OK, so I’ve never won his money. I’ve never used the eye drops he hawks. I’ve never even been in his class. But Ben Stein is a heck of a writer.
In this New York Times op/ed piece from Sunday, he talks about how his father taught him about gratitude. And how gratitude – not positions or possessions – is what made him truly rich. Check these excerpts…
Now, I have found that I cannot predict the stock market except over very long periods. I cannot tell you when the housing bubble will burst – only that it will burst. I cannot tell you when the dollar will stop rallying – only that it will stop. So I cannot tell you anything that, in a few minutes, will tell you how to be rich.
But I can tell you how to feel rich, which is far better, let me tell you firsthand, than being rich. Be grateful.
And this…
Gratitude. As my pal Phil DeMuth says, it’s the only totally reliable get-rich-quick scheme. Gratitude. Losing the luxury of feeling aggrieved when, if you look closely, you have an opportunity. My father washed dishes at the Sigma Psi house so that he could build an education and a life for the family he did not even have yet.
A good read, that’s worth the registration hassle. (Of course, there’s always that cool BugMeNot thingy…)
