Tip #1: Always follow your instincts and have faith that you are being led where you need to go . Your intuition is a powerful friend that can guide you effectively. When you look at a person’s website, how does it feel to you? Do you get a positive “vibe” or do you have reservations? Do you feel energized and excited about working with this person, or do you need to talk yourself into it?

Tip #2: Find a practitioner with many testimonials. Make sure they are from people all over the country. This assures that they have the ability to access information and perform healing, right over the phone! Some clairvoyants are very accurate in person, but their ability waivers when assisting someone long-distance. Seeing that a practitioner has testimonials from across the country goes a long way toward showing that they are properly trained to work in Spirit to effectively help anyone, anywhere.

Tip #3: Look for someone that offers a Money Back Guarantee . If a psychic is genuine, they will offer you a Money Back Guarantee because they believe in their gifts and know they have the ability to help you. In my practice, I offer a guarantee and will refund money if a person isn’t satisfied in the first 5 minutes. Never continue a session with a psychic, (especially one that charges by the minute), who hasn’t demonstrated their gift within the first 5 minutes.

Tip #4: Avoid practitioners who need to ask you many questions, or who encourage you to talk about your life . This is not a counseling session! A true clairvoyant will be able to tell you what you need to know. If they seem to be fishing around and asking you a lot of questions, its a good sign they are not able to genuinely help you. Answer their questions as basically as you can and don’t fill in the blanks!

Tip #5: Avoid hype! Avoid the flashing banner ads and the websites that promise that all your problems will be solved. Avoid people who make outrageous claims that promise finding your soul-mate, solving all your problems, and giving you perfect health. If their website seems like its designed to sell you on a product, this is a good indication that their service doesn’t sell itself! Not only are most of these obvious fakes, but you may be dealing with people who are working in the Ego, feeding off your need, and they might be selling themselves as an authority you should listen to and follow. This can be a very dangerous situation. You want to find someone who is an equal and can give you advice while honoring your right to choose for yourself.

Following these 5 simple tips will greatly assist you in finding the practioner who is right for you. A good fit will insure an amazing session and it will be money well spent!

Erin Heaven is resident Clairvoyant Healer and founder of Complete Life Healing in Boise, Idaho. Giving psychic readings since age 12, she has 22 years of experience in metaphysical studies and energetic healing.
Read her site http://www.guaranteedhealing.com/ and discuss this, her other articles and more athttp://www.completelifehealing.com/apps/forums/

The chain of custody documents who was accountable for evidence and when. There must not be any gaps in the chain of custody; all time must be accounted for. This ensures that evidence was not tampered with in any way.

Don’t Break the Chain!

Breaking the chain of custody renders it useless in trial because it loses its integrity. Signed documentation is essential for insuring evidence is not compromised. The evidence custodian usually has the responsibility of maintaining the chain of custody.

Everyone who handles evidence makes up the chain of custody. Crime scene technicians, police, detectives, laboratory analysts, medical examiners, specialists, and more can examine evidence in a case. All of these interactions must be documented. 

Evidence Rendered Inadmissible in Court

Failure to maintain the chain of custody will be detrimental to the case in court. Evidence can be deemed inadmissible if the chain is broken. If the evidence was unaccounted for at any time, the defense could easily argue that it may have been tampered with.

The chain of custody is an important element of a criminal investigation. It ensures that evidence is handled properly and documents the actions of people involved with the evidence. Following proper procedures allows justice to be served fairly. 

Future Use in Court

Contamination of evidence will compromise it and make it inadmissible in court. It is of the utmost importance to properly collect and preserve all evidence.

Chain of Custody

Maintaining the chain of custody also protects the integrity of the evidence. The investigation team must identify all evidence and thoroughly document it with photographs, notes, and sketches before anything is touched. After documentation, careful collection is done.

Prevent Contamination

Personnel must wear protective gear, such as latex gloves, to prevent contamination. Every crime scene is different, so the crime scene personnel must use the safest methods for the circumstances. It is also important that the evidence is packaged properly. For example, anything that is wet must be allowed to air dry prior to packaging.

Furthermore, evidence must be packaged to prevent cross-contamination with other evidence. Following proper procedures will allow evidence to remain admissible in court.

Mmmmm…

Is this the very same integrity that keeps us from acknowledging the Almighty?  Is this the very same integrity that keeps us from seeking the Lord? 

Is this the same very integrity that keeps us from conversing with Him in prayer?  Is this that same integrity that allows us to store up dust on our Bibles or the same integrity that keeps us from reading the Word that became flesh?”

Would this be the very same integrity that causes us to offer no forgiveness to our brethren or our neighbor nor seek forgiveness from the Lord, who is the God of our salvation!

And would this be the very same integrity that causes us to choose storms over peace, hate over love, vengeance over forgiveness, despair over hope, and unbelief over belief?

Would this very same integrity keep us from attending church and fellowshiping with fellow believers?

And why would this integrity of ours keep us from denying the Lord Jesus Christ?

In light of the charge, how valuable is our integrity, really? 

If we confess “we have integrity” then the Lord will require of us to “give an account,” even of our integrity.  So, how will we “give an account” of our integrity while we yet deny the Lord, all the way? 

What kind of integrity do we have that desire we deny our Maker?

Americans love to eat from the hand of many men that come along, but refuse to eat from the nail scared hand!

I come in the name of the Lord and have been sent to call us unto repentance, for the kingdom of God is at hand, nigh unto the door.

Make the path straight for the return of our Lord!

With a greater love,

Steven E. Bryner

Independent Preacher

Blog: http://seboe313.blogspot.com 

Published:  http://www.triond.com/users/seboe313

Note:  ”Please feel free to post this article or any of my postings on your website or blog”

Where have I been ? I have been fighting god. Does any one know how to get god of their back?

Okay now to an even more pressing question? What is wrong with you conservatives? Besides my on going battle with the “creator”, I have also given up on conservatives. Your flirtation with Donald Trump, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and now Nwet Gingrich has convinced me conservatives are not smart enough t o pic a good candidate.

It is of up most importance to me for people to understand that current economic and political problems in America are the result of people with poor ethics and poor morality. Lack of talent in finance and economics is not the issue.

Today, on the Laura Ingraham radio show I heard a sound clip of Mr. Gingrich supporting a healthcare mandate. I know in 2010 Gingrich supported a candidate for US senate that was not a true conservative, but had the support of the Republican establishment. A lot of people have seen the commercial with Mr. Gingrich and a liberal. In addition, Mr. Gingrich harshly and in a negative manner criticized Paul Ryan’s economic plan.

Okay, boys and girls can you say political operative? I would say Mr. Mitt Romney is also a political operative. However, the liberal news reports that Romney is the republican front runner.

Alright my allegiance are with Mrs Michelle Bachmann. Again, I say she has the education, experience, values, and high moral character needed to be a great president.

However, many people need the Republican Power center to manipulate them through the use of Fox news and other conservative media in order to have a perceived original thought.

I am left wondering why all these conservatives with their political “man crushes” cannot see what I see. Us politicians need to recognize that they serve the people. The people do not serve them.

However, 62 million Americans made the horrible mistake of voting for the so-unprepared= Barack Hussein Obama. Some in this group were conservatives. Some one explain this fact to me.

Okay do not explain it to me. Explain how a question that was answered in 2008 is again an open question. I am speaking of Mitt Romney.

Christian conservatives should never support a Mormon. Mormons believe that Christ is the brother of Satan. This should be more than enough for Christians not to support a Mormon.

However, how about Mr. Romney changing his values? How do you trust a person who can enter a room full of moderates and tell them everything they want to hear, then enter a room of ultra-conservatives and tell those people everything they want to hear? Mr. Romney has to be lying to some one.

The again the candidates are no the problem. If a person has been paying attention, he or she would know how is a real values centered person with high moral character.

Sarah Palin did disappoint me. In a time when America needs a person with high integrity and great talent , the only other person then Michelle Bachmann who in my mind meet these criteria refuses to fight. My heart is crushed. I am demorralized.

I know about the sick political machine that t involves FOX news, the Republican power center, and financial backers who did not want to see Palin as president of the United States. I am well aware of the fact that Sarah Palin knows about this perverse machine also.

I did want a fight,though. These are critical times. The US will not survive much longer with politicians who care more about their “click” then they care about every day Americans.

I cannot fight with people who are not using their smarts. The one resume of a candidate with education, experience, values, and integrity is Mrs. Michelle Bachmann’s resume.

Why my current attitude? Is it because I have had to construct my own resume that I can recognize a great resume when I see one? Is it because I value honor and integrity above anything else? Could it be because people who I thought were warriors for America really are nothing more than petty voters?

I do not want Bachmann to win just because she is “my candidate”. America needs leadership that can be trusted. There are already to many convenient politicians in all levels of government service in America.

The people have to rip their government out of the hands of these unscrupulous politicians. However, when conservatives do not even know that a perfectly good conservative with high moral standards, is starring them in the face, can there really be any hope for the US.

I believe this is the end for America. Her destroyers are not the immoral and unethical politicians. America’s people do not have the mental talent to choose a good president and a better congress.

It is sad that so many Americans choose pettiness over substance. It is petty to choose a candidate based on emotion. The question of America’s next president is a cerebral question.

I just do not think many conservatives know how to use their brains. Sarah Palin is a great person with the education, experience, values, and high moral character needed for the office of the president of the United States. However, people allowed the media, including Fox news, to make them hate Mrs. Palin.

Therefore, I cannot blame Mrs. Sarah Palin for choosing to run away instead of fighting. I still love her. I will always have great respect for her. She is still on my list of “people I would die to protect”.

However, here we are. America needs a great leader. Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann are these leaders. However, conservatives are spending their time flirting with obvious liberals such as Donald Trump, Rick Perry, Nwet Gingrich, Herman Cain, and Mitt Romney.

I can no longer watch the madness. In addition, I would like to wish conservatives well in 2012. However, I am greatly afraid about what you are about to do in the next United States presidential elections. 

No this diatribe of mine is, I guess, something that I simply had to write so that I could take a moment to thank the men and women (such as the soldiers I saw in that segment last night) for the sacrifices and nightmares that they have (and many still do) faced for us as Americans. I listened to the stories told last night and wept as the realization that a man, a Soldier, who had received the Silver Star Award for his bravery and his valor in the line of duty is now left to suffer nightmares and memories that no individual should ever be forced to deal with. He spoke of the guilt he felt, of how he blamed himself, for the loss of his Commanding Officer on the day that he was wounded and would later earn an award for still managing to carry his C.O. out of that place that is now forever branded into his memory.

That young man was 18 years of age when he fought that battle and his life was altered forever.

With Veteran’s Day coming up on Friday, I couldn’t help but wonder how many men and women I meet and deal with every day that might be going through some of the same things that young Soldier faces now that he is back home and trying to readjust to civilian life. How many more, I wonder, are suffering in silence because they don’t know where to go or who to turn to? Because they don’t have enough resources to seek out the kind of help that they might need in order to help them deal with the horrors that may have followed them home to the States when they left those deserts? How many times a year, a month, a day, do I come across a Veteran of ANY war and (even though I always be sure to shake their hands and thank them for their service) maybe not take long enough to appreciate what they’ve done and been through in their quest to protect this great country of ours? How many of those Soldiers have come home in these most recent years to a Country that is so torn apart by a bickering government and civilians who are feeling angered and betrayed by Washington that our soldiers are, perhaps, not given the welcome home that they deserve?

It’s not the first time in history that this has happened, I know. But maybe, just maybe, if somebody reads this little tirade of mine…maybe if they then turn around and take a moment to thank a Soldier or a Veteran for their service….maybe THEN I’ll feel like I’ve helped to welcome home a few more of those soldiers have given, and suffered, and lost so very much because of a love for this country that can never be overshadowed.

We have no control of our passive circumstances. Neither have we had an accurate answer on life after death. Given the situation on being in the death row and this is going to be our last hour in life or the company you are working with gave you notice of your last day in service, what could have you been doing now? For someone who is going to be crucified, this is another story to discern. We have seen that what matters most is not the pain of whips, the pain of nails or the pain of thorns but the feeling like anyone of us could experience; the anticipation of being alone, of being humiliated, of being betrayed and that nobody might stand with us in agony. Our ethical standard puts us in the context of contemplating how to decide what is right.

Ethical dilemma or practical crosses in life caused us to stand by our belief and thoughts of which is right. Clients and co-workers and even our Boss are our practical crosses in the workplace. Students may have the dilemma in choosing the course to take, couple raising their children, the clergy facing their unreceptive community, your husband, your wife, your children, among others. A working mother considers it her cross to manage her time amidst demands of children and her boss. A husband might consider his wife as his dilemma who does not know how to manage resources while he had to struggle to earn a living. Question is: how long can we carry our own cross? How long are we going to process our ethical dilemma?

3 Test of Love

1. A TEST OF LOSING RESENTMENT. This is simply surrendering our life with forgiveness and love. A parent abandoning their children or a child abandoning their parents (ailing parents) is a true to life story anywhere in the world. There is that feeling of hatred, there is resentment, there is abandonment, and there is loneliness. Workers have contemporary concerns with accountability, transparency, participation, non-discrimination, devolution, poverty alleviation, competition, etc. But how are we being tested with our resentment? This is by way of embracing your cross with love and understanding. Give with compassion. One must believe that we are pushed into the dark to show us that there is eternal light.

2.    A TEST TO FACE HUMILIATION.  This is facing your powerful humiliation; a concern for relationships. Ethics was determined by rules from the past. Confucius had proposed a “golden rule” of caring that states: “Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself.” One of life’s challenges is for us to be brave enough to face humiliation and reap later the fruit of being a good person. You start to think you are good for nothing because no one ever believes in you. However, pain and sufferings are good starting points that will convert us to be a better person. The challenge on humility, the experience of death, dilemma on service goals form part of the sufferings in our life that unknowingly, the gold, the diamond, the silver in us will come out.

3.    A TEST TO SACRIFICE FOR A GREATER GLORY. Sweat blood because this is the only way to reach high and be successful in life. All of us have our own garden of Gethsemane. We experience betrayal, loneliness, pain, humiliations, and abandonment. We need to reconcile values of justice and mercy, competition and cooperation, individual freedom and group loyalty. But beyond all of these sacrifices, the Lord brings us to goodness. Clients will be served equally, marketing designs are geared towards meeting the customers’ needs, and governance and public service improved its commitment for competent proficiency.

Testing personal choices

a.    Integrity. Can I live happily with this choice? Am I at ease with my conscience?

b.    Transparency. Am I happy for others to know what have I done? And the Media to report what I do?

c.    Accountability. Do I make it a point to report to others? Can they check my reports?

d.    Reciprocity. Would I feel no hurt or anger if others did the same to me?

e.    No suspicion. Is the action free from reasonable suspicion?

There are many challenges in our life. Resolve ethical dilemma by way of designing outputs that meet customers’ needs and convert your attitude into a better person.

Fort Knox, KY, in 1960 was still a very active military base that was home to a large tank training unit, some basic training units, and a few tons of gold.  I was there at the tender age of seventeen to do my basic training.   After waiting a one or two anxiety filled weeks for enough raw recruits to show up to form a company we were transferred to our stark, drab and extremely functional barracks.

        Age and time have erased any specific memories of how it all happened but I know that at some time we had to fall out into formation and attend to the business of the hour.  We also met our cadre, the sergeants and officers who would be cracking the whip over us for the next eight weeks.  We expected the worst.  We got the best.

       Our platoon Sargent was Sgt. Vargas.  A slight, fairly quiet, and unflappable Mexican America.  He hardly fit the image of the wall rattling, booming voiced, man-gorilla we usually think of when picturing a basic training platoon Sargent

       Our First Sargent was Sgt. Poolaw.  You don’t ask a Sargent what his first name is . . . Or much of anything else.  So, I don’t think any of us knew his first name then.  He was just Sgt. Poolaw.  And he was impressive.  He seemed eight feet tall, but probably not.  His build was square, he looked like his smile had abandoned him long ago, and his words were few, but well chosen.  He was native American.

      One day someone came from company headquarters found me and told me I had to go see Sgt. Poolaw for something other than for discipline.  I am sure he had an office but he did not seem like an office kind of guy.  I was told to meet him at the flag pole.  I met him there.  For a seventeen year old boy to meet with the first Sargent was an honor beyond compare.  I had lost my father before I ever got to know him and Sgt. Poolaw seemed like the quintessential father.  It seemed to me that had I ever wondered what a father looked like, this was it. 

        I came to learn that most of the guys in my company felt the same.  Even Sgt. Vargas spoke of Sgt. Poolaw in respectful tones.  My platoon was not made up of really great soldiers but in the end we came to respect our leaders so much that we wanted to win the outstanding platoon award for Sgt. Vargas.  We worked extremely hard to get all the bolts on our m1s to click shut in unison after inspection arms.  And they did and we won.

       Many years went by and many sergeants went by, but whenever I thought of what a soldier was, the image of Sgt. Poolaw came to mind.  One thing he said still sticks out in my mind.  He said that when we left basic training each one of us must be the kind of soldier who, when our foxhole buddy look across the foxhole at us, he was trying to see if we are OK and not to see if we were there.  He drilled it in to look out for each other.

       My three years in the Army came to an end and my civilian life began.  Many more years interceded during which I often remembered that man who looked for all the world as if he were born in army fatigues.  There are only a couple of people that one meets in ones lifetime for whom there is a feeling of having been in the presence of someone with a great deal of integrity, honesty and courage.  He was that person.  For all the respect I held for the man I did not hold his name in my memory, no matter how hard I tried to dredge it up.

       But, a couple months ago, while visiting my wife’s relatives, one of her nephews arrived.  He had a fresh, very short haircut.  The thought immediately and involuntarily ran through my mind, “That looks like a Poolaw”.   I was thinking about the haircut.  Sgt. Poolaw had been a stickler for Army hair fashion.  He told us to get our hair cut every two weeks and just tell any barber on base we wanted a “Poolaw”.  That is how the name came back to me.  I wrote it down before I was robbed of it again for another thirty years.

       When I got home I decided to Google “Poolaw”  to see what I could find.  Amazing!!  His name was Pascal Cleatus Poolaw Sr.  He was the most highly decorated Native American soldier in the history of the U. S. Military.  Among other decorations he won, as a young soldier in WWII, was the Silver Star, the military’s second highest wartime medal.  His commendation read, in part, as follows:

 Near Recogne, Belgium, on 8 September 1944. While attacking in support of a rifle company, Sergeant Poolaw displaced his machine gun squad forward across an open field under heavy mortar and small arms fire in such a manner as to effect a minimum number of casualties among his squad. After reaching his new position, Sergeant Poolaw saw the enemy advance in a strong counterattack. Standing unflinchingly in the face of withering machine gun fire for five minutes, he hurled hand grenades until the enemy force sustained numerous casualties and was dispersed. Due to Sergeant Poolaw’s actions, many of his comrades’ lives were saved and the company was able to continue the attack and capture strongly defended enemy positions. Sergeant Poolaw’s display of courage, aggressive spirit and complete disregard for personal safety are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service.

He became a career soldier and served in the Korean War where, again he won several commendations including a second and third Silver Star.  His second Silver Star was awarded for the following action:

On 19 September 1950 when the company attack on an enemy position was halted by stiff enemy resistance, Sergeant First Class Poolaw volunteered to lead his squad in an assault. Courageously leading his men in a charge up the slope to penetrate the enemy perimeter and engage the numerically superior enemy in fierce hand-to-hand combat, Sergeant First Class Poolaw inspired his men to hold their position until the remainder of the company was able to seize the objective. Sergeant First Class Poolaw’s outstanding leadership reflects great credit upon himself and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the American Soldier.

Again, later in the Korean War, he earned a third Silver Star by these heroic actions:

 On 4 April 1951 near Chongong-ni, Korea, while attacking strong hostile positions, one squad of Master Sergeant Poolaw’s platoon was immobilized by a devastating automatic weapons and mortar barrage. Exposing himself to the deadly fire, he slowly advanced across open terrain, firing his rifle as he progressed. By deliberately diverting the attention of the foe to himself, he enabled his men to maneuver to more advantageous positions. Master Sergeant Poolaw’s valorous actions were instrumental in the fulfillment of the unit mission and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the American Soldier.

       I served with Sgt. Poolaw in 1960 and in 1962 he retired from the military.  When Vietnam heated up Sgt. Poolaw saw one of his sons go to Vietnam and lose a leg to action there.  When another son joined the Army and was served with orders to go to Vietnam, Sgt. Poolaw quickly re-enlisted in the Army in the hope of volunteering for Vietnam, thereby, under the Army tradition of not allowing two family members to serve in the same theater of war at the same time, to relieve his son of the obligation of going to Vietnam.  His plan failed and both father and son were sent to Vietnam.    

       In fighting there Sgt. Poolaw earned his last Silver Star medal, posthumously.  He was killed during the Battle of Loc Ninh when, while wounded himself, he was carrying a wounded man to safety he was struck by a rocket propelled grenade.  His inscription reads as follows:

for gallantry in action against a hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam on 7 November 1967, while serving with Company C, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. On this date, during Operation SHENANDOAH II, First Sergeant Poolaw was accompanying his unit on a two-company search and destroy mission near Loc Ninh. As the patrol was moving through a rubber plantation, they were subjected to sniper fire. Within minutes, the area was raked with intensive claymore mine, rocket, small arms, and automatic weapons fire from a numerically superior Viet Cong force. First Sergeant Poolaw unhesitatingly ran to the lead squad which was receiving the brunt of the enemy fire. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he exposed himself to assist in deploying the men and establishing an effective base of fire. Although wounded, he continued to move about the area encouraging his men and pulling casualties to cover. He was assisting a wounded man to safety when he was mortally wounded by Viet Cong fire. His dynamic leadership and exemplary courage contributed significantly to the successful deployment of the lead squad and undoubtedly saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. First Sergeant Poolaw’s unquestionable valor in close combat against numerically superior hostile forces is in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, the 1st Infantry Division, and the United States Army.

          I am proud to have known Sgt. Poolaw and I am also proud that when he was killed he was serving in the same regiment that my father served in during WWI, the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division (The Big Red One).

In all Sgt. Poolaw received 13 awards for valor during his career.  Each one of which any ordinary soldier could be very proud.  He was nominated for a Congressional Medal of Honor.  He was a Kiowa Indian from Oklahoma.  At Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he is buried, there is a building named after him and there stands a bust of his likeness.  And, of course, his name is inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D. C. 

I am not much of a military person even though my father and all eight of his sons served in the military.  But I know that as long as we continue to ask young men to go to battle for us, and possibly die for us, we have a crying need for people like Sgt. Poolaw to train and lead them.  And, I am satisfied, that during my life time, I have met at least one great man.

John Ruskin said that when love and skill work together, we should expect a masterpiece.

People make the mistake of thinking that they work for a bank, an oil company, a small business. The truth is that you were hired by your company, but you work for yourself. Why do I say that you work for yourself? Everything you do in your company is going to affect the destiny of that company, but more than that, it will also affect you.

You have to come to reality that you work for yourself. Every contribution you make to the success of your company is making a contribution to your own life. If you decide to bring the company down through laziness and bad quality work, you are also bringing down your own life. If you perform excellently, it will as well reflect in your life.

When you wake up in the morning, get out of bed. Prepare and head for workplace where you build your future. When you get into your workplace, bear in mind every action on your part will lead you to a future of success or failure. Ensure that you produce excellent work because you are not working for your company but for yourself. You must do your work with integrity and do the right thing. In reality, you are simply training yourself to become a person of excellence and integrity.

Nothing brings this point home more than the point of looking for a job, whether it is due to being sacked from your previous work, or you are trying to change companies. Potential employers are always on the look-out for work experience with respect to how  well you understand your job and not how long you have spent in that job function. The reason you were invited for the interview was because you met the requirements. What is going to stand you out from others is how well you understand this concept and apply it .

KNOW YOUR JOB

The understand of your job is what will give you an hedge above others in your company and field of expertise. Knowing why your job exists and knowing it fits into the overall objective of the company you are working for. Even if you only a guy who stamps ‘PAID’ on company invoices. You need to understand that your job exists to help the company paid for services received and you are more of an auditor that a stamp rep.

DEVELOP YOURSELF

Can you imagine a weight lifter who only works on one part of his body? That part of the body will look quite grotesque. Developing yourself only in the job function you currently do is myopic. Take time to find out what is happening in other areas of the business, read up on new areas in your spare time. Don’t wait for your company to train you. Invest in your professional development.

BE A TEAM PLAYER

No matter how skillful you are at your job, the skill that gets you noticed and further is how you interact well with others in your team and how make them feel. Cultivate the habit of working alongside with others and appreciate them as well for every contribution made them in ensuring that you also achieve your own quota in your job.

DO YOUR BEST AT WORK

You might as well be tempted to say that after all, you are not the only one in your company. Always remember that you are working for the company but for yourself.

Give your best to your employer so that when are also on your own, those serving under you could as well do the same thing to you.

DON’T JOIN THE LEAGUE OF COMPLAINERS

There are many people that will never be satisfied. They complain about everything. Even when their complaints are met, they will still find something and somebody to complain about. Don’t let such people infect you with their brand of poison.

DON’T BREAK RANKS

Don’t run down your boss for any reason, even if your boss is cruel and inhuman. You still have to play your part well because if you continue to play along like your boss’s bad traits you will definitely become like him or her. My advice to you is that you should play the good part.

The root cause of this doubt and question has evolved since I realized what actually corruption is and in what forms? Initially, just like anyone else my notion on corruption had been limited only to laundering money or abusing power. But that does not obviously give the whole picture, and we all can feel and experience it in our day-to-day life. Corruption has been affecting us in India in various forms and magnitude which take us off guard. With each new experience we come across and with the subsequent grudges being vented out, we realize that ‘Corruption’ and ‘Dishonesty’ are not two different things; they are just the other side of a coin. In fact, dishonesty is so deep rooted in our mindset that we define corruption customizing it in various forms, hiding our own shortcomings and lack of honesty. Here I am using the term ‘Honesty’ in terms of a mental attitude, not in terms of the size of the corruption. Whether it is a matter of Rs.10 or 10 Lakh, they are equally proportionate since an honest person will always have an unwavering thought process towards it; so does a dishonest one. You must have seen examples in your daily life that a person is returning money to another person as he received it extra inadvertently when the money exchanged hands. This kind of small act of honesty may not fetch accolades or reward, but sets a true example of good deed for ourselves.

Now in the context of the nationwide protest against corruption, it is heart-warming to see that parents dressed up their kids in white Kurta and topi (Indian nationalist attire) and took them to participate in this movement. But what about the kids who are very small, and have no understanding as to what corruption is? Once the movement or protest will end, it will fade out from their memory. So, it is imperative that the parents set examples of honesty and integrity in their everyday life. For a child, parents are the real role models, and all they learn since childhood imbibes in their mind and heart forever. Also, later in our lives if we see a friend, a colleague to set similar example through his or her acts of honesty, it will surely tickle our senses for good reason. Just sharing an example out of so many I witnessed in the past – during my schooling days, my mother took me for shopping in Calcutta before Durga puja (Festival of worshipping Goddess Durga), and the crowd was massive who were buying stuff for their families. After mother bought some clothes for me, we got back home. Then mother checked the money and found that there were two Rs.500 currencies stuck together and looked like one. Mother realized that the poor shopkeeper handed over one extra currency in a hurry. Without saying a word she picked up her handbag and started moving. I also ran with her to give her company, and we went back to the same shop. My mother clarified to the shopkeeper how he slipped away one extra currency, and returned it to him to his utter disbelief. The shopkeeper was visibly grateful and offered tea and snacks to us. But my mother snubbed it, and told him to be careful while exchanging money; else he will lose money like this. This apparent small act of honesty remained in my heart forever, and I repeated the same act several times whenever someone handed over extra money to me by mistake. It also happened the other way round when I got absent-minded and paid more for an item and the honest shopkeeper returned the extra money to me. It is clearly evident that an honest attitude develops over a period of time, not overnight.

There has been a common debate in India for long that dishonesty prevails among average Indians is due to the abject poverty in the less fortunate section of the society. But that argument too cannot stand, since there have been numerous instances where people showed outstanding example of honesty and integrity even during extremely irresistible situations. And if we look out for more examples, almost in 100% cases, the people involved in major scams in India had no financial constraints. Hence, it is evident that the acts of honesty or dishonesty emanate from the deep-rooted ethical values only.

So, the bottom line of all the discussion and example lead us to the moot point –‘Corruption’ and its root cause ‘Dishonesty/Lack of Integrity’. All the corruption happening around us both at smaller and bigger scale are coming from our mutilated and disoriented concept of honesty. I would like to reiterate and urge you to think that it is not enough to uproot corruption by protesting against a government and its officials, since they have come from the same root of the society like us and carrying the same distorted values. We the people have to prove in our everyday life to ourselves and to our new generation as to how clean we are; and when the time will ripe, we need to pass on the baton to the younger ones in order to build up a truly ethical nation.