Sunday Story…Reputation vs. Character

Way too often I hear people talk about someone who is talking about them and how mad they are and wondering what they should do about it. The answer is simple…Do Nothing. Except be who you are, live the way you want to live. You get to define yourself; the opinions of others do not define you. Your reputation is only what others think of you. Your character is who you really are. What you do when no one is watching is who you really are.

Keep working; keep going even in the face of destructive comments and actions. Your reactions define your character. If you remain true to your character, if you stay the course your character compass has set for your life all that negativity will wash over you like water off a ducks back. You do not answer to the opinions of others. Your life serves as an example of your character. Nothing can stop you if you remain true to who you really are. Your character goes with you into your next life; your reputation stays here in this world.

To be a person of character is the goal, not to be a character, or worse a caricature. You get to decide, you get to determine the course of action that will define who you really are. If you don’t determine your character you will always be swayed by the wind of other people’s opinions, which will shift like sand.

Character is something you build over time, over a life. Character determines your destiny. The process looks like this:
Your thoughts create your words.
Your words create your actions.
Your actions create you habits.
Your habits create your character.
And lastly…your Character creates your Destiny.

I leave you with this quote:
The circumstances amid which you live determine your reputation;
the truth you believe determines your character.
Reputation is what you are supposed to be;
Character is what you are.
Reputation is the photograph;
Character is the face.
Reputation comes over one from without;
Character grows up from within.
Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community;
Character is what you have when you go away.
Reputation is made in a moment;
Character is built in a lifetime.
Your reputation is learned in an hour;
Your character doesn't come to light for a year.
Reputation grows like a mushroom;
Character grows like the oak.
A single newspaper report gives you your reputation;
A life of toil gives you your character.
Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor;
Character makes you happy or makes you miserable.
Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone;
Character is what angels say about you before the throne of God.
~ William Hersey Davis

Don’t confuse reputation and character. They are not the same things.
Be who you are at all times, in the face of every adversity.

Namaste
John
“Teaching Focus, Inspiring Transformation”
www.martialartsnevada.com

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