Barack Obama

What an impressive speech Barack Obama gave last night standing as he did beneath the Victory Memorial in Berlin.  I mean here is a US Presidential candidate of one of the most disliked countries in the world and yet tens of thousands of Berliners turned out to listen to what he had to say.  His first 20 words or so were:  I stand before you tonight as a citizen:  A proud citizen of the USA and a fellow citizen of the world.  In 15 seconds he had established his empathy and statesmanship and then proceeded to articulate why his youth, his inexperience, his failure to serve in the US armed service and the fact he is an African American are irrelevant in a world searching for leadership and direction.  An ethical life is inspiring. May every American voter be sufficiently inspired to vote for him and may the rest of us remember an event that helped put America back on the path to ethical leadership.

An hour with Gareth Cliff – 5FM

I enjoyed my hour with Gareth Cliff of 5FM fame this morning – just pleased I wasn’t auditioning for Idols.  He’s a smart articulate guy who has an opinion and isn’t shy about sharing it.  I mean, is it possible to be ethical and successful at the same time?  Everyone knows someone who is unethical and has been successful and surely being unethical is easier than being ethical anyway?   Character is the only thing you really ever own – everyone else owns your reputation and how you conduct yourself is how you will be viewed by the world in which you live.  Maybe being unethical is easier but you still have to live with yourself and the consequences of your actions somewhere down the line.  Word gets around and at some point people will stop wanting to associate themselves with you and the way you live.  Corporations like Levi’s and Nike care sincerely about their reputation and spend a great deal of money and energy in building it into something to be proud of.  Why should you or I be any different?  An ethical life is inspiring – do the right thing not what comes easiest.  Be inspired.