Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 304 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Popularity vs. Integrity

Thank you for joining us for our 7 days a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 304 of our trek, and yesterday we discovered the 9 signposts that help us to navigate the difficult trails of change. In particular, we discovered that when we come to an end of one trail, it is actually the beginning of a brand new tail. Today’s trail will take us to a place that may not be comfortable as we compare and contrast popularity or success with integrity.

Thank you so much for coming along with me each day as we explore and consume these “nuggets of wisdom.” These bits of wisdom help us to live a rich and satisfying life while creating a living legacy. While some of our daily treks are multi-part series, you can join us at any time and start along with us from that point on. If you would like to listen to any of the past episodes, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal. You can also subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Spreaker, Stitcher, Soundcloud, and Google Play, so each day’s trek will be downloaded to you automatically.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. As we watch spring wake up from its winter sleep, we have spotted at least three different varieties of woodpeckers. The largest one is a pileated woodpecker (think Woody Woodpecker), next a red belly woodpecker, and then a couple of downy woodpeckers. That is an advantage of having very large and mature trees on our property, as they attract a lot of different wildlife. It appears that our pair of red shoulder hawks have laid their eggs or are getting close to doing so. The female is spending most of her time on the nest while the male seeks out food and additional nesting materials.

On Wednesday, we will be onsite with one of our clients locally to assist them with their monthly billing. It is very important to our clients and us that we have the utmost integrity in all of our transactions with them. In a world of moral relativism and situational ethics where success/popularity is more important than keeping your word, it is important that we understand the difference between.

Popularity vs. Integrity

The current election cycle in the United States brings this topic to the forefront of our minds. Although I do not like to generalize, most politicians and political candidates will say and do just about anything to persuade us to support them. The thinly veiled rhetoric leaves us confused as to what the truth really is. Most of the modern news outlets also contribute negatively to what actually is the truth. We should not get caught up in this same cycle in our own lives. The question to ask is, “Are popularity and success mutually exclusive with integrity?”

While it is difficult to see it in many areas of our current world, I would propose that true integrity is the very backbone of true popularity and success. If I could teach only one value to live by, it would be this, Popularity and success will come and go, but integrity is forever. Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose. So, never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage your integrity.

We live in a world where integrity isn’t talked about nearly enough. We live in a world where “the end justifies the means” has become an acceptable school of thought for far too many. Sales people overpromise and under deliver, all in the name of making their quota for the mon...