The World Is Divided Into People Who Do Things

THE WORLD IS DIVIDED INTO PEOPLE WHO DO THINGS AND PEOPLE WHO GET THE CREDIT TO WHICH CATEGORY WOULD YOU LIKE TO BELONG: AND WHY?

(CSS English Essay 1964)

Outline:

• Weakness of a man
• Two men having the opposite characteristics
• The man with substantial character disdains unearned increment
• One of the greatest character destroyer thing
• This is the weakness of a man to takecredit of a thing which is not done by him. This weakness brings disgrace in the long run.
• I do not like an unearned credit, I am a great believer of the following lines.
• This earthly life
• Surely not your own.
• Your hard-earned wealth
• That you call your own.

There are men and firms who toiled hard and attained the heights of glory in their lines. They are synonymous with honesty. They are equal to any trade mark or patent whenever or wherever they are found. Nobody thinks of going'back of them or inquired into the quality or reliability of goods so marked. These names stand for character, and they are mentioned with respect. How often is the contrary noted a contemptuous reference to a man or a firm whose name is known to be synonymous with inferiority and who tries to palm off just as paltry goods or talent or service as can force acceptance'. We never have respect for a man who deals in imitations or who manufactures or sells shoddy as we have for one who deals in genuine articles. The human mind loves the actual, the real, the genuine, the things that ring true, and hates the false.

Note the difference between the character of the maker and that of the man who spends a life time in the barter of cheap goods who constantly tries to make things appear what they are not, to cover up base metal with a thin wash of gold, and to imitate diamonds with paste.

It is demoralizing to have any share in dishonest, shoddy work. There is enough or the good, the beautiful to do I need not ally myself with the opposites. I want to ally myself with a house that stands for something high and sells substantial goods.

The man who disdains unearned increment, who does not eat the fruit of a bush which is beaten by another, is a man that is blessed with solid and substantial character. There is not a false note in his make up. Everything rings true. He is honest. He is transparent to tine very core and I attribute a large part of this symmetry of character to this life habit of creating his own world.

While continual and determined thoroughness develops character and leads to 'success and happiness, one of the greatest success killers and character destroyers is a habit of gaining unearned credit. It makes no difference whether our work is seen or not for there is a certain something within us which pricks our conscience in gaining the unearned credit. There still, small voice keeps repeating "wrong wrong” you know it is all wrong. You know it is not right. It tells us that we are failures, we know when we are failures although the world may applaud us and the press may laud our achievements oyer the world. A man must learn that there is something greater than the world's applause and nearer and dearer to him than other's approval, and that is his own.