Reliability

"What is true anywhere is true everywhere."-Ralph Waldo Emerson  

The fourth Landmark of Truth is reliability.

Reliability means "consistently good in quality and performance." This implies that we can trust and depend on something or someone.

It also implies that this aspect of reliability is not time-based. It is perennial.

This is why so much of the principles and values that guide moral and ethical behavior are common across cultures. They have stood the test of time and maintain their relevance despite the time and place in which they appear and are applied.

These ethical, perennial truths are embedded in theology, philosophy, governance and law, and in codes of conduct and ethical behavior. They include sanctions against murder, theft, sexual abuse, human rights abuses, torture, exploitation of children, rape, etc.

Civil society depends upon the reliability of shared interests, purposes and values for sustainability. Without such standards, there is little hope for the establishment or survival of democracy, and no means by which to ensure basic rights and freedoms.

This is environment is vital to Visionmaking - that we are free to follow our personal and collective destiny within a rule-based system of rights and freedoms that are democratically established and governed. It provides Visionmaking with the perfect conditions for dreaming and pursuing what has heart and meaning.

The second aspect of reliability is behavioral. Visionmakers are trustworthy, ethical and principled in their conduct with others. This makes them reliable. When a Visionmaker makes a commitment, he or she delivers. It is a matter of personal honor.

Many of us equate making commitments with being imprisoned. It betrays a profound misunderstanding of the power of a commitment.

A commitment is the language of intent. Intent is the engagement of the heart, mind, and will to action. Intent generates the power and timing to mobilize a purposeful act and permanently alter the status quo. Recognizing that commitments carry generative power, a Visionmaker uses this sacred gift with integrity and personal responsibility.

A commitment is a pledge to do or refrain from doing something. It is a generative act that opens up a path of action through full engagement of all our resources.

To Visionmakers, a commitment is a pledge of reliability. It is a solemn vow that a Visionmaker makes to the integrity of his or her blood. As such, we can measure our performance against our words.

There is a resonant field that builds around one who consistently delivers on their commitments and promises. We see these people as "true blue."

Visionmakers are reliable. They strive to be "consistently good in quality and performance." In this way, they leave a trail of excellence as a beacon and a legacy for the generations to come.

© Patrick O’Neill 2009. All rights reserved.