Why Can't I Just Be Frank?

"I'm going to be honest with you..."

Hmmmm...okay, I'm pondering something here: shouldn't I always be honest with you? Wouldn't you want everything I share to be the truth?

I'm in a meeting recently and the speaker literally starts every thought and answers every question asked to him with "I'm going to be honest with you..." I'm thinking, "Do I ever trust anything this guy says if he doesn't start a sentence with that comment?"

Maybe I'm being too nit-picky, but when you have to ask me if I want you to be honest, let's just go from this point forward that the answer is always going to be "YES!"

Here's another pet-peeve of mine: When someone asks me if they can be brutally honest...come on!!! First, why does it have to be brutal? And secondly, aren't you always honest??

If I need to say something, and I have your best interest at heart, and I want to help in a way that's "coaching" and not "criticism" wouldn't you want me to just be frank (but mindful of my delivery)? My dad taught me, "Never tell someone you're 'going to be honest' with them, always be honest regardless. If you have to begin a statement with something like this, always say 'let me be frank'." Great advice!

My question: So, honestly now, can't I be frank?


[Note: photo from http://4.bp.blogspot.com/]

“Your Success Is My Business.”™

pondering - "to think about : reflect on"

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Wise Words

A friend of mine shared this message with me recently and I found it very inspiring so I wanted to share it as well.

From the book, "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life":

“An old man is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old man replied simply, “The one you feed.”

[Note: photo from http://www.wltc.org/]

“Your Success Is My Business.”™