Recently, I overheard someone say, “The reason I don’t play the stock market is because if you win, someone else loses.”

I was dumbfounded. What kind of logic is that? Even if it were true which I don’t believe it is is that such a bad idea?

Where is it written that no one should ever lose? Who says that winners are bad and losers were cheated?

That is a loser mentality.

I’d bet that same person doesn’t tell his child, “Son, don’t play football/tennis/checkers (or whatever) as well as you can because you’ll cause another child to lose.”

Of course not.

Life is full of competition. Competition is good for us. It makes us strive to be better in order to win. It gives us choices. It forces companies to offer their best products at the lowest prices they can (and still make a profit). Competition is only bad if one of the competitors cheats or if the contest is unfair.

It is each and every person’s duty to strive to be the best they can be. This means playing to win in sports, in games and in life. To do less is an insult to the Higher Power who created us.

It is not wrong to make more money than the next person. It is only wrong if you don’t take a portion of it and use it to help those who are less fortunate than you.

It is not wrong to spend time doing things that are fun. It is only wrong if you don’t spend some time helping others.

It is not wrong to buy nice things for yourself. It is only wrong if you don’t give to those who cannot care for themselves.

Being poor does not automatically make you a good person, just as there is no inherent evil in wealth. Goodness and evil lie in the heart and the mind not in the wallet.

To illustrate this, one need look no further than to the recently departed Paul Newman. Paul always strove to be the best, whether it was in movies or in auto racing or in his “Newman’s Own” organic products. He was well paid for his efforts and did not refuse this wealth, nor did he live as a pauper.

But Paul Newman did not stop there. He earmarked the profits from the sales of his products to charitable causes. At the time of his death in September 2008, the donations from the sales of these products had exceeded $250 million. He developed the “Hole in the Wall Gang” camps so that seriously ill and handicapped children could have the experiences of going to camp just like their healthy counterparts with no expense to them or their families.

So, if you want to be the best person you can be, go out there and play to win, make as much money as you can, and use your largess to make a difference in the world. In this way, you can fulfill your highest destiny and truly consider yourself a good person.