You Want To Be Ethical

Ethics is not necessarily something you study
It's something you think about
And it's something you do
Every one of us has a personal moral code
And where you got that moral code from
Is different for everybody
It's not like I can point you to a textbook
Sure, I could point you some Roman and Greeks text
But that's not gonna suddenly make you ethical
There's the golden rule, right?
Do unto others as you would have
Them do unto you
Or there's Nassim Taleb's silver rule
Don't do unto others
What you don't want them doing unto you
Once you've been in business long еnough
You will realize how much of business is about trust
And it's about trust bеcause you wanna compound interest
You wanna be able to work for long periods of time
With trustworthy people
Without having to reevaluate every discussion
Without having to rethink each time
And without having to constantly look over your shoulder
And so, over time
You gravitate towards working
With certain kinds of people
And similarly those people will gravitate
Towards working with other "ethical" Quote, unquote, people
So being ethical turns out to be
A selfish imperative

[Chorus]
You wanna be ethical
Because it attracts
Other long-term players
In the network
You wanna be ethical
Because it attracts
Other long-term players
In the network
You want to be ethical
Because it attracts
The other long term-players
In the network (In the network)
You want to be ethical
Because it attracts
The other long-term players
In the network (In the network)

And if you build
A good-enough reputation for being ethical
Eventually, people will pay you
Just to do deals through you
Because you're the one
Who will validate and ensure
The deals by your presence
'Cause you wouldn't be involved
With low-quality stuff
So being ethical actually pays off in the long run
But it's the very long run In the short run
Being unethical pays off
Which is why so many people go for it
It's a greedy algorithm
But you can be ethical
Simply because you're long-term greedy
And I can even outline a framework
For different parts of so-called ethics
Just based on the idea of long-term selfishness
For example, you wanna be honest
Because it leaves you with a clear mind
You don't have two threads running in your head
One is the lies that you told
That you have to keep track of
And the other one is what you're saying
You just have to think about one thing at a time
So you have more energy to think about that thing
So you're a clearer thinker
Also, by being honest
You are rejecting the people
Who only wanna hear the pretty lies
So you force those people
Outta your network and sometimes, it’s painful
Like friends and family
But long-term, you create room for the people
Who like you exactly the way that you are
So that is a selfish reason to be honest

[Chorus]
You wanna be ethical
Because it attracts
Other long-term players
In the network
You wanna be ethical
Because it attracts
Other long-term players
In the network
You want to be ethical
Because it attracts
The other long term-players
In the network (In the network)
You want to be ethical
Because it attracts
The other long-term players
In the network (In the network)

And then, they want to do business with you
(In the network)
And then, they want to do business with you
(In the network)
And then, they want to do business with you
(In the network)
And then, they want to do business with you
(In the network)

For example, in negotiations
If you are the kind of person
Who always tries to get the best deal for yourself
You will win a lot of very early deals
And it'll feel very good
But on the other hand
There are a few people who will recognize
That you're always scrabbling
And not acting fairly
And they will tend to avoid you
Over time those people end up being
The deal-makers in the network
'Cause people go to them
For a fair shake or to figure out what's fair
And so, if you are cutting people fair deals
You don't get paid in the short term
But in the long-term
Everybody wants to deal with you
And you end up being a market hub
You have more information
You have trust
You have reputation
And people end up doing deals through you
A lotta wisdom is just realizing
The long-term consequences of your actions
And so, the longer-term you're willing to look
The wiser that you're going to seem
To everybody around you
(In the network)