“The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” These insightful words were spoken by Marc Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. I thought of this because the Ides of March is Sunday and I sometimes think of Julius Caesar around that date.
Recently I’ve heard some good eulogies that were later on followed privately by some not so nice comments about the deceased. But, you don’t always hear bad things about a person after they die; many times it is about someone that could even be in the next room. I suggest two lessons from this.
- Regardless of who you are or what you do, there will always be someone that will say something bad about you…whether it is merited or not. It’s going to happen, just try to not do too many things that would make them right.
- Never speak ill of anyone, living or dead. There can be no benefit to dissing someone; and if they or their family find out, which they likely will, you will have a problem dealing with them. Of course, I am not including performance evaluations of people that work for you.
I also find that most people that disparage their spouses or people who work for them to be losers who feel that is a way they can “elevate” themselves in others’ minds. Boy, are they wrong. It is the exact opposite, and these are people I suggest staying away from.
Further, if you say bad things about someone, think of the anxiety you will add to your nervous system anticipating what you would say if you are confronted with what you said.
BTW, If you haven’t for a while, try re-reading Julius Caesar.
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