Reputation and Character

Seeing these two words together, we often mistakenly believe that you cannot have one without the other.

Reputation is what others think of us. It is the opinion held by others concerning who we are and the motives they believe we have in doing what we do. We can have a "good" reputation, or a "bad" reputation. A reputation, good or bad, is only in the eye of the beholder.

Much more valuable is our character. Character is who we are when no one is looking. It is not just the face in the mirror, but the "face behind the face". A person with impeccable character remains rock solid when standing in the face of false accusations, insinuations, slander and ridicule. Even though the hurt is real, character will never allow despair to take hold and bring one to defeat.

Reputations come and go. Character will hold you through the storms … develop character and you will never have regrets.