The Greatest Generation

There's a good chance you've heard the term "The Greatest Generation", coined by Tom Brokaw to describe those that grew up during the Great Depression, who fought and won World War II and then built our country into an economic world power. These men and women are in their twilight years now, but the lessons we can learn from them continue to burn ever so brightly, especially today when it seems in many ways our Nation has lost its sense of direction and common purpose.

What were their values? I cannot do them complete justice in such short space but will do my best.

Nearly the first 20-25 years of their lives were ones of hardship and sacrifice requiring them to rely on their family, neighbors, communities and fellow soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen to get by day-to-day. Born into the Roaring Twenties when times were flying high, things quickly spiraled downwards before most of them turned 10 and the world fell into the Great Depression. Many left school by 6th grade to enter the workforce to earn what little they could to help support their families. They sold newspapers, cleaned houses, worked on farms, shined shoes and some took on more dangerous adult jobs. Before most of them could even be called true adults our Nation was at war and they were called upon to serve. Before many could be drafted they rushed to enlist and fill their duty to country. Women took on roles at home traditionally reserved for men. In an all-out effort to win the war, every member of society made sacrifices and did their part from fighting on the front lines to nursing the wounded to building ships and planes to organizing scrap metal drives and planting Victory Gardens. After they won the war, they returned home to restart the lives they'd put on hold.

Think about that - they put their personal ambitions and desires aside for five long years in order to come together for the common good, many of them knowing they faced the specter of death. It's hard to imagine today's reality TV stars in our "look at me" culture to put aside their personal ambitions for five minutes to help someone unload the groceries from their car. I'm not saying we can't strive to live up to their example, but we've got a long way to go.

When the country settled down into peacetime rebuilding, they did so with the same determination, discipline and can-do attitude that won the war. Those qualities are still present today but in many ways it seems there is one binding element lacking today that was omnipresent in those post-war years: service. Service to the community. Their years of service to a cause larger than themselves instilled this quality. Running their businesses not only to be successful but with the guiding principles of providing service and adding value as well as making a profit. As American business has become increasingly corporate over the past 30 or so years, that service element has been downgraded or even set aside completely. Everything is run by the numbers, the bottom line, the metrics. Larger and larger corporations with headquarters 1,000 miles away seem to give little regard for the thousands of communities from which they profit. Small businesses are still the heart and soul of America today, but in their efforts to compete with or do business with the corporate giants, they face increasing pressure do away with time and money traditionally reserved for their communities. 

Not to completely demonize large corporations as many do put their tremendous resources to work aiding charities and their communities. However the missing element is the human one. It's easy to write a big check and then walk away feeling as though you've "done good" (although you have as money is needed). But what is needed just as much is time and human involvement. It takes money to buy the food served in a soup kitchen but it takes a volunteer to serve that food. It takes money to build the sports fields where kids learn the lessons of teamwork but it takes a volunteer to teach those lessons. It takes money to buy the land set aside as a park but it takes a volunteer to care for the park.

In his office at Princeton University Einstein had a quote which sums up life quite nicely (and this from a man who made numbers his lifetime work)*:

"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

So what can you do to stop counting and do what counts? Here are 10 ways:**

1. Serve. Serve your community. Join local organizations such as Rotary, Scouting, and Lions Club. Serve on a local government board or commission. Do more than simply attend services at your house of worship: help with their community outreach. Get to know your neighbors.

2. Realize you can't take it with you. The bumper sticker "He who dies with the most toys wins" couldn't be more wrong. Find happiness in your family, friends, and the world around you, not in what you can buy. The true measure of a man is shown by how many people show up at his funeral, not by how much he leaves behind.

3. Do it yourself. Even if you aren't the ultimate handyman, chef, house cleaner, mechanic or landscaper, take pride in doing some hard work yourself instead of paying someone to do it for you (and save some money in the meantime!) You may learn a new skill and even find you enjoy doing it.

4. Say "No" to instant gratification. Tell yourself and your children "No, you can't have that gew-gaw or toy that really isn't needed." Make yourself and your kids earn it by setting a goal with the thing as a reward or have your children earn the money to buy it themselves. But don't be tempted to set the bar too low; you'll both be amazed at how much more you enjoy it when it's honestly earned.

5. Add value. If you are a business owner, ask yourself if you are truly serving your customers and community as well as adding value. If you find you are not as much as you'd like to, find ways to increase both. No doubt in short time you'll see your business and bottom line increase.

6. More trust, less paperwork. Be a person whose handshake and word are considered more binding than a legal contract. Don't look for loopholes to get out of the spirit of what you may have signed on for. If you must do business with someone who doesn't act in trust, make it the last time and take your business to someone who does.

7. Value your name. The most important thing you own is your good name. Do everything in your power to ensure your "brand" remains spotless.

8. Agree to disagree civilly. Recognize that you are not going to agree with everyone, everything or every idea you encounter in life. Hold firm to your beliefs but be willing to listen, learn and respect differences. As the quote, oft misattributed to Voltaire, goes: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."

9. Be humble. If you work hard, give of yourself willingly, serve your community, and put the good of others before yourself, soon enough plenty of accolades will be heaped upon you without you ever seeking them. When they are, give credit to those that helped you achieve them.

10. Pass it on. Teach your children and any young people you may mentor these qualities, set the example and hold both yourself and children to them.

*Yes, I see the irony in using a mathematical term here.

** Again, I recognize the irony in counting what we can do to stop counting and do what counts.