A Lesson from the West Side Story
Today’s blog is taken from the book “Business Secrets From The Bible”. The author, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, published this book in 2014. I am quoting from pages 243 to 245 from Chapter 35, “How you Feel About Yourself is How Others Will See You.”
I have witnessed that many people are not comfortable within their own skin, especially when it comes their relationship with money. I hope that today’s blog will be of value to you and those in your life.
“In the musical West Side Story, there is a scene in which the character Maria sings a song that goes like this: “I feel pretty, oh so pretty. I feel pretty and witty and bright. And I pity any girl who isn’t me tonight.” I rather like these lyrics because Maria highlights the principle behind this biblical business secret. She knows that she looks great because she feels pretty. Most people can relate to feeling this way at times. Maybe you have had the experience of your spouse telling you that you look beautiful or handsome, only you don’t really feel that way at the time. Maybe you are self-conscious about the outfit you are wearing. Or maybe you feel like your hairdresser or barber gave you a bad haircut the last time you went in. When we don’t feel attractive, there is nothing our spouse or friends can say to change the way we feel. The thing of note here is that this feeling is not entirely delusional – it is not necessarily just poor self esteem. We may, in fact, be right. This is because thinking you look bad is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Maria looks pretty in West Side Story because she feels pretty. If she felt unattractive, others would see that she was glum or unconfident and would probably find her less attractive, too.”
The principle that the Rabbi is presenting is that “to succeed in business and in life, you must not only be a good and moral person, you must also hold a strong and confident conviction that you are. If you can engender a deep conviction that you are noble, generous, and kind and that making money is not shameful – it speaks to the highest of morals and is something to be proud of.” “If you feel a sense of harmony with yourself, with God, with the world, and with money, people will see and feel this.