The fourth lesson from Chinkee Tan's video was that poor people believe that they are the only people that matter. I have to stop and think about that for a while. Do I believe that I am the only one that matters? I regularly help others, but could I help more?
When I eventually read a few of David Backh's books, he constantly drilled into my head that if I wanted to get more I would have to give more. I'm not quite sure how this works. Look at Bill Gates. He's the richest man in the world and he gave away over $40 billion, around half of his fortune at the time. But the fact is that he's got at least a billion dollars. He can afford to buy any property in this country.
He'll never starve or be homeless. Me, on the other hand, if that check doesn't come like clockwork I'll be on the street.
But I do understand what Chinkee Tan meant. He means that, well, poor people are poor because they are selfish. My unnamed relative was the number one person always begging her relatives for money and shelter. But let a homeless person ask her for a quarter and all hell would break loose.
It goes deeper than that. If you believe whole heartedly that you are the only one that matters, you won't help others to succeed - not sincerely - and as a result your community will fail. You'll be living in squalor. A popular activity for blacks in the ghetto who are riding in cars is to give the middle finger to anyone they see walking. If you ride the train past the white areas, it is almost empty at rush hour. See the connection?
Blacks are always bragging about this and that, but we all fall behind because no one wants to be truly selfless. But the question is, do I believe that I am the only one that matters? I believe that no one else cares about me. I believe that I am the only one on earth who has my interest at heart. Everyone else on the planet has somebody looking out for them, except for me. So I do think that way in a sort of round-about way.
The fifth and final point that was made in the video was that poor people believe that they will never be successful. This is poison. You know, as long as I have been alive it seems like every time I try to get my life together, to become successful, something comes along to rip that success out of my hands.
When I started high school I said, "You're going to be an A student." But it seemed that I was fated to fail my freshman year. Even when I pulled it together, graduated high school and made it to college (on a scholarship, no less) it happened again. I started failing my freshman college classes.
I made it all the way to my final class for the Bachelor's degree and all of my money dried up. I was penniless. I don't believe that I will ever see success in my lifetime. I think that it's too late for me. And I work less hard as a result. Other people seem to get all the breaks. I know that this mindset is holding me back, but that's how I feel.
JJ
