Ambition vs. Greed

Is There A Difference?

In this post, I will compare the actions of work ethic vs greed. I am writing this for anyone in Scientology is brave enough to really look at their self-appointed leader’s actions. I’m comparing them to those of a true self-made man.

I live in a small town. We have a dozen or so decent restaurants to choose from. Less than ten years ago, we welcomed a hibachi style restaurant to our town. Our chef, Jerry, was from Boston. He was originally from Cambodia. He was personable and attentive. Within twenty four months, he became the owner of the restaurant.

He married and now has three children. He still sends money home. He has opened seven hibachi style restaurants across the state in the last seven years. They are all a success. During COVID, he welcomed anyone who had no food to his restaurant. He gave them free rice and soup. If they could not come in, his delivery crew took food to their homes. He gave each graduating senior a $50 gift card to his restaurant.

He wins awards from the Chamber of Commerce every year for his community involvement. He has public drawings to give away free food on Easter, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day. He does other things anonymously which I will not reveal as he prefers not to be known for them.

About a year ago, the Village Inn closed here. Jerry bought the building. He spent a year remodeling it and last month started the soft open for a cowboy themed restaurant. He has never had one of those before, so won’t do a hard open until he knows it’s perfect. One waitress told us she’s never worked somewhere where a $15,000 day was the norm. And they’re not officially open yet!

But…his head server left his job of ten years to take the position of lead server at this new restaurant. We’ve been there several times already. Even the silverware is branded 😂. The main thing about it is – when we are there, so is Jerry. He is usually wearing an apron. He seats people. He talks to customers. He cooks. He buses tables. He washes dishes. His employees think he’s wonderful. He helps where needed but doesn’t interfere. He lets them do their jobs.

Walking through his restaurant, you can hear comments like “Jerry would never stoop to that” “I like that Jerry did…” etc. Everything Jerry touches turns to gold. Because he is a good man.

He has opinion cards on the tables. On those cards are his phone number and email address. If you call or email him, he will respond. If you tell him there is a problem, he hops right on it. And he doesn’t yell, ever. He just gets with the employees to figure out how to fix it. If someone says something bad about him on Facebook, Jerry contacts them. Within the hour, they will post that Jerry contacted them personally and fixed the problem. He is a humble man. He remembers the first time he met us. He is a true leader.

Now let’s compare that to Scientology’s leadership. The self-anointed leader David Miscavige leads by fear. He hides from people. He will not talk to the public. He advertises the “good deeds” Scientologists do. He fails to mention most of the showy deeds are not funded by him or Scientology. The money comes out of the pockets of those on the front lines. The people he guilted into doing those things.

Anyone who has worked for him who has escaped tells of his temper. His favored way of handling a problem is to yell at someone. He constantly changes the program. He blames others for any problem. The inky good words you hear about him are from people still held captive in the Scientology organization. Miscavige needs to take lessons from a real leader. He needs to understand that there is more to life than the almighty dollar. Fear does not equal respect. And if a leader doesn’t have respect, he’s worthless.