Honesty And Integrity…The Basis of All Success

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There certainly appears to be a great credibility crisis in the world today. It seems hardly believable at how far the pendulum of life has swung away from the statement “A person’s word is their bond” all the way to the statement “You can’t believe anything that you hear.” This complete change has all happened in just a few short decades of time.

We live in a world full of lies and half-truths. Society as a whole is told anything about everything whether it is true or not. Rather than the speaker being held to the integrity test about the accuracy of his statements, he goes with impunity and feels he is able to say just about anything he desires to say and claims it is accurate. It now seems that the listener is the one who must dig out the truth and measure everything he hears against his own detailed personal examination. Our world and its societies have swung 180 degrees from the honesty of the past. Such a condition is deplorable, difficult, and extremely misleading. What ever happened to the honest salesman, promoter, and speakers of the truth?

Stop for a moment and think about or actually keep track of all the interruptions,….uninvited interruptions, that you receive via e-mail, fax, voice messaging, unsolicited telephone calls, and unannounced drop in visitors or other salesman calls. Such interruptions lead to hours of unproductive wasted time and related revenue. The advent of digital media and communications has made such interruptions easier and quicker, all in the name of progress.

The bombardment of too much information, too much interruption, and too many untrue solicitations cause us to spend far too much time at work and far too little time with family and friends. Society and our culture are the ones who take the biggest hit. Personal relationships by and between people are the things that get hurt the most when a regular workday has to be extended to ten or twelve hours or more because of the far too many interruptions that occur everyday.

It has reached the sad point that most of us can no longer believe hardly anything that we are told or are hearing….things like “I will only take ten minutes of your valuable time,” or “you may have already won $10 million in our next give-away,” or we want to drop by for a few minutes and deliver the free gift you have earned.” Six to ten of such interruptions can eat up hours of each of your precious workdays. A multitude of unsolicited and unidentified telephone calls or e-mails, at all hours of the day or night, follow you home from the office. How far backward has the digital world really taken us?

It has reached the point that, mentally, everything we are told is discounted and diluted to such an extent that it is virtually meaningless.

Words were given to us by God. They were defined by men. They are very valuable things and they do mean important things. But they have been misused and greatly abused. Words are to be carefully selected and intelligently used before their original designed intent is accomplished. A person should never just pick a word out that sounds good and use it, but should learn the definitions of the words they choose to use so that the thoughts and ideas they are attempting to communicate are much more effective whenever properly used in the correct context.

Words when used properly communicate intention, planned action, or create circumstances. They must be believable if they have any chance of creating their desired effectiveness. If you cannot believe people during the introduction or initial meeting, why would you ever want to have a professional or personal relationship with them? How can you ever trust anything they tell you? What ever happened to the old adage “undersell and overdeliver”?

I tell you that the key to achieving your chosen success in the arena of business is to always do what you say you are going to do. Always let your yes be yes and your no be no! By so doing you will earn the reputation of being an honest person and one who is filled with total integrity. The second thing, which may be, in fact, more important, if you know for certain that you are going to have to follow through on everything you say, you will be much more careful and cautious with what you promise.

As we all know, if something seems too good to be true,…it probably is. There are always going to be people who are asking you to give them your money, your support, your assistance, and your vote. These type people want you to trust them to lead you into a troubled future, and they tell us with a straight face that they are going to lower taxes, cut spending, and increase services and benefits for everyone….Come on! How can that really happen?

As you go through your day today, look for people who do what they say they are going to do. Allow them into your inner circle of confidants and reject everyone else. By doing this, you will insure that you will then have a wonderful day and a wonderful life.

Honesty and integrity head the list of attributes possessed by all of the greatest leaders and the most successful of all people throughout history. It takes a long time for people to learn that those character traits are the foundation for your manner and way of living your life. By always doing the right thing, by always being good for your word, by always serving your fellow man and putting his needs before your own, your character will be established in the hearts and minds of those people with whom you associate. Character is indeed the cornerstone of all successful people.

People of good character have many good, valid, and lasting, interpersonal relationships. These lasting relationships are the bedrock of all human achievement. The very basis of building interpersonal relationships with other human beings is for you to be a person of good and solid honesty and integrity with all of your dealing with everyone with whom you come into contact. Honesty and integrity are the very concrete foundation of lasting personal communication and interpersonal relationships. Honesty and integrity are the two mainstays of good and powerful human relationships.

Success and lasting happiness are the fruits of solid integrity and honesty by and between other human beings.

 

Peace and Love to All of You………………….Poppa Bear

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