“No legacy is so rich as honesty.” William Shakespeare
Benjamin Franklin is often quoted having said, “Honesty is the best policy.” We have used the language of “principle” throughout this book. But, in essence we mean the same as “policy,” as Franklin used the term. Also, I use the term “honesty” broadly as another word for “integrity.” Integrity is an essential virtue that involves truth through and through. Without honesty, hard work will inevitably result in a dead end.
It has been said that if you start well but end poorly, your legacy is not the way that you started but the way end. If this is true, Shakespeare is spot-on when he say, “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” There are many businesspersons and entrepreneurs who started with integrity but ended in scandal. This is also true as pertaining to any ambitious journey – from romantic relationships that begin with love and passion but crumble in infidelity to college students who begin doing their best in their classes but fail because of cheating; from sincere and anointed pastors who launch their ministries with power and accountability but fall into financial embezzlement to business persons who start businesses with integrity but fall into corruption. Dishonest gain renders failure at its deepest level.
