What You Are Is As Important As What You Do

Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying.

－－Ralph Waldo Emerson

It was a sunny Saturday afternoon in Oklahoma City. My friend and proud father Bobby Lewis was taking his two little boys to play miniature¹ golf. He walked up to the fellow at the ticket counter and said, "How much is it to get in?"

The young man replied, "$3.00 for you and $3.00 for any kid who is older than six. We let them in free if they are six or younger. How old are they?"

Bobby replied, "The lawyer's three and the doctor is seven, so I guess I owe you $6.00."

The man at the ticket counter said, "Hey, Mister, did you just win the lottery² or something? You could have saved yourself three bucks³. You could have told me that the older one was six; I wouldn't have known the difference." Bobby replied, "Yes, that may be true, but the kids would have known the difference".

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying." In challenging times when ethics⁴ are more important than ever before, make sure you set a good example for everyone you work and live with.

编者按：

一个父亲诚实地报出了孩子的年龄，按照规定为7岁的孩子买了票。售票的人说，他根本无法确定孩子的具体年龄，这位父亲完全可以省下那三美元。但这位父亲却回答：“是的，可能你说得很对，但孩子们能分辨出之间的差别。”

为和你一起工作、生活的人树立一个好榜样吧！