What matters most in life?

What matters most in life? V.J. Smith writes in his book "the Richest Man in town," that it is relationships. The book is about a WalMart cashier in Brookings, South Dakota named Marty. Marty told Smith, "The way I've got it figured, is that in life you get what you give." Marty was convinced that "even grumpy will smile if you shake their hand."

Another thing Marty believed in was, "I just think that if you want to be a friend, sometimes you need to do a little more." Marty treated everyone with the same respect, regardless of how they looked, or what they were purchasing, making no value judgments that one person was better than another.

That's a hard one for me. I find myself being very judgmental of certain people. Drunks turn me off, especially when they get in their cars and drive drunk. Mean people who build themselves up by tearing down others turn me off. Marty would look for and find the good in those people.

Marty told Smith one day, "People need to decide to be happy." Smith thought that was a strange idea and asked Marty what he meant. Marty told him, "All my life I've watched people waiting for someone else to make them happy. The way I've got it figured, the only one who can make you happy is you."

In the final analysis, though, it was not what Marty said, it was what he did. He had about two minutes on average with each customer. It was what he did in those brief moments that defined him as a human being who made a huge impact on many people.

V.J. Smith's book is available at Amazon here.