Daily Inspiration 6-12-15

"You can't buy a good reputation; 

you must earn it." 

-- Harvey Mackay 

Harvey Mackay's quote is something I've heard so many times over the years. And, I love Abraham Lincoln's description too: "Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." As with pretty much everything, reputation is what people think it is.

Yet I recently saw a really cool way to think about the idea of having a reputation from Seth Godin. He calls it "A Practical Definition of Reputation." He says that "Reputation is what people expect us to do next." Before I finish the quote, look hard at that sentence. It seems so powerful to me. Instead of a reputation being what you've done in the past, or what you've earned from past activities, Seth is putting it into action, and when I really look at that phrase, it means so much more. Other people's thinking about our reputation, causes them to have certain expectations of us. Call it confidence. Call it trust. Call it belief.

Here's the entire quote:

"Reputation is what people expect us to do next. It's their expectation of the quality and character of the next thing we produce or say or do.

We control our actions (even when it feels like we don't) and our actions over time (especially when we think no one is looking) earn our reputation."


Some Food For Thought. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply thinking pleasing thoughts. The better you feel, the more joy you're bound to spread.