The Art of Being a Mensch
Plus a little introspective exercise
#56
Very short post today. These are the first set of notes from “The Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki. Very interesting so far. Learning a couple of new things and I hope you would too, from this post. Message me if you want the PDF.
The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. —Samuel Johnson
Mensch is the Yiddish term for a person who is ethical, decent, and admirable. It is the highest form of praise one can receive from the people whose opinions matter.
This is all about helping lots of people, doing what's right, and paying back society
Help people
You never know—they might be able to help you someday
You want to be sure to rack up karmic points just in case my theories are right.
You derive intrinsic joy from helping your fellow man.
Do what’s right
means taking the high, and often difficult road
three examples: observe the spirit of agreements; pay for what you get; focus on what’s important
A mensch does the right thing—not the easy thing, the expedient thing, the money-saving thing, or the I-can-get-away-with-it thing. Right is right, and wrong is wrong. There absolutely are absolutes in life, and mensches heed and exemplify this truth.
Pay back society
Mensch wants to pay back society for these gifts: family and friends, spiritual fulfillment, good health, beautiful surroundings, economic success, a hat trick every once in a while
Can give back time, money, expertise and emotional support
Key concept is that a mensch pays back—that is, for goodness already received—as opposed to pays forward in expectation of return.
Little exercise that I think would be helpful to anyone looking to do some deep introspection:
It’s the end of your life, write three things you want people to remember about you:
xx
xx
xx
Remember folks: “Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.”