Cup of Joe

Most of us recognize the value of sincerity. But did you know that in ancient Rome, even statues were valued by their sincerity?

What do statues have to do with sincerity? Well, back in ancient Rome it was big business for sculptors to carve statues from marble. And while these Roman sculptors were some of the most talented and prolific in history, they were also human.

Occasionally when the sculptor's chisel would take off a little more stone than he wanted it to, the sculptor would cheat - just a little - by filling in the area with wax. So, statues that didn't have any wax were considered to be much more valuable than those that were filled in.

The word sincere comes from the Latin words sin cerra, which literally means without wax.

Over 2000 years later we all know the power and value of sincerity in our modern world.  Just consider the difference between a false compliment and a sincere compliment. 

May the words you hear and the words you say today be without wax - and I mean that sincerely. 

Joe Caruso is the author of The Power of Losing Control and the star of the popular public television show of the same name.  He can be reached via his Web site at www.carusoleadership.com.

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