The true test of character is doing the right thing even when no one sees.
Eight days a week you will encounter temptation to break your personal code of conduct of doing the right thing. One college conducted a sting to test cheating. Of the 600 students who took the test one-third cheated. When a student was interviewed about it, he said, “What’s the big deal, everybody does it all the time.”
To do what’s right, you merely make one of two choices: be honest or be dishonest. That’s it. It’s not complicated.
And you don’t:
- intentionally mislead
- straddle the line
- disseminate false information
- break promises
- go back on your word
- waltz around
- exaggerate
- or participate in other chicanery
Also, these words do not come out of your mouth or get put into an e-mail:
“Everyone else does it.”
“It’s a victimless crime.”
“I can hide it.”
“It doesn’t matter how it gets done, I just have to get it done.”
“Well, maybe just this one time….”
“No one will ever know.”
“I’ll just shred (or burn) that document.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“How much can we get away with?”
“I’d say anything goes.”
“I will deny we had this discussion.”
“We didn’t have this conversation.”
“This is a non meeting.”
“Is this legal?”
Nothing baffles people full of trick and duplicity than simple straightforward integrity.
