“I live among rural Vermonters much of the time. They can do a million things. The average “hick” in my neck of the woods is a crafty, multiskilled networker/trader/entrepreneur. Many of my neighbors are degreeless and diplomaless, but they could outwit the average corporate manager without raising a sweat.” An observation by management consultant and seminar leader Tom Peters found in The Pursuit of WOW!: Every Person’s Guide to Topsy-Turvy Times.
I also in my life have lived among “hicks” (as Peters calls them in his 1994 book). In fact, I’m sure some of my bosses in my early management career thought the same about me—McKinsey consultants as they were.
I’ve also worked around “guys with ties” often. Most think they earned and deserved their rank and their income. Mostly they got there due to family contacts and/or inherited wealth. And some could have easily have been outwitted by the shrewd, car-tinkering, trader guy who never finished high school but was bright all the same.
This stream of thought merged with my reading today in The Didache. The section called “Dos and Don’ts”. Do be humble formed the central thinking.
Time and again I’ve witnessed the failings of those whose pride got the best of them. Often enough to serve as a warning chime in my psyche if I seem to be going off on a wrong path. Don’t prejudge. Put others first.
This is no doubt a key to surviving during this quarantine period where you’re locked in with a limited number of people who are all-to-aware of your limitations. May you be healthy in body, mind, and spirit.
Faith Venture 
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