Keeping Your Word

I have had a number of conversations this week about integrity and keeping our word.

One of my dear friends, Calvin Welch, is a very well known drummer and he always says, “You gotta keep your word. It’s all you got! Our word is everything!”

He’s African – American, so you need to imagine him saying those words in that accent.

Why is it so important to keep our word? Well, as Calvin so rightly expresses…It is “everything.”

The best way that YOU can trust you is to keep your word.

The best way OTHERS can trust you is to keep your word.

How much fun is it to deal with unreliable people? None. That is not fun.

Frustrating at best – catastrophic at worst.

The bedfellow of poor integrity is Blame. Closely followed by an inability to take personal responsibility.

How about your OWN unreliability?

That’s also not fun.

When we make promises and commitments to others, no matter what they are or whether they are big or small, we need to do our very best to keep them.

If we can’t do so for whatever reason, we need to communicate that, immediately.

I strongly encourage you with big love, to do your VERY best to keep your word. ️

E.g. “I’ll call tomorrow” means a call must occur “tomorrow” according to your word. It’s that basic.

If you say you’ll “send options this week” you must do so, according to your word. First and foremost this is for yourself and your own integrity.

Don’t go down that path of being someone who is flaky with your word, even if it means stating promises to yourself that you aren’t keeping.

Your word needs to be like a rock. And you can totally do it!

As I said, when you do your best to keep your word YOU can trust YOU. And so can others.

I certainly don’t always get it right myself, yet it’s a very important value to have integrity and keep our word, so it’s definitely my goal.

I have failed in this area, particularly on my own personal deadlines for things in the past. I do work super hard to get there eventually, yet we all have room to grow in this area.

Here is a great rule to follow:

Never promise something (a call, or favour or anything) unless you can fulfil it. If something happens and you can’t fulfil a promise you made – communicate this immediately, no matter what it is.

This is a BIG DEAL.

This will reduce a lot of stress on you. And you’ve probably got enough stress on you as it is.

Integrity brings the peace that you need.

Integrity is wholeness.

Keep little promises and keep the promises little most of the time. Big sweeping statements can “feel” good in the moment, e.g. “I’m going to the gym two hours a day from now on!” However, the moment it becomes unsustainable, you’re back into the land of breaking your word again.

Set yourself up to win!

If you owe someone money and you promised to pay it, pay it. Sooner rather than later.

Be careful with what you do promise and then keep it. If you can’t, communicate that ASAP.

In the music industry, a sure fire way to self destruct is to be unreliable. It’s true for every industry and every relationship.

There are people that habitually break commitments and it causes pain, havoc, broken relationships, and untold stress.

Build up integrity, trust, and being impeccable with your word.

It’s a LOT harder than you think.

These things really matter though.

Move away from those Hollywood moments, “Yeah, yeah, let’s do lunch!” when you have no intention of doing so.

Say what you mean. Mean what you say.

Let your yes be yes. Let your no be no.

And if you need more advanced lessons on this, you can always ask Calvin!

He is playing drums on one of my shows on September 14th at Foundry 616 – Sydney’s Premiere Jazz Club. He’s an excellent drummer and a true King in every sense. The man keeps his word!

We would love you to come!!

There’s also a GREAT show on August 10th at Music at Street Market in Crows Nest and it’ll feature Imelda Bergin, James Napier, and Billie Rose in the opening set.

Three stunning voices.

Save those dates to come and enjoy some excellent live music.

If you’re too far away to attend in Sydney I would absolutely LOVE to connect with you in the You Have A Voice Academy. It’s a phenomenal life-changing journey and if you resonate with this blog article, there’s a whole lot more goodness in the Academy. Please do seriously consider joining and change your life in the best possible way.

Details are here: YOU HAVE A VOICE ACADEMY

And don’t forget the You Have A Voice Summit in BALI – January 8-13, 2020!!