"Who you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear your words."

This quote is attributed to the venerable Ralph Waldo Emerson. While there are several variations of the quote floating around, this happens to be my favorite.

Thanks in large part to the eccentricities of my childhood, I'm forever afflicted with an inability to suffer anything less than full-bodied honesty and integrity. Down-to-the-core integrity, feel-it-in-your-bones integrity - the kind of integrity that proves itself repeatedly in varying conditions of varying stakes and rewards.

If you’re talking something and you're not living it, I might never find out. But there's a good chance I do. If I become aware of that in some way, it’s going to be difficult for me to lend you the benefit of the doubt, restore credibility in you, or bring you into my inner circle.

Don't get me wrong. We can still work together, of course. I’ll always support you when we're working together. After all, I am no one to judge the overall fundamental value of any person. It’s not my place, nor is it right for any person to do so.

But to be clear, my ability to interact with you personally or on a deeper level will be hindered. You probably won’t find us scheduling squash on the weekends.