I recently shot a home in the Poconos and the owner, a self-made man, had built his business on handshakes. He had learned early in life how to read another person and know if the person was a person of their word. If he felt they were he would make a contract sealed with a handshake. If he said he was going to do the job, he did the job and he did it on time and at least at the level of quality promised.

The gift this man had was not a sixth sense or some magical ability. This man, we will call him ‘Al’, knew from an early age that a promise and a bit of hard work could take him far. It is questioned if he ever broke a promise or if it was even possible for him to do anything that was anything less than honorable and ethical. No one I have met has been able to remember a time that Al didn’t keep a promise.

Over time, Al became known for his word and his handshake. He would get business simply because if he said he would do the job you knew it would be done right and done well. Every time on every job he did whatever it took to get the job done right, on time and to a level of perfection few others could achieve. Al is a man of ethics.

Ethics. Corporations teach it to their employees; Some even make it a core value and insist that every employee live ethically. Yet not a week goes by that you don’t hear about someone that is arrested, fired or disciplined for acting unethically.  But how many people, companies or governments are truly ethical? Can they live up to it if they have the chance to benefit from relaxing the ethics a just a little?

Our guy Al never compromised his ethics. He came from a humble background in a large city and never compromised. By sticking to his beliefs and doing the right thing Al made himself into a wealthy man. He is a man that lives as an example to others.

It is my belief that you have to trust people. You have to work an honest day’s work and not be afraid to admit errors, and be willing to correct them when they happen. You have to be willing to do the next right thing no matter what. Perhaps doing the next right thing is going to cost you some business today but in the long run it will get you more business.

One of the most powerful things in business today is a referral from a previous or current client. But a referral that speaks to how ethical you are speaks even louder, and to more people. We are all human and we all make mistakes, what separates us is how we handle mistakes and what we do with them. Do we overcome them or do we let them bring us down?

My goal in life and in business is to be honorable, ethical and trustworthy. I treat my clients the same way I treat my friends and I try to never make a promise I can’t keep. I am human and sometimes I make mistakes but I try to own up to them and I try to make them right no matter what the cost. Something I learned from Al and others like him is that …every handshake has meaning and every handshake has value.

Fifty years ago tomorrow one of the most well-loved presidents of the United States said, “Ask not what can your country do for you but what can you do for your country.” It is a matter of debate as to if John F Kennedy was the first to say those words. Cicero said something very similar in the first century BC; similar quotes have been uttered ever since. Credit most likely belongs to Oliver Wendell Holmes who said, “Recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for our country in return” in 1884.

So what does this have to do with you or me today? More than we all can imagine. It is time, as it always should be, to give back to our society and to our fellows. We can do that by joining the armed forces, giving to charity, working for a common cause, helping those less fortunate than ourselves; we can even give back by just being honest on our taxes.

Lincoln Memorial

The question is not how; that is as different as each reader of this blog. The true issue is why should we give back to our country? Aren’t the politicians and the government here to serve the public? In fact they are here to serve the country as well. (Someone should remind them of that BTW) But you want to know what you get in return for all this giving. The answer is simple; Security.

By giving back, by helping our friends as well as our foes, we create a country and a world that is secure in its own growth. By taking time from our lives to give to the whole we begin to support the network that holds us together as a society. You see it in nature all the time. No single honey bee can make a hive, nor can it make the honey. It takes thousands of bees to make a hive and more to create the honey. Ants work together to build a colony; monkeys, chimps and gorillas build complex societies to assure that all can be safe from predators and have plenty to eat. Even predators form prides to support each other.

So why is it that we as the most developed species are always asking, “what have you done for me lately?” Perhaps it is time to stop asking what is different about each other and start asking what is it that I have in common with him or her or them. Perhaps when we see the similarities and let go of the prejudice, greed and fear, will we all see that what each of us has to offer.

Where do we start? How do we do for our country and our fellows? It can be as simple as opening the door for the person behind you; giving a coworker the benefit of the doubt and helping them complete their work. The point is that each of us doing a little will result in all of us doing a lot.

Today I challenge you. Take a few moments to see the similarities between you and the person nearest you. Then say to yourself, Ask not what this world can do for you, ask what you can do for this world.