What is your business? As opposed to large companies that can always give a better price?

Unless, you have found a way to change the rules of your industry — which is fantastic, but seldom the case, and remember the best large companies are fast followers — you are selling quality and relationships. The relationships you have with your partners and suppliers, and the relationship you are promising your customer. Your promise that your product or service solves your customer’s problems, and if it doesn’t that you can make it.

You are suggesting those are universal truths, but they aren’t. They are based on assumptions. As you say USA’s founding fathers tried hard to find truths that were consistent and viable for all — all founded in their beliefs. Much reflected, well educated beliefs based on reason. Reason is ultimately based on emotion.

But your founding fathers had many practices that today we think are absurd or even horrible.

Spirituality is a great tool to help us become more empathic.

I understand what you are saying, and its my inability to articulate my own thoughts that I think is the barrier.

The emotional context of what is correct is not based on the extremes, but the beliefs of the many in the middle. Over time what is right has improved in quality and become based on solider foundations. On the other hand, most of us can only can impact the emotional well being of the individuals in our lives.

Let me know if I am monopolizing things here and should switch to email.

I hold a different position. The fact that 2 plus 2 equals 4 has nothing to do with emotion or empathy. The same holds true with musical notes. Furthermore, if you get a speeding ticket your emotion does not change the truth of your speeding. Emotion, how people feel about things is not consistent from person to person. However, our founding fathers tried hard to find truths that were consistent and viable for all.

To pursue this line of thinking will lead the conversation into things spiritual which may be too far afield of the focus of this blog post.

Your advice is excellent and along the lines of what I have been thinking also. This is the trouble with not keeping one’s web site up to date.

How would you celebrate your suppliers? In most cases the suppliers offer the same services as your business. Visitors could simply go to your suppliers and not do business with you. In addition your suppliers may have varying rate structures. Doesn’t this get messy?

I reflected quite about on whether right and wrong is independent of emotion — I wish I had philosophy mentors in my life. My opinion is that emotion, empathy actually defines what is right. How we feel is the only truth.

You can still be empathetic to your child or client without giving them what they want.

I wasn’t suggesting that success was possible without everyone “winning” and paradoxically that means dealing with each individuals needs.

Instead of celebrating your “partners”, you have made them anonymous.

My advice is to put yourself out there. You being a person that communicates and taking responsibility for your actions, and shares the credit for your successes is the best asset you have.