ALWAYS KEEP YOUR WORD: HARM NO ONE

“I fully realize that no wealth or position can long endure, unless built upon truth and justice; therefore, I will engage in no transaction which does not benefit all whom it affects.”—Napoleon Hill

A promise to engage in no transaction that is not truly beneficial to all whom it affects, I believe is the greatest and most difficult human relation principle to live by. 

Practically, extremely few people can live out this tall code of conduct; however, everyone would desire nothing less than it from every other person in transaction with them. Quite an enigmatic plane of human nature!

Making such a solemn affirmation of truth and fairness to oneself is indeed difficult and rare. Yet, Napoleon Hill elected to make it one of his life principles; he chose to make it a way of life; he chose to make it a habit. 

This kind of humanitarian declaration could not have happened without deep knowledge of the values of virtues; so, this is an attempt to enlighten myself and another on the beauty of that refined ideal of human character; the principle of truth and justice. 

The underlying wisdom of Hill’s promise to himself was best expressed by the great poet of the twentieth century, Khalil Gibran, stated as:

“Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a human being.”

However, since this is a very broad topic, I want us to think now on truthfulness with our words; our focus today will be on justice to promise.

THE SHACKLES OF PROMISE

Before making a promise, we are free to act as we wish, but after we make a commitment, we are bound. The moment a promise is made, the person making it becomes a slave to whom it is made.

Once the promise is made, their privilege becomes their right; and consequently becomes a duty for us to fulfill without fail. 

And not keeping the promise is not fulfilling our duty; and that is a subtle form of harm. It harms them because, it endangers their plans and expectations; subsequently, it damages our integrity and credibility, going forward.

The logical question to ask is: What is promise?

In simple language, promise is a pledge we make to somebody to do or provide something to another; it is a vow that creates expectation of us; it is an assurance that something will either get done or not.

It is an undertaking by us that exposes others to potential benefit or harm.

Being true and just to our promise — which is the focus of this week’s article —  therefore borders on our sincerity and fairness to make real what is expected, in spite of the challenges that may arise in the process.

Below are the tactics we can employ to habitually safeguard others from harm through our words and commitments; thereby protecting our integrity, credibility and dependability from avoidable but corrosive erosion of the vital force of enduring success: unshakable character.

I have extracted them out of the counsels of three masters from the past; and they are as follows:

HESITATE TO PROMISE

“He who is slowest in making a promise is the most faithful in its performance.”—Jean Jacques Rousseau

Living with integrity means putting ourselves on the line, every single day. 

That means we must make some promises in order achieve some goals, still, we want to make sure that, as men of integrity, we are not taking serious things too lightly. In this sense; it is smart to pause, to wait, and to hesitate.

Remember, only fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

This is what I do when I am confronted with a situation requiring me to make a promise to someone. I just say something like, please, let me call you back.

I remind myself with a statement written boldly in my journal, which I read regularly from time to time: “I don’t promise in haste.”

 

It is far better to be slow in making a promise and then keep it than to rush to promise and then fail at it.

For a person of integrity, failing a promise is a no-no. Don’t ever forget that!

BE CAREFUL ON YOUR COMMITMENT

“Don’t ever promise more than you can deliver, but always deliver more than you promise.”—Lou Holtz

When it is certain and immediate that you must commit, you want to choose your battle carefully; you want to err on the side of caution.

Weigh your circumstances and be sure you are saying yes to what you can truly accomplish; so, think things through to follow-through.

For example if you want to fix an appointment, always fix a time with enough buffer to eliminate any possibility of lateness or disappointment. 

With this tactic, delivering more than you promise will not just happen, it will happen regularly and it will seem easy and effortless. 

This is what made it possible for Tynan to say in his habit manifesto that:

“I am exactly on time, nearly every single time and absolutely never seriously late.”

MAKE YOUR WORD….. TOUGHER THAN THE LAW

This is the real deal. Hesitation is what happens before we commit. Once a commitment is made, there is no going back. 

To be a man of integrity, your promise must be totally immune from changes in circumstances; whatever the changes may be. This is the main reason for careful forethought in the first place.

Once you promised to do a thing, get it done; no matter what it may cost you in time and money. This is the key to integrity; this is the meaning of being true to your words; this is the only meaning of justice to promise.

And anytime you find this too difficult to do, repeat to yourself many times, the statement of resolve by Walter Scott, written below as:

“Many a law, many a commandment have I broken, but my word NEVER.”

The goodness in being always dependable cuts across the board; both the doer and the receiver win together; and, this is not only the winnings of the heart and the mind but also the winnings of the purse.

According to the Ethics Resource Centre in Washington, D.C., companies that are dedicated to doing the right thing, that have a written commitment to social responsibility and act on it consistently are more profitable than those who don’t.

In this case, what is true for corporate entities is true for individuals as well.

On a final note, I have written this tough topic not because I am perfect at it but because it is an ideal I am trying to master: a virtue that I recently grasp its importance at work, at home and in life. 

I am merely a humble student of the habits of nature; of the science of personal achievement; of ethics, and of life.

Quite often, writers write about what interests them a lot; on what they have an insatiable need to learn; on areas that can benefit them the most. 

I hope you have the same or even a higher level of awareness to make this lofty principle a key habit in your daily life for as long as you live.