A wise person thinks before telling what "they heard"

Craig Garber, who is "King of Copy", sent the following story that he received from Christian Godefroy.

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything, I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the triple filter test.

The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "Actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "You want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left:
the filter of usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "If what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, then why tell it to me at all?"

How often have we thoughtlessly passed on a story about which we are not sure, don't really know exactly what the circumstances are, nor do we think of the ramifications that a carelessly told rumor could cause.

Integrity in one's personal life should also be the cornerstone of one's business career, whether you are an entrepreneur, small business owner, or an employee of a company. It is no greater when you are a member of a corporation with a lot of back-stabbing. You will have a greater reputation as an honest person and good person with whom to do business than one who cuts corners, and is even slightly deceitful, dishonest or mean.