<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Lately, I have been helping my daughter get through some tough times&mdash;the growing pains that are typically associated with the transition every human being goes through when they are changing from a young person into an adult. To help her make sense of some of the feelings she has been dealing with, I shared with her a book given to me as gift by a friend who was a gentle spirit with a heart of gold. This book imparts wisdom beyond any worldly measure: (1) Be impeccable with your word, (2) Don&rsquo;t take things personally, (3) Don&rsquo;t make assumptions, and (4) always do your best. The book is entitled The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz and this book has been helpful in keeping me clear on what is important in this world. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">As I shared my thoughts and discoveries with my daughter, I found myself making some new realizations of my own. These Four Agreements are just as relevant to business life as it is to personal life. How many people out there make wrongful or misinformed assumptions about another? How many people are not impeccable with their word, do not take things personally, and do not always try to do their best towards being honorable, non-judgmental, and forthright? I have met many wonderful human beings in my life, but for every good person I have met, there is one person with less honorable intentions. I suppose it is the Yin - Yang of life. </p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This article is not about&nbsp;promoting a service or&nbsp;myself in any way. This article is about being an authentic person and standing firm on the truth that honorable people deal honorably and they are forthright about their intentions. Intentions are clear and straightforward. Assumptions avoided and hearsay always questioned. Mutual time valued and not wasted, mutual respect offered as well as taken.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">I strive to live an extraordinary life by surrounding myself with extraordinary people who behave in a way that demonstrates they are honorable with forthright intentions. I value these virtues above all else because I offer nothing less in return whether in person, by phone, by email, or by mail. I give 100% when I know a person is dealing with me in an honorable and straightforward manner and it takes time to get to this point of familiarity because it requires getting to know someone first. The bottom line is this: does a person care or are they indifferent? The answer to this question either opens the door or keeps it shut tight.</p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">&nbsp;</p> <p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric; mso-layout-grid-align: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto;"><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Truly valuable business connections are those based on trust, honesty, and forthright communication. I cannot fathom relationships developing unless these ingredients are present not only for personal life, but for business as well. Helping my daughter sort through the growing pains of her life made me realize that when it comes to business networking, many of us have our own growing pains to deal with as well&mdash;even in adulthood. I highly recommend The Four Agreements to anyone who is interested in becoming the best they can be from the inside out.</span></p> </p> 2008-12-20T02:05:34Z -13.7018 777 2556 true 4 15390 the-virtues-of-dealing-with-forthright-intentions 13 2008-12-22T20:44:07Z 2008-12-22T20:44:07Z

This article is about being an authentic person and standing firm on the truth that honorable people deal honorably and they are forthright about their intentions.

0 2009-02-24T09:48:01Z