Five Thoughts with Regard to Respect

**No one has the “right” to be respected. Respect is earned, not given. Neither compliments nor criticism have any effect if they are delivered by a person for whom I have no respect. If you want to be respected, you must be RESPECTABLE.

**If something is important enough to do, then it’s important enough to take responsibility for. Refusing to own your actions – actions with either positive or negative effects – is a blatant denial of your humanity. Not to mention a good way to ensure that no one will respect you.

**Try to keep in mind that the common denominator of every problem you’ve ever had is YOU, and only you are accountable for your choices. Accountability is the greatest gift we have. Model accountability for your children, for your colleagues. Accountability guarantees transparency – and respect.

**No matter what kind of spin anyone chooses to put on the concept, deception is equivalent to betrayal in all cases. Dishonesty serves no one. Lying – about anything – is the fastest way to earn the contempt of everyone around you and is never worth the effort. Lie to me and the only thing you’ve proved is that you don’t trust me enough to accept you for the fallible human being that you are.

**The right thing and the easy thing are very rarely the same thing. Create a culture of righteousness around you and support the efforts of others to choose wisely while embroiled in difficulty. A person who will always strive to do the right thing despite the high risk of failure is worthy of the highest esteem.