Imagine your life and our world if everyone showed respect and acted with integrity…moment by moment. Breathe in self-respect. Breathe out respect for others. Stop and savor the feeling in your body and mind of how it felt when you were being shown respect by a friend, family member, business partner, by your neighbor, even a stranger.
“Live with integrity, respect the rights of other people, and follow your own bliss.”
~Nathaniel Branden
I grew up being taught certain core values—be kind and respectful to others, keep your word, be on time, show up when you say you will, trust and persevere through adversity, and never give up. I was taught that these are guiding principles and to not follow them is not an option.
I was positively influenced by Bob Marley. I am inspired by his spirit and his creative genius.
Heraclitus, A Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BCE, gifted us with this profound message about integrity.
And, I love what C. S. Lewis, British novelist, and poet, said about integrity…
Aretha Franklin hit it out of the park with her mega signature song, “Respect”. It was a groundbreaking female empowerment anthem of the late 1960’s and continues to be as relevant today as when it was released. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked “Respect” at #5 on their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time.
What does integrity and respect mean to you? How do you practice these core qualities in your life? Here is an idea that may be helpful in clarifying your personal values around integrity and respect. Finish this sentence, “I have integrity and show respect when I…” Then, make your integrity and respect list.
My list looks like this:
“I have integrity and show respect when I…”
- Live by my commitment to persistence, perseverance and inner strength to overcome obstacles in the face of adversity—the foundation of my band, My Silent Bravery.
- Listen with sensitivity to my Braveheart fans on MSB TV and offer them authentic support and a safe place to share their struggles and breakthroughs.
- Give to others at least once a day
- Remember regularly what I am grateful for
- Am real and transparent
- Show that I am dependable by keeping my word and commitments
- Share messages with the Good Men Project readers with the intention that they will be truly beneficial in their lives
- Act proactively by pausing when a stressful situation arises, centering myself, and choosing to not react negatively, but rather from a calm place.
- Connect from my heart with fans at live shows, online, and respond to their letters
- Have the courage and passion to go for my dreams and believe that the Universe is on my side
- Rise above challenging situations, limiting thoughts, and let go of any resentments
- Take care of my body and honor its messages to me
- Keep my daily discipline with my spiritual practices on my path of Kabbalah
- Make time for my family and let them know how much I appreciate them
- Write songs of substance from my soul with the intention of inspiring and serving my listeners
- Practice humility and show empathy
- Live more from a state of “being” rather than constantly “doing”
- Trust that everything is happening the way it is meant to and believe that ultimately all that I experience is for my benefit and personal development.
- Honor myself by living life as an adventure, taking risks, and feeling alive and comfortable in my skin
- Am courteous and considerate, being conscious of and attentive to others.
- Smile at strangers and offer encouragement to at least one person every day
I have incorporated these guiding principles into the lyrics of my songs over the years. I invite you to visit my website My Silent Bravery and experience some of my music that is currently charting on Billboard and other songs that have charted on Billboard over the past 10 years. You can also download free music there.
As a man who is on a mission to living a meaningful, purposeful life, I believe in “paying it forward” by being conscious of showing respect and coming from a place of integrity. I have learned, sometimes the hard way, that it is essential to respect myself and in doing so, I can truly respect others. The more respect we have for ourselves, the less tolerable we are to being disrespected by others.
Ultimately, I believe that being respectful and having integrity is about seeing the Divine in each other…loving and respecting each other as sacred expressions of the Divine. If we brought this consciousness to our interactions and relationships, we would be going beyond male and female dynamics, gender, race, political divisions, feminism…we would be going to the heart center…a place of pure love. This is the divine adventure.
You Might Also Like These From ‘My Silent Bravery’
What Men Want Women to Know | 2018…Beyond Chivalry | Getting Back to Giving | Yours, Mine and Ours… |
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