Loosely translated, the Hindu term dharma means, "duty toward oneself." Never lowering your standards means expecting the best of yourself in every situation. It means to accept nothing less of yourself than your very best effort.

From this day forward, it is my wish that every time you see a fifty dollar bill, you take two or three seconds to reaffirm that it is your dharma, your duty toward yourself, that you are giving your full effort, your very best shot in every endeavor in which you partake.

Now, let's take this lesson one step further. If you accept the premises that...

• you have a duty to give your very best effort at everything you do, and
• when doing so, you have the right to demand the same of others,

... then it's time to expand your economic system. Acknowledge for a moment that you will not get paid monetarily for every thing you do. As examples, over the past thirteen years your efforts in school were paid in return with grades, not money; favors you have given to others were paid in return with favors back to you, not with money. But, rest assured, you are paid for every effort you give.

Now, here's the truly radical thought: Feelings... friendship... even love... all fall within this same system of economics. Feelings... friendship... even love... are not given at all. They are earned, and they are earned honestly by people fulfilling their dharma, their duty to give their best effort toward everything they do.