Hypocrisy

"Who you are speaks so loudly, I cannot hear what you say." Ralph Waldo Emerson

A while back I had an interview for a job as personal assistant to a motivational speaker. If I told you his name, it's likely you have heard of him. Brilliant man. I didn't meet him, because I didn't make it to that third interview where I would actually be talking with him. I was a little disappointed, because I thought it would be great to be a part of his organization and what he talks about ties into my philosophy about life really well.

The woman from his company who interviewed me over the phone told me how demanding he is, what a perfectionist he is. I thought back to the first man for whom I was a personal assistant, back in the day when we were called secretaries. I was all of 19 years old when I went to work for him, and was with him for 5 years, which is 25% of your life when you are that age. I thought if I could handle him, I could handle anyone. During the second interview, which was at their offices, she told me again how demanding he was. There were two other people who joined the second interview, and with knowing glances and nods to each other, they also told me how demanding he can be.

So I didn't get the job. Several months later, one of my classmates mentioned that she was assistant to a motivational speaker, and I asked if it was him. It wasn't, but she said her boss knows him, and he is a "terrible person." She said he treats everyone like crap. She added that the one time she had met him, she offered her hand for a handshake, and he took it then publicly humiliated her by berating her in a loud voice for how limp her handshake was and how poor her eye contact was. Then he immediately turned and walked away from her. Summarily dismissed. This young woman was in my public speaking class, and she came across in all of her speeches as mature and poised and extremely well spoken. She carries herself very well, and I will bet that her handshake is plenty firm enough and her eye contact is plenty direct enough. But not good enough for this man, I guess.

So he's not "demanding." He's mean. And what he says in his workshops, and what he writes in his books, sounds wonderful, but it's not what he lives. Hypocrisy. No one is perfect, but if you're going to say it, you need to have the guts to live it. The man I worked for back when I was her age was demanding. But he wasn't mean and he wasn't a hypocrite.

I really have a beef with people who treat those under them like they are beneath them. I really have a beef with older people who treat younger people with disrespect. To make a long story short, I am glad I didn't get that job because I have a feeling this man and I just never would have gotten along.


Susan