"Part Four: The 'In Search Of Heroes' Core Master Mind Team Inspire and Encourage You As They Answer the In Search Of Heroes Questions"
What is your perspective on goodness, ethics, and moral behavior?
Robert Channing: I know everybody has struggled with that. I have. I would say that I’m 90% ethical and moral. There’s that 10% where sometimes you get tempted by money or greed or temptation of any kind.
Sex, drugs, rock and roll, whatever you want to call it. I think my integrity is up there with the top people in the world.
I think integrity is very, very important. If you cheat someone, you are cheating yourself. It’s a multiple effect. If you want to track that in business, if you do something well for someone, I’ve heard this, they are going to go out and maybe tell one or two people.
But if you would hurt them in any way, or take advantage of them, it’s going to multiply over 100 times backwards. You can track that as well, Ralph.
A friend of mine, Scott Holm that I hired as a business coach taught me that and we tracked it one day. It’s better to do well than it is to do badly. I’ve learned that all my life, you learn by trial and error as well. I think integrity is the number one pursuit of happiness in a balanced life.
Cameron Johnson: Well, I think being in the business world, especially after the Xeroxes, Anderson Consulting, and WorldComs of the world, I think business ethics and business morals have never been more important than they are today.
They are now teaching them in schools, whereas ten years ago they never even thought they would have to teach these classes, because they just assumed people knew these things.
But after the exploits of those companies, it has become such a hot topic, and I think business ethics are just the ability to run a successful business and to go home each night and sleep peacefully. I have always said that, and I believe it is the cornerstone and foundation for which successful businesses were built, were business ethics and strong morals.
Ralph Zuranski: That’s a good question. That’s a hard one, because there is a spiritual aspect to that which is so great. I think it has a lot to do with what type of faith a person has. That determines a lot what their ethics are and what they consider is moral behavior.
As a Christian Catholic, I read the Bible a lot and I basically follow the teachings of Jesus, as far as laying down your life for others and doing good to others. My favorite quote is, “How do you turn evil to good?” By loving your enemies and doing good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and praying for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. I think that’s the only way that you can really turn evil to good, is by providing good first, rather than by returning evil for evil.
Sharif Khan: I think that in every culture and every faith, of all the great teachers, that was the idea, the Golden Rule of doing good to others as you would have them do unto you. Doing it first, rather than expecting the world to do good to you first. It’s like priming the pump, you have to give first. You have to put something into the system before you will ever get something out of it.
That’s a very important question. We need to be able to ask ourselves, in business or in life, “Is it going to be a win-win situation for everyone involved? Is it going to harm anyone?” If it’s going to harm other people or negatively influence and impact other people around us then we should not pursue that avenue.
It simply comes down to: are we positively impacting other people, are we making a difference, and is it in line with our vision. A lot of people yield to the greed factor and try taking short cuts for immediate gain without consideration of others which leads to lots of problems.
Debra Berg: All of these are critical for a successful working society. Without the greater majority of citizens taking values and ethics seriously, our society would crumble. We’re in danger of this happening without people, like yourself, making a statement about their importance.
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Click on each name to listen to the heroes interviews of Sharif Khan, Author of "The Psychology Of the Hero Soul," Debra Berg, Author of "The Power Of One," Cameron Johnson, Author of "You Call the Shots: Succeed Your Way – And Live the Life You Want", Robert Channing, the World's Greatest Mind Reader and Mental Motivator and Ralph Zuranski, the Creator Of the In Search Of Heroes Program.
Sharif Khan is President and founder of Diamond Mind Enterprises, an organization devoted to transforming coal minds into diamond minds through the applied pressure of higher knowledge, wellness education, and leadership training. His vision is “to inspire the world with hope, faith, love, respect, excellence, and the courage to dream”. He is the author of the inspirational book about Promoting Heroes in the Workplace and Everyday Life in his "The PSYCHOLOGY OF THE HERO SOUL."
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Cameron Johnson started his first business at the tender age of nine. By age 12, his company was selling Beanie Babies™ over the Internet and he profited $50,000 that year. At the age of fifteen, he became an advisory board member of a Tokyo-based company and published his autobiography in Japanese which became an instant best-seller.
At the age of 21, he has founded and sold more than a dozen businesses and has been featured in more than 250 media outlets worldwide including Newsweek, BusinessWeek, the New York Times, USA Today, CNBC, and MSNBC. He’s served as a consultant to several Fortune 500 companies and is a frequent speaker to a variety of audiences including high schools, colleges, and corporate executives.
In January, 2007, his new book titled You Call the Shots: Succeed Your Way – And Live the Life You Want – With the 19 Essential Secrets of Entrepreneurship is being released by Simon & Schuster. Cameron Johnson lives in Blacksburg, Virginia. Visit his official website http://www.cameronjohnson.com.
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Debra Schweiger Berg is an author, researcher, and public speaker. She holds both a B.A. in political science/economics and an M.P.A., (public administration) degree from the University of Illinois. As an undergrad, she staffed the Watergate hearings in Washington, D.C. Post-college; Debra was one of the first women to serve on the staffs of the Illinois, Kentucky, and Minnesota state legislatures. In all three states, she served as a finance analyst for billions of state agency dollars and led studies on special education, welfare, and education. Following that, Minnesota’s largest HMO recruited her as a senior financial analyst.
Then, in the mid-eighties and early nineties, she founded a successful international marketing and training company, TeamNet, Intl., in which she trained and mentored entrepreneurs. That success led to her eventual recruitment by Amdocs, Inc. and Gcom, Inc., both software industry leaders.
In 1995, Debra launched a 10-year personal quest during which she interviewed 130 of America’s new civic heroes, civic entrepreneurs. Her interviews exposed a hidden trend in America, which she chronicles in her book, The Power of ONE: The Unsung Everyday Heroes Rescuing America’s Cities. Debra speaks to a wide range of audiences and captivates them with tales surrounding her 10,000-mile quest and the heroes who’ve invented eye-opening, working solutions to America’s toughest social problems.
She’s received acclaim by the Pew Foundation and cited by the Chicago Sun-Times for her groundbreaking findings. Debra is presently the President of Power of One Publishing and of PowerQuest, a leadership training company that empowers leaders of all ages to realize a life quest.
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Ralph Zuranski is the creator of the The “In Search Of Heroes" Program. It is a local franchise business opportunity for individuals with high integrity. The purpose of the business is to train young people how to be successful in their personal lives and business.
The goal is to teach high school and college students how to generate income for their local ISOH Program, themselves and community businesses by spreading the “Good News” about local heroes and their businesses, if they have one. Students learn how to promote people, products and businesses on the internet and through local newspapers, TV and radio, using the latest techniques and technology.
Students learn the importance and value of spreading “Good News” in their communities about heroic individuals who deserve recognition for their service to others. This valuable information inspires everyone. It helps each person to take pride in their community and the good people that live there that are making a positive difference in the lives of others.
The businesses that deserve recognition for their integrity, service and generosity are also promoted. This increase in income allows local business owners the opportunity to give back even more to their community. With their increased financial independence, they can invest more time and money into worthwhile community programs.
The students become interns for their local “In Search Of Heroesä” Program. As they learn copywriting, online and offline marketing, website design and how to create audio and video programs, they provide these services to local businesses at a discounted price.
Many small local businesses need skilled help in marketing their businesses, but cannot afford high priced companies. Students are the perfect choice to use their developing marketing skills to help these businesses become more successful. As these businesses increase their revenues, the local community can afford to do more to help local community programs. Everyone benefits!