn't living with Jim I'd hardly get by."
DECEIVING FOR DOLLARS
"My old boyfriend moved out and in with this girl named April. And he would still get mail at my address. I accidentally opened a letter cuz it was facing the wrong way, and it was to him. It was a letter saying he got fired cuz he worked there two weeks and was drunk three days of it. And I called him up and said, 'Why are you getting mail sent to my house?'... and he said because April gets xyz [public assistance benefit], so he can't give them that address. And I said, 'So you're sending mail to my house?!?! I don't think so!!'... then the next time a letter came for him at my house I opened it and it was about his food stamps, and it said he had 30 days to come in and do x for his food stamps. And I just tore it up, so he lost his food stamps."
~~
The Lesson:
So how does this help us? They're teaching us what not to do.
Squash out any not-so-great traits like these ladies have.
The way forward is to assume personal responsibility for your life and your outcomes.
But it's more than that...
I was sitting in a waiting room today when two women sat down and chatted with each other. Oh my gosh!!! It was a virtual Sidewalk lab. Thanks to @MJ DeMarco we now can use a scientist's observing mind to dissect the non-productive verbalizations and behaviors we see.
I'm not saying everyone is like this. I'm not debating assistance programs. I'm just giving y'all a glimpse of what I witnessed this morning in the span of maybe five minutes.
Returning to the Fitzgerald line, YOU (the rich) are indeed different than these individuals.
~~
THEY WASTE TIME
Two TVs were on in different sections of the waiting room. These obviously-experienced TV watchers debated the merits of each show.
THEY ARE THE SUM OF WHO THEY HANG OUT WITH
We hear this ^^ all the time, but think about it. It's true.
Take most any random C&B/ BnP/ fastlane meetup conversation, and it's top drawer, high level. Even the humor is above average.
vs
These ladies in the waiting room: "The [TV] show used to be Kelly alone. Now it's Michael & Kelly. Well, it's Kelly and Michael. Before that it was Regis & Kelly." Yada yada.
THEY ENVY
- "I bet Regis is rich now."
- "She only has to pay $106 rent" [because of the benefit assistance program this certain person is on].
THEY HATE ON PEOPLE
- "Hillary Clinton said they were bankrupt when they got out of the White House. Now they're worth like $100 million dollars."
- "All politicians are crooks."
THEY FEEL THINGS "HAPPEN TO THEM"
Social Security cost of living allowance went up $11 for so and so person. And then "they" took money away from her pension, and it was only $25 anyway, and they took away $24 of it, and the gov't used all that paper [resources] to send her a one dollar check every month. And then they changed her food stamps down.
THEY SUFFER
- Such and such happened and then, "they cut off my Medicaid, didn't even give a 30 day notice or nothin."
- "My food stamps don't come til the 10th, and they hardly last."
- "Mine [food stamps] last 4 days."
- "You can't hardly make it. If I wasn't living with Jim I'd hardly get by."
DECEIVING FOR DOLLARS
"My old boyfriend moved out and in with this girl named April. And he would still get mail at my address. I accidentally opened a letter cuz it was facing the wrong way, and it was to him. It was a letter saying he got fired cuz he worked there two weeks and was drunk three days of it. And I called him up and said, 'Why are you getting mail sent to my house?'... and he said because April gets xyz [public assistance benefit], so he can't give them that address. And I said, 'So you're sending mail to my house?!?! I don't think so!!'... then the next time a letter came for him at my house I opened it and it was about his food stamps, and it said he had 30 days to come in and do x for his food stamps. And I just tore it up, so he lost his food stamps."
~~
The Lesson:
So how does this help us? They're teaching us what not to do.
Squash out any not-so-great traits like these ladies have.
The way forward is to assume personal responsibility for your life and your outcomes.
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