I was held down by traffic just 30 minutes to the close of my daughter’s Open Day in school; I realized how important it was that I attended such function but my thoughts were already defeated; “I can’t make it on time – what a waste of effort with those Catholic Schools and their strict regimen”. I decided to turn around but a voice in my head painted the picture of me as a quitter so I persisted watching as the clock ticked away.
Somehow, I got there before the close of the function and was able to do all I was required to do. As I was leaving the school meditating on the importance of “persistence” and how far it could take one in life, I saw a colorful hard cover children’s bible – I fell in love with it and bought it for my daughter promising her that I would read it to her every night before she goes to bed. 4 weeks after, I have neither read it once to her nor have I read it myself.
As I sat in my sofa meditating clouded by early morning darkness, it occurred to me that the most important ingredient to success is not all this stuff that we run around trying to acquire but a simple character trait called “Integrity” – just do what you promise or claim you can do (no excuses). It goes deeper than honesty or a particular moral conduct – it is aligning oneself to your core belief; a oneness of the spirit, soul and body. Your words align to your deeds.
The whole concept of “honor amongst thieves” has always piqued my curiosity – how can thieves trust each other? How can crime be organized? If the popular belief concerning criminals is true, then it is impossible to have organized crime. The success of the organized crime in the 1920s in America proved an important point about integrity – it does not matter which side of the law you are or which particular religion you adopt, success begins with integrity.
It is impossible to influence people without integrity – the ability to influence people is a key component to achieving goals (no matter how small). Due to social or economic pressure, there is always a “disconnect” between our core believes and our outward expression. When this happens, your level of authenticity starts to erode and intuitively trust issues begin. I will reference an anecdote from Acts 19: 13-15, NIV version of the Bible.
A Chief Priest, A Jew and seven sons of Sceva tried to exorcise evil spirit from a man. The evil spirit questioned their authority to do so and humiliated them. They were trying to do what they do not believe in; I can picture a Chemical Engineer working in a bank due to economic pressure; five years down the line, he/she is complaining about being stagnant. As a young man in life, I realized how common this flaw of keeping one’s integrity is disregarded and how it has shaped careers or perception of people.
Since I can remember, I have been propositioned by youths on either getting a job or getting a loan to start a business. There was this particular speaking engagement in Ibadan where a young man blamed his condition on his inability to get a loan. From his own admission, he seems to be proactive, hardworking, innovative and gregarious but his suppliers refuse to extend him credit. So I started my preaching by telling him that the word “credit” simply means trust.
The issue may not come from him but on the perception of his suppliers on extending credit – they may have a history of being burnt. I asked him what he has been doing to change this perception – “have you told them you are coming at 2pm and you reached there 10 minutes later; did you promise to buy a certain quantity of good but you reneged; do you dress in a questionable way; did you ask for a little quantity of the goods and demonstrate to them over time that you could be faithful.”
When people trust you, life becomes easy. The issue I realize is demonstrating that you can be trusted. When you ask young people looking for jobs to intern for free or volunteer, they simply find it difficult to do. Although trust is built over time, you must start with one person at a time no matter how low you regard the person. One common mistake is to assume that you are defined in life by what you posses, where you work, what you do or the personality you assume. What defines you is your integrity – a man they say is as good as his word.
