My Reality Check Bounced! - Jason Ryan Dorsey [83]
If your friends are unethical, it eventually rubs off on you. You may even think that if your buddies make the bad decision along with you that it can’t be all that bad or that the punishment will be reduced. Wrong. Bad ethical decisions lead to bad consequences.
If you do find yourself making poor ethical choices only when certain friends are around, maybe it’s time to hang out with some different people, the kind of people who actually want what’s best for you rather than what’s best for them.
Maria was caught in this situation at her job. She worked as a cashier at a busy pizza restaurant. The restaurant was primarily a cash business with lots of people coming and going at all hours. When she started work she quickly found out that the cashiers she worked with would steal $20 from their register after each shift. They told her she should do the same, because they all were underpaid and “in this together.” After a month she gave in and started taking $20 after each shift. She justified it by telling herself that her co-workers were doing it, too. The owner finally got wind that someone was stealing from his restaurant, so he secretly installed a videocamera above the cash registers. With this evidence he immediately fired all the cashiers including Maria. The other cashiers then tried to explain their actions by saying it was Maria’s idea all along, and that they were just going along with her.
ETHICS RULE!
Between the time you first opened this book and the time you finish reading it, you’ll have made many decisions based on your ethics. Maybe you kept a promise to a friend. Maybe you told a tiny white lie to your boss. Maybe you returned a lost item. All of these choices represent your everyday ethics.
When you live with solid ethics, people won’t think twice about trusting you at their weakest moments, asking you to join their team, or sharing with you their most personal secrets. But once you prove your ethics are spotty, people pay attention and never forget.
When you live by a high ethical standard your word is your bond. People know they can count on you in the good times and the bad. Plus, when a potential love interest or employer Googles your name, they’ll find more reasons to trust you—not bad press. And you won’t have to hide what you are doing from your mom!
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INSTANT MESSAGE
Separate right from wrong and then do what’s right, even if it’s more difficult.
One tiny lie can lead to a tangle of false stories.
When you stand up for what’s right, you’ll always be on firm ground.
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BOUNCED: Ethics are nice in theory but not realistic if I want to get ahead in the real world.
CASHED: I should do what’s right, even if that’s the only reward.
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ONLINE: For more info on Blake’s wild story, visit
www.myrealitycheckbounced.com/book
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12
FIND OUT WHAT YOU’RE MADE OF
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To feel alive, start living!
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We all come to a certain point in our lives, usually in our twenties, when our careers start to become established, some big life choices have already been made, and a familiar routine begins to take hold. And yet there’s still a feeling of unease; a feeling of subtle second-guessing. You begin to wonder: Did I make the right choices? Am I stuck in a comfort zone that keeps me from seizing the day? How do I know if I’m headed down the right path? How do I know if this is the best I can do with what I have? How do I know for certain if I am living life to the fullest? In short—Is this all there is? Asking these questions simply proves you want the most you can get out of your life; and luckily, there is one answer to all of them: Start living in the moment.
You don’t have to keep telling yourself that one day you’re going to lose weight. Join a health club or take up hiking right now. You don’t have to settle on one career path just because that’s what your college degree was or because you’ve been doing it for a few years. Take