One of the definitions of the word integrity is: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.  It is a word that carries a lot of weight, as it helps define the type of person you are.  In a book I read recently, they covered this topic by stating up front that integrity is not defined by your credentials.  A highly educated person with multiple degrees does not have any more integrity than a person without a formal education.  The character of the person and their integrity is constant with little deviation.  The interesting aspect of people with integrity is that they are not the one's that seek the spotlight, on the contrary they are the one's that do the right thing when nobody is looking.   These type of people do not need public approval for how they live their life, because if something is done that is out of character for them, they acknowledge it immediately and they correct themselves.  A final thought on the subject is that integrity should not be confused with reputation.  One of the best examples of this statement can be put as succinctly as:  reputation is what you have when you come to a new community; character is what you have when you go away.  If we put more effort into expanding this quality, we would be well on our way to better defining our true legacy.