Does your Reputation match your Character?
My friend Paul “Doc” Welliver once said to me “repetition, repetition, repetition, REPUTATION.” I don’t know if the Doc made this up or heard it from someone else, but I love the depth of this little phrase.
To me this represents the true way to develop a positive reputation in all things you do. Repetition of anything eventually leads to competence, and then if it is continued it leads to mastery, which leads to heightened success and the optimal reputation relative to the pursuit that is mastered. Of course, this applies also to our conduct. Trust with people tends to grow slowly over time. If you are a person who is consistently nice and honest, then the repetition of this over time will yield a reputation as a person who is nice and honest.
Dictionary.com defines reputation as: the estimation in which a person or thing is held, especially by the community or the public generally. So to boil it down, reputation is how you are known to others.
Developing a true good reputation comes over time, because it naturally follows a path of repetition. On the path of anything of merit there will be pitfalls. It is the consistency of effort (repetition) through the pitfalls that helps you to become the person worthy of the reputation. This is where the character part happens.
This is where the character part happens.
Character is really about who you ARE. Character is defined many ways but the one that hits the essence of what I am talking about is: the combination of traits and qualities distinguishing the individual nature of a person or thing. Since I am focused on helping you be more successful in all areas of life, having strong positive character is key.
In the long run, your reputation will only be as good as your character. Long run is in bold because true success is about life, not isolated moments of achievement. A reputation that is not backed by strong character will at some point be exposed. There has to be congruence. Someone who has developed solid character has values that are so steeped, they are not likely to even consider taking a short cut or an action that could hurt their reputation because their character wouldn’t consider it an option.
Strengthening your character is the thing to focus on…let the reputation part take care of itself.
