3 rules for living

I’m reading Joan Crawford’s autobiography “My Way of Life” and it’s excellent. It was published in 1971 and I’m learning a lot.

Joan Crawford is someone who had a vision and went after it. She didn’t let anything slow her down, and she was always cheerful. She felt that if you are going to be in the world, you should always be at your best. You should always put on a smile. You should always be helpful. You should not gossip.

Here’s Joan:

“With a little organization a woman can excel as wife, homemaker, mother, career woman, and gracious hostess, be lovely to look at and to be with – and still have time left over to be a good friend to a lot of people. And a HAPPY friend. Of course, we all have our problems. But I don’t inflict mine on my friends. At least I try not to.

“How many people call you saying, “Oh, I woke up so tired this morning … I had such a terrible weekend … the day’s awful outside.” Being cheerful on the phone is part of giving. Sure we all have our problems, but why inflict them on our friends? I think I can count on the fingers of one hand the people who call up with a cheery, happy voice – and keep it that way.”

“People with problems seem to find the telephone irresistible. When they’re happy they just don’t think about sharing it with other people.”

Ha. Isn’t she incredible? I love it. How these books drop into my life is a complete mystery to me. It’s like God ships them in from Heaven specifically for me. I mean, what other explanation is possible that I’m reading a 1971 autobiography of Joan Crawford??

It looked interesting on the library shelf. It gave me a chuckle and thrill when I randomly opened a page … and that a good enough reason for me to read a book.

I like this part also:

“I do desperately regret not having had a formal education. I tried to make it at Stephens College in Missouri, but I was completely unprepared, and when midterms exams loomed up I ran away. I knew I wouldn’t be able to answer a single question. In the short time I was there, though, I made one of the dearest and most valuable friends I’ve ever had – the president of the college, Daddy Wood. He understood why I had to leave, but before I left he gave me 3 rules for living that may have helped me more than four years of classics would have done.
They’re very precious to me:

1. Never quit a job until you finish it.
2. The world isn’t interested in your problems. When your problems are the greatest, let your laughter be the merriest.
3. If you can find you can do a job, let it alone, because you’re bigger than the job already, and that means you will shrink down to its size. If the job is impossible, you may never get it accomplished, but you’ll grow in trying to accomplish it.

I love rule #3 the best. If you find you can do a job, let it alone. That’s so great. Go for the big problems that are impossible.

Good advice.

Stretch your mind a little.