![]() Confounding the dignity of man with mere usefulness arises from conceptual confusion that in turn may be traced back to the contemporary nihilism transmitted on many an academic campus and many an analytical couch. If one is not cognizant of this difference and holds that an individual’s value stems only from his present usefulness, then, believe me, one owes it only to personal inconsistency not to plead for euthanasia along the lines of Hitler’s program, that is to say, ‘mercy’ killing of all those who have lost their social usefulness, be it because of old age, incurable illness, mental deterioration, or whatever handicap they may suffer. It virtually ignores the value of all those who are otherwise, and in so doing blurs the decisive difference between being valuable in the sense of dignity and being valuable in the sense of usefulness. “But today’s society is characterized by achievement orientation, and consequently it adores people who are successful and happy and, in particular, it adores the young. If you dont have a competitive advantage, dont compete. ![]() Balancing those two things is what management is. You cant grow long-term if you cant eat short-term. We see it on posters (and eye black) at sporting events, it is printed on everything from fast food cups to bookmarks and stickers, and you’ve probably received it in a greeting card or even written it on your mirror once or twice. The biggest cowards are managers who dont let people know where they stand. It is the most read Bible verse on at the very least. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud, although these are things which cannot inspire envy.” John 3:16 is quite possibly the most famous verse in the Bible. 'Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has he any reason to envy the young people whom he sees, or wax nostalgic over his own lost youth? What reasons has he to envy a young person? For the possibilities that a young person has, the future which is in store for him? ![]() He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest. On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back. “The pessimist resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calendar, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day. ![]()
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