Words Mean Nothing

I am not so young that I can't remember a time when your word meant something. In fact, I grew up in Harlem and the Bronx during Hip Hop's explosion. One of the core policies of that time - or maybe it was a core policy of the streets - is "my word is my bond". You heard it all the time. Word is bond. That meant you did what you said you've done. You are doing what you say you're doing. And, you were going to do what you said you would do. No one needed a piece of paper. YOUR WORD IS YOUR BOND.

Today, your word means nothing. That concept - word is bond - is dead. In today's world, everything is about paperwork. If your word is your bond then you should have no problem putting your word on paper. In fact, I've come to a point where I've stopped talking. I will come to you with that piece of paper.

This is a two-sided issue. As one person takes, another gives; balance must be restored. But, how is that balance to be restored without proof that someone took what another gave with the expectation of balance? It's the difference between gifting and lending. Even a gift can be repossessed with the right proof and paperwork. Ask those countless women who use money to keep a man around then sue when he leaves anyway. Even in their pitiful cases, they can get their gifts back.

In the end, it's about trust. And, trust is something people give away too easily. That's when people lose. They lose their money. They lose their homes. They lose their families. The question becomes, how much are you willing to lose before you realize you need that paperwork.

Look at your own situations right now. Do you owe someone? Does someone owe you? Do you have paperwork to show and prove it? I'll tell you right now, if you don't have paperwork, you owe nothing and no one owes you anything either. That's because words mean nothing!

As for me, I don't owe anything nor does anyone owe me. It's not because I don't have paperwork. It's because I won't budge without paperwork.