Thoughts to Build On

I read the daily papers as though they were
directives from on High. I am gravely concerned about
dozens of situations, and diligently try to decide what
should be done about them. Yet none of these situations
affects me. Most of them are in remote parts of the world-
where I never have been and never expect to go. But I am
solving their problems, although nobody has ever, in my
whole life, asked me what my solutions would bel So I'm
turning my wheelbarrow upside down.
I have been asked to serve as chairman of
various charity campaigns. I may have qualifications along
that line, but I have a neighbor across the street who is a
real expert in that field. He was a major executive of a large
corporation and devoted his spare time and great talent to
charity fund drives, which he conducted with sensational
success. Then he retired to devote his full time to charity.
So if I am asked to lead a charity campaign, I shall properly
put the job in his wheelbarrow, which is suitably built for
just such a load.
This is not indifference on my part-but selec-
tivity. Mrs. Kopmeyer and I have established the M. R.
Kopmeyer Foundation, into which a substantial part of
our estate subsequently will be channelled. It is a perpetual
trust fund, the income of which will be devoted to the
care and cure of crippled children for generation after
generation. This is what we have selected to put in our
wheelbarrow.
The point is: to be effective, you must be selec-
tive in choosing the responsibilities you will accept. If you
push your wheelbarrow through life right side up, people