Take Care of the Little Things

Do you know what genuine integrity looks like? It can be hard to spot because it’s often found in the small, everyday actions of life.

Jeff Eaves hired me right out of college to work for the Tension Corporation. We became good friends. He eventually assumed the role of a strong mentor in my life, and it’s no stretch to say that I saw him as a kind of father figure. In fact, it was Jeff who gave me my first lesson in the meaning of integrity.

One day while visiting my sales office in San Diego, he mailed a few of his personal letters through the office postage machine.

“How much do I owe you?” he asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” I responded.

But Jeff wouldn’t let it go. “The company didn’t hire me so they could pay my postage,” he insisted. I finally agreed to charge him a whopping $1.30.

That sounds like a small thing. And it is. But that’s exactly why it left such a huge impression on me. In that moment, Jeff taught me volumes about integrity: people with character take care of the little things.

It’s the little things that will transform your career, your marriage, or your relationship with your kids.