Character

It's been around for years, but the statement that you can eat an elephant one bite at a time is as true as ever. It's also true that you can benefit mankind and change the lives of countless others a little bit at a time.

 

One of the most heartwarming stories I've heard in years is that of Oseola McCarty from Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She spent a lifetime washing, ironing and mending dirty clothes. These clothes were worn at parties she never attended, weddings to which she was never invited, and graduations which she was not privileged to see. Her needs in life were extremely simple. She didn't mind living in a small house and economizing in every possible way - including cutting the toes out of shoes if they did not fit right. Her pay over the decades was small and mostly in dollar bills and change, but she saved consistently and was able to donate $150,000 to finance scholarships for black students at the University of Southern Mississippi. The impact of her gift has been incredible. She has been identified as the most unselfish person anyone knows. The business leaders of Hattiesburg matched the $150,000 and the $300,000 is being used for those scholarships. 
 
Ms. McCarty was stunned at the amount of attention she recieved from the media and the number of people who came by to see her. She had only one request and hope, that she will be privileged to attend the graduation of at least one of the students who received his or her college education as a result of her generosity. She wished she had been able to get a college education herself, but said she was always "too busy." Her hope is that her "busyness" will enable others to get the education she never had.

Fact: It's not how much you have but how well you use what you have that counts. I encourage you to follow the Oseola McCarty example and you will help others get to the top!