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Show Honesty . . . Excerpts from talk on Honesty from B. C. Forbes' Book "KEYS TO SUCCESS" Honesty is the cornerstone of character. If a man be not honest, he is nothing. Yet this honesty virtue, as old as history, is being re-discovered and re-enthroned. Honesty no longer means simply keeping within the law, keeping out of jail, keeping out of trouble. To-day's standard of honesty is higher than that. The honest man or woman now seeks not merely to avoid criminal or illegal acts, but to be scrupulously fair, upright, fearless in both action and expression. Honesty means more than can be expressed in two or three words. Here are the meanings of "Honest." Honorable, fair, straightforward, equitable, open, free from fraud, faithful to contract, according to agreement, just as represented. Upright, virtuous, conscientious, just, true, fair, reliable, trusty, trustworthy, observant of obligations, that stand by one's word, as good as one's word. Genuine, free from shams, thorough, faithful. Reputable, respectable, creditable, suitable, proper. Sincere, candid, frank, unreserved. Can you measure up to that full-length definition of what honesty means ? What passed for honesty in the business world even a few years ago would not stand the test of to-day. Says A. C. Bedford, head of the Standard Oil Company: "Unless business is conducted in a fair and honorable manner, it will close in the long run. I would urge a young man going into business to cultivate, first, a fine sentiment of honor, that is, a principle of action in conformity with the highest standards of duty and obligations set by the social sentiment of any time and place." "Absolute honesty and integrity" Robert Dollar lays down as the foundation on which every genuinely successful career must be built. Honesty must now be four-square. It must embrace activities of the mind as well as the hand. It must not merely measure up to the outward civil law but to the inward moral law. No employer nor any one else has any regard in his inmost heart for the person who is dishonest. And, most important of all, the dishonest person, when indulging in reflection in the still, quiet hours of a wakeful night, has no regard for himself. Honesty pays dividends both in dollars and in peace of mind. Dishonesty is the very worst policy. |