Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I cannot emphasize this point strongly enough. That is, the most important virtue to help you succeed in life, here and now, is honesty.

If you’re arrogant, people may not like you, but they will work with you when they need you.

If you don’t love people, people may still work with you as long as you do a good job for them.

If you’re rough around the edges in your behaviour, people are willing to overlook that weakness if they need you to do work for them.

But if you are dishonest, known as a liar, no one wants to do anything with you, because they cannot trust anything you say or do and are always in fear of your cheating them.

Dishonesty is the number-one relationship killer. Husband and wife who don’t trust each other will divorce. Your boss doesn’t trust you, you will be fired eventually. Most customers don’t trust the shop owner, the shop will go bankrupt someday.

Honesty is the glue of human relationship. Without honesty, we all become unglued from one another and society collapses.

So, honesty is the most important virtue for your success, dishonesty is the father of failure.

People today tell lies from the beginning till the end of the day, so much that they don’t even realize that they are lying constantly.

Honesty means everything coming out of your mouth has to be the truth. If you can’t say something confidential, then don’t say it. But if you open your mouth to say something, that something has to be the truth.

Incorrect information is not the truth. Ex: This battery will last you a year, but indeed it only lasts 6 months. That is a lie. Ex: What year are you in? First year of master. But you are only a sophomore in the bachelor program. That is a lie.

Half-truth. Telling a half piece of information and leaving the other half out, that is a lie. Ex: “Mom, I am going to school,” but not telling her fully that “I am going to school to pick up my girlfriend and we will go to a movie.” That’s a lie.

Half-truth can also be called “misleading information” when you use half-truth to make people misunderstand the whole truth, to be misled into doing what you want them to do, for your own unfair, illegimate gain.  Ex: TV store advertises: “TV discount 50%. First come, first served.” 500 people line up in front of the store, waiting to buy the discounted TVs. However, the big store has only 2 discounted TVs for 2 customers, hundreds of others who have been waiting for hours have to buy at zero discount. That is misleading advertisement and that is a lie.

(Note: Many companies in Vietnam lie blatantly on its packages and advertisements. Ex: Miến đậu xanh – Mung-bean vermicelli – on the package, but when you read the tiny language of “thành phần” (ingredients), mung bean is only 1% of the ingredients (I mean, one percent), or 4% or 10% mung bean. I have read these with my own eyes. No imagination. The Vietnamese market is so wholly distorted. Extremely hard to develop the country economically).

Not keeping a promise, that is a lie. You promise: “I will visit you tomorrow” and tomorrow comes, you’re nowhere to be seen. That is a lie. Or, mom says: “Don’t smoke cigarette.” You say: “Yes, mom”. Then you go to school and sit with a bunch of friends, smoking 555. That is a lie – your “yes” to mom is your promise.

My friends, people truly lie too much these days, especially the politicians, beside businesses – most of them lie as a matter of course. If a politician tells a truth, that is a miracle. But, even in politics, great politicians, great statemen, are always honest people. Remember that.

You can look around and find the proof for yourself. Lying sellers are poor all their life. Honest sellers usually do well with their business.

If you want to be successful big in life, practice honesty every day. Liars are guaranteed to fail all their life.

Wish you all success.

With compassion,

Hoanh

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Trần Đình Hoành
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