Truth in Advertising?

I was driving down the freeway today on my way to a home inspection and saw a landscape truck in the middle lane.  On the back of the truck, (on the tailgate) was a statement in BIG BOLD letters, “Proud to be 100% drug free.”  As I passed the truck and pulled alongside, the driver was smoking a cigarette.  The last time I checked, nicotine was still a drug.  Not that I cared whether this guy smoked or not, but to have a conspicuous advertisement on your company truck saying “Proud to be 100% drug free,” and to be smoking strikes me as contradictory.

You see it everywhere these days, especially in adversting: a lack of truth and integrity.  I see it all the time in the real estate business.  People looking out for themselves, rather than the clients they are supposed to represent.  Advertising slogans and statements have become meaningless for the most part.  You really have to do some research and deal with people you know and trust in order to be assured  a fair deal anymore.

I am going to be teaching my son and daughter a lot about making contacts, and having a powerful sphere and network of people they trust and look out for.  So many people are just in it for themselves, their attitude is “to hell with what’s right or fair.”  That’s a sad statment, but true.

I remember reading the book Swim with the Sharks without getting eaten alive, by Harvey MacKay and something he said stands out.  He said the best way to become powerful is to have a big rolodex.  In other words, be a valuable person to a lot of others, and you will have a strong network to draw from.  Many people blow off the chance to make new friends, or at least friendly aquaintances.  Don’t make that mistake.  The more people that think highly of you and you regularly keep in touch with, the better chance you have to be successful. 

Teach your children to value their friends, and be a likeable person.  Likeable people are interested, genuinely interested in others.  They are also trustworthy, consistent, reliable and honest.  I recommend the book How to win friends and influence people,  by Dale Carnegie.

Much of our world operates on deception and fallacy, but be sure you don’t fall for this.  The best way to overcome the cynical nature of people and the fierceness of our competitors is to be very good at what you do, and be true to what’s right.  Those are the lessons we need to pass on for our children to enjoy real success.