A discussion about business ethics, character traits, integrity, and values

I spoke to a group of students yesterday, all wide-eyed incoming freshmen, just starting their college careers. I told them that studying made a big difference in their ability to learn, that education would change what they think and what they do, not just get them jobs, and that their most important discovery would be that their lives had intrinsic value.

I suspect a lot of them didn’t believe me. I certainly didn’t when I was in their place. But that realization – that I had value – was the start to everything else good that I’ve been able to do. It amazes me still that for a long time, there have been people willing to pay me for what I know and what I can do. It amazes me that there are people who ask what I think, and genuinely consider, even act on, my answer. Having value, being valued, is a miracle, but the real miracle is that when we share our value, our store is not depleted, but increased.