I’ve owned a business of some form or another since I was 10. I have kept hundreds of notebooks where I recorded my revenues of each business on one side of a page and on the opposite page listed my expenses. When I started employing people, the names of anyone on my payroll were always at the top of my list, above any other expense. My reason for this was that I always felt that if someone chose to trust me to build a business that would keep roofs over all of our heads, food on our tables and deliver a quality life — the least I should do is to always make sure that I was keeping top-of-mind what I owed them every week.  

Once about 15 years ago, during a meeting, one of my clients, the CEO of a large public company. saw my notebook and asked about its contents.  Quite embarrassed by its elementary nature, I explained that it was my sole accounting system other than my check book and credit card statement.  

After her initial disbelief followed by mutual laughter, she asked me to elaborate on why I carried it around with me. I told her that every day I was confronted with business opportunities. Many pushed me to the edge of temptation: Situations where I could make a lot more money if only I was willing to bend a rule here or there and shoulder a little more risk since the odds were often slim that I might have a problem or get caught.  

Besides having a good conscience, my income and expense notebooks were steady reminders of this rule: To make every decision not by what I might have to gain in the moment, but what I might have to lose in the long run. 

That policy has always served me well – in business & my personal life. In the end, I may not be the one with the most material possessions, but I will still have enjoyed playing the game, I’ll sleep well at night and my integrity will be intact.  

Every day of life in one way or another, we encounter those: Should I or should I not decisions. My only advice is: Focus on the big picture and you’ll usually have your answer. 

This is Silver Disobedience® philosophy. I’m @DianGriesel aka @SilverDisobedience ✨ A Perception Analyst who shares my Daily Meditations for other Ageless, Passionate & Curious People.  More info in my bio & my websites.