Acting In Your Own Self Interest – Is It Being Selfish?
by Stanley Bronstein on September 4, 2008
Is It Okay To Act In Your Best Self-Interest, If Doing So Allows Everyone Else To Win?
Yes It Is
As long as you are playing by the rules and giving others the chance to win, it is okay for you to do what is best for you.
It is okay for you to be selfish if you also allow others the opportunity to do what is best for them.
It is okay to make money if you allow others the opportunity to make money.
It is okay for you to be successful if you allow others the opportunity to be successful.
Don’t Let Guilt Stand In Your Way
Guilt can stand in the way of success. If you want to be successful, you MUST eliminate or learn to deal with any guilt you may have about being successful.
>Contrary to popular belief, money is NOT the root of all evil. The IMPROPER use of money can be the root of all evil. The PROPER use of money can be the root of a tremendous amount of good. Just look at Bill Gates for an example. He and his wife have established their charitable foundation that is spreading its good work around the entire world.
Do You Have A Problem With Money?
Fredric Lehrman, the author of Prosperity Consciousness says that “If you believe money is a problem, then you have a problem with money.”
I could not agree more. If you believe money is a bad thing, perhaps that’s why you don’t have as much of it as you might like. I know I don’t have a problem with money. I’m not afraid to earn it and I’m not afraid to use it. In fact, I want lots more of it, just so I can use it to do good things AND help myself at the same time.
I’m suggesting that you should learn to look at money the same way.
Some Things For You To Think About
PLEASE TAKE OUT A PIECE OF PAPER AND TAKE AT LEAST 15 MINUTES TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
In the space below, list five GOOD & PROPER things you will do with your money once you have more of it.
1. __________________________________________
2. __________________________________________
3. __________________________________________
4. __________________________________________
5. __________________________________________
6. __________________________________________
7. __________________________________________
8. __________________________________________
9. __________________________________________
10. __________________________________________
I want you to study this list after you’ve finished. Then I want you to realize that it is perfectly acceptable for you to accumulate as much money as you ever desired, AS LONG AS, you use some of it to do the good & proper things on your list.
Popularity: 9% [?]
Until next time, take care, my dear friends.Mr. Achievement
Stanley F. Bronstein
Attorney & CPA
September 4th, 2008 at 6:24 am
Smart post! In the parent-world we say, “You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else.” Yes, there are always people that will take advantage of these kinds of statements, but that doesn’t lesson the truth or value of the statement.
September 4th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Crystal:
Thanks for your kind words.
There is a saying:
If am not for myself, who will be for me ???
It’s simple: EVERYTHING in moderation, including moderation . . .
It’s okay to be selfish, AS LONG AS we don’t go too far and we also help others.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
September 4th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Ok I took the time to do this so I might as well take the time to post it.
Be able to tithe more at church
Donate to Battered Women’s Task Force
Repay friends who have helped me out
Donate to Let’s Help
Donate to Family Service Center
Donate to centers that help those with depression
Donate to Cerbral Palsy organizations
Donate to cervical cancer research
Donate to Sepsis research
Donate to Nerve Damage research
Battered Women’s Task Force, Let’s Help and Family Service Center are three organizations here in Topeka that have helped me out tremendously with money,food and gas money when I have needed it. They are all organizations that are overworked and under funded.
The health related donations are health issues that have affected me and those that I love.
September 4th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Joe:
I think EVERYTHING you mentioned are good goals.
No problems with what you said. However, I also think one “thing” that needs to be added to the list of things you focus on is yourself.
By focusing on yourself, you put yourself in a position to do all of the wonderful things you mentioned on your list.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement
September 5th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Stanley,
Yes it would be nice if I was doing something for myself like get my hair done on a more frequent basis, or my nails, something to make me look great, however I do want to point out how doing these things I have mentioned above will help me out.
1. By being able to tithe or offer more monetary contributions to my church I am repaying continuously for them to continue to help me out when I need it and others as well.
2. By being able to donate regularly to the Battered Women Task Force here I would be helping myself and other to receive continued services and also assistance fr car repairs and gas as well as bus vouchers and legal assistance.
3. By being able to repay friends who have helped me along the way it helps me in regards to needing future help from them again when things are thin.
4. By being able to donate regularly to Let’s Help it would help me and others when they need funds to help pay for utilities, prescriptions, and rent.
5. Donating to Family Service Center more regularly would help ensure there are funds to help myself and others in time of major financial crisis for example when my apartment caught fire and everything in my kitchen needed replaced.
6. By donating to centers that deal with depression I would help myself and others receive the much needed help to deal effectively with their depression.
7. By donating to cerebral palsy research and organizations it would help by being able to fund programs that would be able to help my son out.
8. By donating to cervical cancer research I can help myself and others learn how to fight this disease.
9. By donating to some form of education on what sepsis is and the deadly effects it has I would be helping myself and others to be proactive in their over all colon health.
10. By donating to area in nerve damage research I would be helping myself and others get the much needed relief by Dr’s and clinics that are funded well to give the best care possible.
See in my time I have often heard many things like ” Sorry we can only help you with so much for gas this time around due to our funds being low. ” Or ” We are only approved so much in this grant or budget to help with food assistance”
If I had the money yes I would not have to rely on an agency again to get assistance when I need it. It is important to me tho to help those back who have helped me out in my life. You never know when you will hit rock bottom again and need the help and it would feel better asking knowing that I have done what I could to make sure that help is out there again when I need to tap into it.
September 5th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Good points Joe.
Stanley Bronstein
MrAchievement