Harvey Mackay Column for the week of March 23, 2009 Stay Humble or Stumble Print Forums Refer Page

When you've been writing a nationally syndicated weekly business column for nearly 16 years, it can be a challenge to come up with an idea every week. However, within a 24-hour period I had the inspiration for this column ... and from two sources. First, a close friend called me to suggest a column on humility. A lot of people take themselves too seriously, he said, assuming their every move has greater impact than it probably does. You should be able to poke a little fun at yourself. Second, I'm a huge movie buff and religiously watch the Academy Awards telecast. I'm even more interested because my son, David, is a movie director in Hollywood. I thought two of the best lines from this year's winners were from Sean Penn and Kate Winslet, the Best Actor/Actress winners. Sean Penn said, "I want to be very clear, I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me." While few have referred to Penn as humble, that has to be the understatement of the year!

Kate Winslet said: "I'd be lying if I hadn't made a version of this speech before. I was probably eight years old staring into the bathroom mirror, and this would have been a shampoo bottle," as she held up her Oscar.

Danny Boyle, who won Best Director for "Slumdog Millionaire," came up on stage and started jumping up and down. The movie was originally slated to be released only on DVD, and he said he promised his kids that if he ever won an Oscar, he would accept it in the joyous spirit of Tigger from "Winnie The Pooh."

Ethel Barrymore, from the Barrymore acting dynasty, might have said it best: "You grow up the day you have your first real laugh at yourself." (FYI—She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1944 film "None but the Lonely Heart" opposite Cary Grant.)

As long as we're talking about movies, let me tell you about the well-known celebrity who was vacationing in a small town in Maine. One rainy day he decided to go to a movie. When he entered the theater, there was a huge round of applause. The celebrity turned to the person next to him and said, "For gosh sakes, I never thought anyone here in Maine would recognize me."

The man smiled in a friendly way and said, "They don't. The only reason they're cheering is that the owner said he wasn't going to show us a movie unless 10 people showed up, and you're the 10th."

I've been speaking to business groups for many years now, but I remember the first time my wife, Carol Ann, heard me give my speech. I knew she would be my harshest critic so I practiced a great deal. I delivered what I thought was a great speech. Many people came up to me afterward and complimented me.

In the car on the way home, I turned to Carol Ann and asked, "Sweetheart, how many great speakers do you think there are in the world today?"

She smiled and replied, "One fewer than you think, dear."

Whenever I make a speech, I talk about humility. I emphasize that you can't ever solve a problem unless you first admit that you have a problem. Arrogant people won't admit they have a problem, but humble people know when they have a problem and attempt to fix it.

Humble people also know what humorist Will Rogers meant when he said, "Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far."

I love this story: In the late 1600s the finest instruments originated from three rural families whose workshops were side by side in the Italian village of Cremona. First were the Amatis, and outside their shop hung a sign: "The best violins in all Italy." Not to be outdone, their next door neighbors, the family Guarnerius, hung a bolder sign proclaiming: "The Best Violins In All the World!" At the end of the street was the workshop of Anton Stradivarius, and on its front door was a simple notice which read: "The best violins on the block."

Mackay's Moral: Anyone who thinks he or she is indispensable should stick their finger in a bowl of water and notice the hole it leaves when they pull it out.

The Author Harvey Mackay is a nationally syndicated columnist for United Feature Syndicate. His weekly articles appear in 52 newspapers around the country, including the Chicago Sun Times, Rocky Mountain News, Orange County Register, Minneapolis Star Tribune and Arizona Republic. http://www.mackay.com/ Copyright, Harvey Mackay. All rights reserved.