My Personal Oath for My Life and My Business

  1. FIRST and foremost, I swear to cause no harm.
  2. BEFORE I PROCEED WITH ANY PROJECT, I swear to diligently seek knowledge of any harm, ill effects, disruption, and destruction, which might be caused by my work.
  3. I swear to avoid any harm to others, which may result from my work, whether financial, political, physical, social, emotional, or environmental.
  4. I swear to thoughtfully consider whether, while creating profit for myself, my work also creates good contributions for civilization and mankind.
  5. I swear that should my work, when weighed in the balance, be found wanting for benefits to the world or if it is found to be harmful, I will avoid it and pursue another course.
  6. I commit to choose a work-path headed in a sensible direction with reasonable goals, mindful that passion and persistence – while most often associated with success – are also essential ingredients of futility.
  7. I will hold fast to my own beliefs, but I will respect and care for the needs of the client or person who holds a different belief.
  8. I acknowledge the freedom of others to live and behave differently from me. I will not be angered when another thinks and acts differently from me, as long as those differences do not affect my ability to :
    1. take my next breath,
    2. say my next prayer,
    3. have my next meal,
    4. express affection to those I love,
    5. provide for those in my care.
  9. I will extend tolerance to those who believe differently from me, as long as the other’s belief doesn’t cause malicious harm to me, my work, or my country. If I become associated with an illicit activity, whether faith-based or secular, though I might stand to reap great profit, I will turn from it, regardless of the pushing away of any possible gain.
  10. I acknowledge that I stand on the shoulders of giants who have lived and worked before me.
  11. I swear to be accountable for the way I use their work.
  12. I swear to be responsible in the way I choose to go, or not to go, along their path.
  13. I swear to be conscientious that, should I proceed, I will look forward to all possible futures, good and bad, resulting from my work, to responsibly consider good actions, and to vigorously refrain from bad actions.
  14. I will live by the creed that I, and I alone, am responsible for the consequences of my actions.
  15. I will put Humanity before gain.
  16. I will remember that as I cross the paths of others, their needs for dignity, livelihood, and peaceful existence may outweigh my desire for profit and glory.
  17. I will apply in the present for the benefit of humanity in the future all measures which are required to consciously avoid the traps of being so thoughtless, overzealous, and self-centered toward my work, that I become complacent about the value of the lives of the people my work might affect.
  18. I will remember that people’s lives and well-being can be affected, even threatened, by the work I do.
  19. I will remember that each person’s life has more value than any profit & loss chart, or scientific log, or community development scheme, or political agenda.
  20. My business responsibilities include watch-care over each person’s freedom and ability to pursue prosperity.
  21. I will not be ashamed to say, “I don’t know,” or to ask for help from one who possesses superior experience, intellect, and skill.
    1. I will be humble in the knowledge that there will always be people who are better than I.
    2. I will approach those whose help I seek with respect but without cynicism, with gratitude but without pride, with a cheerful disposition because they’re helping me but without embarrassment because I’m asking for help.
    3. I will be grateful and express it.
  22. I will never stop learning.
  23. I will always seek to know more about all subjects related to my work.
  24. I will never say, “I know enough.”
  25. I will for all my life be positively unyielding in my pursuit of knowledge, sometimes stopping to look back and see how far I’ve come, but with a gaze consciously forward to see how far there is to go.
  26. I will always exert the spirit of superior effort summed-up in the words “I CAN learn more. I WILL be better.”
  27. When I discover an error, I will not lazily pass by it, but I will stop and try to correct it.
  28. When others discover an error by me, and point it out, I will accept the criticism, and exert all possible effort to understand; and if needed, make a correction.
  29. When I see an error by others, I will intervene, boldly, but without conceit or malice.
  30. Whenever it doesn’t jeopardize my livelihood, I will openly share my knowledge with others to raise the standards of my calling.
  31. Even while protecting project-related secrets, I will be a champion of the highest standards of effort, integrity, and precision.
  32. In the same way that I want others to respect the value of my work and my right to benefit from it, I will respect the right of others to profit from their own work. I will not seek to steal, whether by direct theft, illicit borrowing, casual lending, pirated buying and selling of physical and digital products, or copyright infringement by feigned ignorance. I know the difference between right and wrong. I will reject all that is wrong. I will lift-up all that is right.
  33. If I should win the accolades of peer and public, I will never rest upon such laurels, but always push ahead.
  34. I will never be false and when deserved I will offer generous praise to others.
  35. I will allow myself to be satisfied, acknowledging that such gratification may come from serving others as well as myself.
  36. I will enjoy brief achievements and proud moments, but shy away from arrogance.
  37. I will respect the personal privacy of all for whom I work, and all who share my work, for their situations are not disclosed to me that the world may know.
  38. Most especially, concerning others, I will remain sincere in matters of relationships, care & comfort, and personal dignity.
  39. If power is given to me, by Providence, to care for another by the virtues of my work, I will be thankful.
  40. If power is given to me to cause destruction with my work, then I will face this awesome responsibility with humility, fully aware of my own frailty.
  41. I will remember that I am but a single member of Human society with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, whether they are of sound mind and body, or an existence challenged by infirmity.
  42. May I always act to preserve the finest traditions of my calling, while ever-seeking to reject the worst traditions, and only building upon the best.
  43. May my work provide to me the personal reward of life in abundance, so that I may also enjoy the lifelong experience of choosing to lift-up those who seek my help.
  44. May I never violate this oath, that I may enjoy life and prosperity, respected while I live, and, ultimately, remembered with fondness.
  45. Last but still foremost, I swear to cause no harm.

Don’t Lie, Cheat, Steal, or Gossip,

Never withhold your best talents,

Don’t sell your soul,

Don’t make a mess.

Andy Bozeman