Business is Business

Every time I hear this phrase, I cringe just a little bit.  Mostly because it’s either used as an explanation for some bullshit excuse or its an eye-opening lesson.  And whether its used justly or for selfish means, it’s making me and everyone else that much more jaded.

To me, the phrase ‘business is business’ is another way of saying ‘disregard the person, the relationship you have with that person, the situation, what’s morally or ethically right or wrong, because business and money take precedence above all else’.

Business may be business, but people are also still people.

What happened to having faith in people? What happened to people keeping their word? And more importantly, what happened to honesty, loyalty and the good in people?

In the past two months, I’m learning more than my share about the importance of contracts, accounting, taking precautions and legal procedures.  Friends tell me all the time, “This is China and you have to be careful.” And I agree, everyone should protect themselves and take all the proper precautions to make sure they are not getting screwed over, and this rule applies everywhere, not just in China. But deep down, before I knew any better, I judged these precautions as unnecessary and my friends as being overly-protective and cynical.

Unfortunately, I recently just had my very own first-hand experience.  You hear about bad things happening to good people all the time, and I was certainly guilty of assuming that I was an exception to the rule, that I could just blindly and naively trust the people closest to me.

Taking business seriously is not just smart, it’s just good common sense and should never be taken for granted, or else you are basically asking to be taken advantaged of. I just think it’s a shame that in this day and age, everything related to business and money basically requires you to take every little precautions out of absolute necessity and self-protection-  every confirmation needs a signature,  every request must be made in writing, and every contract needs a stamp.  But is that even enough to guard yourself? To protect yourself against harm?

Insightful Quote:

“Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws.”

– Plato (427-347 B.C.)

Where do you draw the line? Where is the line drawn between good business sense and paranoia?

Then again, becoming jaded and learning a lesson are two totally separate things, depending on your perspective.

My personal philosophy is that getting the most out of life is all about having the right attitude.

“Believe in the power of positivity: POSITIVE THINKING= POSITIVE ENERGY= POSITIVE EVENTS BECAUSE OF= POSITIVE YOU!”

– My insightful friend Kat, wise beyond her years

People become ever-increasingly jaded – from work, from love, from the world and everybody in it. They do not trust anything, they do not believe in anything, they mistrust and think everyone is trying to take advantage of them. But people get cynical and apathetic for good reason. Scandal after scandal reveals false promises, golden parachutes, endless perks, and maybe there are so many people in these people lives who lie and cheat to them, they are now incapable of believing in anyone or anything.

I’d like to think I still have the capacity to see the good in people; I can talk without having an agenda. I can be cautious without being blind. I can be smart without being cynical.  I also know the difference between ignorance and faith. I know people are not all bad, but people can be selfish, selfish to the point that they will step over others for their own personal gain. People who succumb to the power of wealth by forfeiting their moral values is not necessarily an indication of evil, but of weakness. Weakness to do better and be better.

In the end, I still believe that good things come to those who do good. What goes around, comes around. For the record, this belief does not stem from karma, superstition or fate, but out of common sense and mathematical probability and chance.  Chances are if you are continuously doing harm, you will certainly get bitten sooner or later.

I don’t want to be that person who’s  looking over my shoulder, questioning the people around them.  I want to revel in life’s simple pleasures and savor each day for the happiness and genuine pleasure it brings me. At the end of the day, I gotta admit: Life is good and people (for the most part) are good too.