The Unvarnished Truth

Code of ethics

During my many years in real estate sales and mortgage financing the one thing that was always expected of me from my clients and customers was to tell them the truth, whether that truth satisfied their expectations or not; and as a real estate salesperson and agency broker I was required – pursuant to Article 12-A Code of Ethics of the Real Estate Licensing Law – to put my clients’ interests before my own anyway, so I always found the most tactful way possible to tell them the truth. However, reactions varied from disbelief to embarrassment and downright anger on a number of occasions so that our relationships in some of those instances took a hit which I was seldom able to repair.

According to the old saying, “The truth shall set you free,” but it seemed at times, based on negative reactions to truthful information, that some folks would rather not hear such truth if it falls outside the category they wish to hear more. Before I continue further I’d like to ask if you’ve had similar experience(s) of having information you knew to be true rejected out-of-hand by the person you were sharing it with? If your answer is yes then you may understand that perplexed feeling I had at the time and probably posed a question to yourself that goes something like this: What else could I have done? It’s the truth!

Truth and honesty

Short of taking more time in attempting to convince folks that you are in fact telling them the truth there is little else you can do, that is, if your attempts at convincing them don’t result in heated argument – which can happen sometimes. Understanding that not everyone reacts the same and that some folks do appreciate and accept the truth you develop a mindset – as I have done – to continue telling the truth (tactfully when I must) despite the occasional negative reaction from some because, ultimately, truth and honesty is the best creed to live by.

I am retired now and no longer providing any real estate or mortgage financing services to consumers, but for me, retirement so far has not translated to inactivity because I am very active as an independent distributor of health and wellness products that have proven to be very effective in the areas of skin therapy, GC Control and weight control. But perhaps, as important as the quality and effectiveness of these products, is the opportunity provided by the company that produces them.

I have already made quite a few representations about these products in different areas of this website and invite you to peruse the content, because everything I said is true based on my own personal experience as well as those of my friends and associates.

Truthfulness

It can be said that truthfulness is a combination of truth and honesty as in this definition found on the Wikipedia website: ‘Truthfulness “may refer to: Honesty – a moral character of a human being, related to telling the truth.”‘ The industry that I am now a representative of has had quite a few instances that led to its image being tarnished based on untruths told to consumers, and dishonest practices by unsavory characters representing themselves as reputable business persons. Needless to say I or any of my associates cannot undo that, but facing up to it is a prerequisite to being truthful and honest with you.

I recently came across a website which featured the following statement prominently on the landing page:

Bringing Honor To Referral Based Marketing

The greatest inventions and the greatest companies are those that filled the greatest needs.

There has long been a need to clean up the network marketing industry. It has been a haven for fraud, greed, trickery and deception and Shopfreemart is the first company to remove “all” of the negatives that have kept many honest people from getting involved.

That quote may sum up, to a great extent, the core message of this article with the exception that Shopfreemart is not the only company to remove ‘”all” the negatives that have kept many honest people from getting involved…’ My parent company, Melaleuca, has advocated and practiced honesty, truth and transparency from its inception 36 years ago as evidenced by this short phrase that represents our motto: “Inspired by nature. Proven by science.” and to this day has not deviated from that original credo.

Quoted truths

That having been said, it is my belief that the more we follow and emulate the practitioners of truth, honesty and transparency, the better positioned we will be to continue on the path they have walked. Some of the following quotes were taken from the article, Truthfulness, published to the www.skillsyouneed.com website:

Truth is the foundation for a fair and just society. In court, we require witnesses to swear to tell ‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’, because only that way can justice be delivered.

Most modern religions also have something to say on the matter, and it is clear that they place a high value on the principle of truthfulness.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

– Buddha

I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life – Jesus Christ

To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as night the day, that thou canst not then be false to any man. – William Shakespeare

Honest-to-goodness

I place as high a value on truthfulness as on any other important things in my life, and I believe that the days when charlatan activity in network marketing was the rule instead of the exception are gone, for the most part, because of organizations like our network and others similar to it. The degree of respect, camaraderie and support we have for each other as members and distributors is the highest I have seen in all my years in business, and marketing in general; and I felt it necessary to write this kind of article in an effort to let you know that we are a reputable company providing a credible product line as well as an honest-to-goodness, legitimate opportunity.