Daily Wisdom 10-28-2003 Somebody Owes Me Something

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Somebody Owes Me Something

It's All About Me!

William Schreyer, chairman emeritus of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., tells the following story:

It seems there was a pretzel stand out front of an office building in New York.

One day a man came out of the building, planted down a quarter, and then went on his way without taking a pretzel. This happened every day for three weeks.

Finally, the old lady running the stand spoke up: "Sir, excuse me. May I have a word with you?"

The fellow said: "I know what you're going to say. You're going to ask me why I give you a quarter every day and don't take a pretzel."

And the woman said, "Not at all. I just want to tell you the price is now 35 cents."

Such is the mind-set of many today, especially those of us who live in the United States. We proclaim, "It's all about me" or "It's my right. Give it to me." A widespread attitude is, "Somebody owes me something." Just look at the premise of the countless lawsuits filed each day. I read about Kathleen Robertson of Austin Texas who was awarded $780,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The owners of the store were understandably surprised at the verdict, considering the misbehaving little boy was Robertson's son. And how about the surfer who recently sued another surfer for "taking his wave." The case was ultimately dismissed because they were unable to put a price on "pain and suffering" endured by watching someone ride the wave that was "intended for you."

Something For Nothing

It seems that everyone is looking for "something for nothing." We want the best life has to offer; but we want it from the markdown table. Like the lady at the pretzel stand, it doesn't matter if you get yours as long as I get everything coming to me - and I want mine first. Our culture accepts this as the norm. Sales clerks are surprised when someone offers to return the difference after receiving too much in change. Employees who arrive on time every day and actually take only ten minutes for their 10-minute breaks amaze employers. Drivers who stay within the posted limits infuriate those who just have to get there five minutes sooner.