Not Just a Snack Cracker, You Know.

The youngest of thirteen children, in the summer he looked after goats.

Throughout his teens he gained and lost several hotel jobs.  One manager told him point blank: success in that business required a certain talent, and he certainly didn't have it.   Aiming for a position as a sommolier,  instead he found himself washing floors, shining shoes, and porting luggage.

Then he found the secret.

From that point onward, he worked his way through a series of ever greater staff positions, until he found himself in management in his early twenties.  He didn't stop there.  Applying his secret, he scaled heights in the hotelier/restaurantuer universe no peasant boy would dare dream of.  By the time he died, he had assembled an empire of business partnerships, properties, and fine establishments bearing his name.  Celebrities and rulers kept his name on their tongues as they traveled.

His secret was simple.  Learn everything you can about the operation, always fix mistakes, no effort was too small to satisfy his guests, and provide top of the line service; all while keeping a sharp eye on the bottom line.  Every operation he took over, he shepherded from running in red ink over to solid black ink in a very short time.

His name became synonymous with high quality and business success.  His secret passed into common language with the phrase "putting on The Ritz."   The world knows him as the magnificent hotelier, Cesar Ritz.

"Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness"  --  Jim Rohn

"The work praises the man"  -- Irish Proverb

Getting More Stuff

Before my present pursuits, I spent a number of years working retail.  I had the opportunity to observe all sorts of behavior, especially binge shopping.  If a person wishes to receive and education in social studies, spend time in retail.

In the beginning I got very bothered by rude and hostile people.  Over time, as I studied positive thought philosophy I learned the principle of detached observation, or mindfulness.  I separated myself from the direct meaning of their behavior, and began to look for motives.  Time and again, the obvious stood out. The more concern a customer had for buying and getting, the more likely they appeared to be hostile or unhappy.  In my own experience, the cliche proved itself.

After seeing this for many years, I resolved to practice more of the principle of detachment from want.  I read a statement from a philosopher: "by releasing, we are released."  More peace came to me as I applied that saying to all sorts of situations in my life, in addition to material things.

"...Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."  -- Luke 12:15

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detachment_(philosophy)

Burns Before Bedtime

Yesterday evening I watched an episode of Ken Burns' documentary about The Civil War, on PBS.

Before bedtime here is nothing like reviewing the history of the most brutal, violent, and costliest conflict America went through in its history, with more American dead than the two world wars combined.  The series is a masterpiece of history retelling, thoroughly heartbreaking in its portrayal.

I bring it up on this blog to make the observation that history can be a force potent enough to make a person bow deeply in the night and give tremendous thanks for his blessings from God in this modern era.  I did precisely that.

Heaven has few rewards greater than appreciation for what is good, and for what we have been spared from.