Be Clear About Your Core Values

This is from my good friend and brother David Spiegel. I like how he's able to find a new perspective in surprising places. He's done much to turn his life into a model of his values, and I truly admire that. Here's Dave:

In his daily blog my friend and mentor wrote the following the other day:

"It's as important to be clear about what you won't do as it is about what you will do."

He was discussing the need to prioritize. We can't accomplish every single task every single day. We must therefore prioritize. Ultimately there are those things we accomplish and then there are those that we just will not do.

..."what I will not do!"

I kept staring at this line. I had a completely different PERSPECTIVE on the words he used. To me they struck a chord not based on priorities but on values. Often times I find myself staring at a moral line in the sand that I just will not cross. It always comes down to what are my core values and beliefs. In most cases there may be more than one way to view a task or situation. In each of those cases I assess my participation and make sure that it is in alignment with who I am and how I live my life.

There are on occasions situations where that little voice in my head says something is not kosher.It starts with being uneasy, grows into uncomfortable and eventually becomes unbearable. When it hits unbearable is when the big red stop sign appears. The line in the sand becomes a divide as big as the Grand Canyon and there is no way for me to cross it. It is at this point when I know that I have come across that which I will not do. Not out of anger, not for pleasure, not for amusement and certainly not for money.

Core values mean just that.hey are essential to who I am and how I live. They are uncompromising,non- negotiable and immutable. They are the code that I live by. The code like my genetic code that makes me who I am.

It is important to be clear about what I won't do!

Thanks for reminding me Doug!

David Spiegel

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