Is your Word worth anything?

In this bittersweet, ever changing journey called life, where do you stack up?  How do you really feel about your place in the world, and your effects on others?  I am convinced that a lot of people either don’t think about these things at all, or simply don’t care about their effect on others.  Self-absorbed.  That’s a good phrase to describe a whole lotta people.  Selfish and greedy are a couple more good words to use.

There are different levels of greed and malice, just like there are different levels of kindness and gratitude.  What I think we should all strive for is to operate by the Golden Rule.  That pretty much sums up how we should act in any given situation.  How would you want to be treated?  Treat others just like that.  Not complicated at all.

I don’t personally understand the type of thinking that says “To hell with everyone else, I’m always looking out for #1.”  Some people really do believe this is the way to go through life, and they think I am crazy for believing in the Golden Rule.  In my Real Estate business, I have seen and heard of many examples of both good and bad behavior by adults.  I have seen people go back on their Word because it was convenient for them, or lead to a more desireable result for themself.  I have even heard of people taking advantage of others, knowingly, and when confronted with the question “what if the shoe was on the other foot, and they were doing this to you?” the response was, “the shoe isn’t on the other foot.”  So they didn’t care.  It’s not Win-Win with these people, it’s Win-Lose.  I win, you lose.  They go through life trying to make this happen in every single situation that comes up.  This type of behavior says a lot about one’s worth, in my opinion.  Some people are not worth very much at all.  The people who constantly operate in a Win-Lose mindset, don’t care about others, constantly think about themselves and willingly take advantage to the detrement of others, well, those people aren’t worth very much at all.  In the end, that’s a very unfulfilling way to live.

Ethics are absolutes, and don’t have a pricetag on them.  If you find a $20 that someone dropped, you probably wouldn’t have a problem running after them and giving it back.  And I believe that most people would do so.   But what if that person dropped $20,000.  I am certain that many of those people who gave back the $20, WOULDN’T give back the $20,000.  All the sudden the greed factor kicked in, and the desire for gain (even at someone else’s expense) overpowered the desire to do the right thing.  I don’t know the exact numbers or percentages on this, but my experience has taught me that a significant number of people are UNETHICAL.  I wrote a blog about this not long ago titled “Absolute or Relative.” 

I am bringing this topic up again because I have recently been wronged, to the tune of about $30,000.  The person who is responsible should read our forum post on Character, the article about Mr. John Huntsman.  I encourage you to read it if you haven’t yet.  It is significant.

People get let down in life regularly, that’s for certain.  But what really stings the most is when people knowingly take advantage of another, even after being helped by that person!  Amazing what people will justify in their minds.  I really wonder how some people sleep at night. 

How do YOU sleep at night?  Is your Word your Bond?  Do you do what you say you are going to do?  Do you do the right thing, even when it’s not the easiest choice?  Do you have a spine and a backbone?  Are you able to stand your ground in the face of unpopularity?  Do you have an unshakable character?  Would you follow through with a promise even if it ends up hurting you?  Is a deal, a deal…. even if something better comes along later?  I hope you are able to honestly answer YES to all of these questions.

Nobody is perfect.  But some people are doing much better than others.  I think our educational system should spend more time teaching ehtics and character.  Of course, as a parent, it certainly starts at home.  Unfortunately, some parents are too busy with other things to actually parent.  Kids grow up according to the law of the jungle, not the law of the land. 

Remember what Paul J. Meyer’s mother told him, “God wants you to be rich.  Promise me you won’t settle for money.”

I personally believe that the world would be a much better place if we all took our own integrity seriously.  Not just talking about it in advertisements, actually coveting our character.  After all, strip away all the material possessions and what do we really have?  Our reputation and our character.  Those are the things that define us, not our car or our house or our clothes.  Get that straight, and you will be on the road to ultimate success!

The problem we are having is that we have many so-called leaders (political and popular culture icons) that have NO character.  They influence the younger people to value the wrong things.  People value money, appearances and material things MORE than they value truth, honesty, integrity and character.  Those are the building blocks of a civilized society, and I fear we are really going in the wrong direction.  Help Dadsworld.com make a difference.  Parent your kids.  Live your life by the Golden Rule.  Act in accordance with values, not fleeting material fame or fortune.  We can make a difference, I just hope it’s not too late.

And as the radio talkshow host Dr. Laura Schlessinger says, “Now, go do the RIGHT thing.”

Tags: character, dad, dadsworld, dr. laura, dr. laura schlessinger, ethics, god, gratitude, greed, integrity, john huntsman, kindness, law of the jungle, law of the land, life, mom, parent, Paul J. Meyer, rich, the golden rule, unethical, win-lose, win-win, word