Never be arrogant no matter how high your position is or how smart you are!

Success is what many people strive to attain, and there is nothing wrong with that. In most cases, success makes one humbler; but in some cases, it makes one arrogant and proud.

I know of this lady who used to work as a salesgirl-cum-cashier in a retail outlet. While in that position, she was very courteous and each time I entered the shop, with wide smiles, she would greet me, "Sir, how are you? Looking for anything today?" and she has always been respectful. I observed that her behaviour started to change lately, after a company restructuring exercise, when she was promoted to be the assistant manager of the outlet. Since then, she has changed to a totally different person, she behaves as if she does not know me, and sometimes, when I ask her for help, she would just hastily rush through her answers quite reluctantly. On several occasions, when she was beside me, she even pretended that she did not see me. This is a typical case where success makes one lose his or her character and that might bring forth the downfall of a person.

This incidentally reminds me of a boy, who after looking at the cover of my book, "15 Forgotten Secrets That Will Make You A Better Student", told me proudly and without blinking his eyes, " Better student? I don't need this book, I am already very good!" It was later that I found out he was just 16 years old, waiting to go into the Polytechnic to do his Diploma course. My goodness, a boy this age says such a thing, it simply shows how arrogant or how naive he is. I don't think that is self-confidence. I gave him a 20-minute free lecture to correct his arrogant attitude. His attitude was totally changed after that. Before I left him, he asked to buy a copy of the book.

The moral of the story is: Never be arrogant no matter how high your position is or how smart you are! Always be humble and continue to learn from and respect others.