I heard Ramit Sethi say this on his podcast today. Although I’d never heard this quote before, I’m quite familiar with the principle behind it.
My grandfather used to say “Anything worth doing is worth doing right.” This is how he taught me to paint, to mow the lawn and to soother home repair work.
When I started working in high school, I always wanted to do a good job. I felt it was a waste of time to not give my best effort. I have never understood purposely being surly at work, quiet quitting or doing a half-assed job. What’s the point? Even when I was sweeping floors in a job I felt was “beneath me” at the time, I made sure to sweep the floors right. It’s what I was paid to do and like my grandfather said…
Ramit’s quote applies to just about everything. For me, it most importantly applies to character, or if you prefer, values/morality.
- If you are a cheater, chances are you will cheat at games, on your girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse, with coworkers, on taxes, etc.
- If you lie about one thing, you will lie about many things.
- Deadbeats and grifters keep working their con game until they wring everything out from their current victim. Then they move on to the next mark or the next scam.
- People who don’t pay their debts, who overspend, who are greedy or selfish continue this behavior again and again.
On the other hand,
- Someone who is kind to animals or kids will extend that kindness to the poor, to strangers, to adults and to nearly anyone they encounter.
- Generous people give their time, attention, money and energy freely.
- Someone who shows integrity in small matter can be counted on showing it in big matters too.
I don’t take this lightly. A person’s character matters a lot to me. Their actions will always reveal that character.