This Issue: Give Your Higher Self a Chance

An achievement is a bondage. It obliges one to a higher achievement.

-- Albert Camus

When the achiever achieves, it’s not a plateau, it’s a beginning. Achievers move forward at all times. They anticipate their next deal, and have another goal immediately lined up. Their enthusiasm cannot be fabricated--it’s either there or it’s not. Achievers go for the challenge, so the next deal is what they’re thinking about. They have an obligation to themselves to best themselves. That’s living in the highest realm.

Your higher self is in direct opposition to your comfort zone. An indication of life is growth, and signs of growth have to be there. You’ve heard people refer to a city as “vibrant,” which means that it’s lively and growing--it’s not stagnating. See yourself as a city, with all the inner and outer workings necessary to keep yourself thriving and efficient.

When thinking about giving our higher selves a chance, I remember something Albert Einstein said: “I haven’t failed; I just found 100,000 ways that don’t work.” That’s giving your higher self a chance, and it’s a good example of tenacity at the same time. Always allow yourself room for mistakes, because they will happen. Just don’t get too comfortable with them. Always keep your aim high.

We all know that fine line between something great and something just good. What makes da Vinci’s Mona Lisa so exceptional? There are millions of different answers, but for some reason her face mesmerizes people.

Our higher selves can help us to become visionaries. The word visionary evokes a lot of images: the castle-builder or a Don Quixote--someone who has grand dreams or is idealistic. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as the idealism is tempered by reason. Visionaries move the world along into new dimensions. Look at Bill Gates, for example, in technology, or Mark Burnett in reality TV, or Pablo Picasso, Stravinksy, and other great artists of the twentieth century. They were groundbreakers who followed their own instincts and led us in new directions.

Sometimes our goals aren’t necessarily mapped out. Sometimes it’s a feeling that something great will happen, and so we’re move toward it. Very often the change happens while we’re working away on something else. Being industrious can be a magnet for new ideas.

One of the worst fears we can have is to fear to attempt something. There is always the possibility of failure, but there is a greater chance of success if you actually try to do something versus doing nothing. I wasn’t sure I’d be a success on the radio, but I went for it and ClearChannel has had a big success with my program. But I had to take the chance first to find out.

Life can be an adventure of the best sort if you will give your higher self a chance. We all have something unique to offer. Our work is to find out what that is, and to work at it with a passion. So don’t tread water. Get out there and go for it.

In a time when the government circulates disinformation to fight terrorism, and executives at Enron, Tyco, and Qwest manipulated their earnings reports for personal gain, it’s important to remind ourselves of the value of honesty.

Honesty is truth and integrity. If you are honest you avoid becoming mired in fraud, deceit, artifice, and deception.

Telling the truth is the right thing to do. Also, sticking to the facts relieves us of the stress that lies create. Honesty is a virtue, a signature trait of our higher selves.

It’s not clear whether today’s atmosphere of seeming disdain for honesty among business and government leaders is driven by greed and cynical gamesmanship or symptomatic of some deeper rent in the fabric of our society. What is clear, though, is that honesty is the right path to take in our personal, political, and professional lives.

Conversations with executives from companies that receive high marks for leadership are instructive. Consider their dos and don’ts for ensuring integrity in dispensing information:

Don’t intentionally mislead or misrepresent. Enough mis-communication will occur on its own without your prompting.

Don’t give a half-truth, fib, or allow a strategic omission of information. Regardless of how carefully you disguise the truth, someone will find out. It will be embarrassing at the very least.

Don’t straddle the line, waltz around, or put a spin on it. Eventually someone will find out.

Do be precise, crisp, and then move on. Long-winded explanations get you in trouble. Like John Wayne said, “Don’t complain, don’t explain.”

Do give the actual numbers. Say it like it is. That is good enough.

Do understand that misunderstandings can occur. When they do--and they will--clear them up. You can say: “There may have been a misunderstanding, but what I mean to communicate is . . .” Take responsibility.

Do realize that one person’s honesty is another person’s dishonesty. The fact is, we view the same issue differently based on upbringing, culture, experience, and other factors. The important thing is to state your understanding, ask for theirs, find the common points, and fix the ones that need to be corrected.

Do bring uncomfortable issues out into the open and encourage others to do the same. A lot more effort is generally spent in “covering it up” than “bringing it out.” For people you are associated with, it’s better to hear bad news from you than to read it in the press.

Don’t break promises or go back on your word. The key is to remember your commitment. Write it down and do it.

Do remember that your distrust of others will often engender their distrust of you. Suspicion breeds suspicion. When misunderstandings occur, clear things up right away; and expect to do that more than once.

Do be honest with yourself. You can't be honest with others unless you are able to deal with the truth yourself.

Don’t forget, even for a moment, that people go to jail for dishonesty. Enough said.

It’s easy to read this and say, “Oh, yeah, I do those things.” The real test, however, is to ask your colleagues how they would rate your honesty.

You may well find, even as you strive to follow this list, that you don't appear to others to be as forthright as you may think you do. What’s important is that we all steer harder in the direction of clear information and away from the tangled web of misinformation.

If you are honest in your business dealings, you add value to your life and the world around you. You count as one fewer deceptive player in the scheme of things and set yourself apart from others.

It’s fundamental. Honesty is the best policy. In business, as in life, it is critical. Honesty will enhance your leadership ability. That’s how you get ahead, get promoted, and get rewarded.