Growing up Bryant

As I look at the ethics that have been instilled in my life, I am reminded of how my parents raised me. My parents took a firm hand to me when it came to certain ethics they expected us to follow. Among them include: never tell a lie; if it needs to be done, DO IT!; listen first; and the classic, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. While these are personal values, I think they all can and will transcend into my professional life. Many of these have also been further magnified as I have understood the ethics of a PR professional, from classes and as a member of PRSSA.

Let's break these down one-by-one...

1. Never tell a lie. This is one that will definitely carry over into my professional life, as it has been one I still pride myself with in my personal life. My parents can always tell if I tell a lie, so I found out early enough it was worthless to try and tell one. This is an important one in my professional life because I don't think I could work for a team where lies are flying higher than the clouds. Dr. Miller mentioned I am a bit of a purist, which I agree with. This is the type of environment, the only kind actually, I could see myself working for.

2. If it needs to be done, DO IT! How simple, yet so hard to follow. It's easy to get lazy, but in my family that was never an option. It's easy to give in, too. A subtitle for this could be to never quit. If you find someone else who is lazy and never wants to do their part, don't rat them out. You shouldn't even pull them aside unless you're close enough to do so. Instead, do the task necessary, and move along.

3. Listen first. This principle literally comes from the Bible, which again, I hold near and dear. John 1:19 says, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." I think we can all take a dose of this in our professional lives. We have moments when we want to jump in and give our two cents without listening to the other person. Growing up with two other siblings, this was an easy thing to try and do, as we always wanted to out-do the other. It's difficult for me sometimes to watch my tongue when in group discussions. I should listen to others before criticizing or jumping in.

4. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Wow! How Mr. Rogers, huh? I think, above all, it's very important for us to just respect the other person. We're not always going to have people in our lives whom we agree with, but we can at least respect them.