Guard Your Reputation

Reputation is the general opinion that people have about someone or something. It is usually based on past behavior or character. Reputation is a fragile, volatile asset built through consistent integrity over years, yet it can be destroyed in moments. Benjamin Franklin puts it right when he opined that ‘it takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it’. That is a clear indication that reputation is gained in drops and lost in buckets.

Reputation is an asset. Focus on building yours and not on destroying others. It is believed that reputation is like a house of cards; no matter how big and glorious it may appear, it can be knocked down in a moment. As Baltasar Gracian once said, ‘a single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity’. Therefore, anyone who tries to downplay the reputation of others without justifiable reasons should be ready to dance to the tune of the music when the ball bounces back to them.

It is a well - known fact that people of no integrity always try to drag others in the mud just to look good. How sad! One should only be held accountable and responsible for their actions. Just as Federico Fellini conjectured that ‘you exist only in what you do’.

What most people of low self - esteem usually care about is being at the centre of discussion. The few real ones focus on getting things done the right way. Never build your future around being noticed, build it around being useful as you acknowledge the good in others. A cheap lesson is often worth more than easy money. Money returns, trust rarely does. A man can recover from hunger faster than from a ruined name. before you guard your profits.

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