AdityaTalks

As you might have guessed, this one comes from the Guy Kawasaki’s school of thought. I really loved the chapter “The art of being a mensch” in his book “The art of the start”. This book is a must read for every entrepreneur who is trying to bootstrap his company. But, most of it all i love the last chapter. You can read it online here.

So what exactly do we mean by being a Mensch ? It is an Yiddish word which means (according to Wikipedia) -

“a person of integrity and honor”.The opposite of a mensch is an unmensch (meaning: an utterly cruel or evil person).  According to Leo Rosten, the Yiddish maven and author of The Joys of Yiddish, mensch is “someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being “a real mensch” is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, decorous“

So the meaning – at the end of the day we should all strive to be a better person. By helping others and paying back the society. And remember – we are not doing a favor by helping others or doing something good for the society. Each and every person owes to the society and to the whole ecosystem he lives in. So if you helped your friend find a job, you did not do a favor to him ! You actually have paid back something. Turn back and look into your past life, you will certainly find many strangers who helped you, whom you won’t even meet anymore.

And remember, the key is to do it with the right attitude. Winston Churchill once said “Attitude is a little thing which makes a big difference”. A mensch not only helps others but does so with the right attitude – and without expectation of return. For instance, if you help a friend find a job that is a noble thing to do, but if you repeatedly joke that they “owe” you or brag about it, then the act of goodness loses its value. Also make sure that your organization doesn’t harm the society for your and its own profit. Such organizations fail. (Bad Karma). You have to set the highest level of moral and ethical standards for your employees , leaders and management.

A Mensch is a guy who loves everyone. He is very broad minded. He doesn’t hate anyone for any reason. He looks at this whole world from God’s point of view. Is there a person in this world whom you don’t like ? Why you don’t like him ? I don’t think there is any reason to hate a person unless he is some kind of Bin-Laden or Hitler. Karma is something which really works and you must believe in it. Good things happen to good people. Experiment with it. Start being good in your life, and you will find that luck will be with you. I have experienced it in my daily life.

Guy offers some tips on how to be a real mensch on his blog.

Okay enough of lectures. Now try doing some of these things -

1. Do something nice for someone you don’t like. Start small, so it doesn’t hurt too much.
2. Do something really nice for someone you like. But, don’t tell them. Never let them know.
3. Do something nice for someone you don’t know. Be sure you do it to sincerely help them and not to position yourself in their good graces.