The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

November 21Future Forward

And I honor the person who is willing to sink / Half their present repute for the freedom to think, / And, when they have thought, be their cause strong or weak, / Will risk t' other half for the freedom to speak, / Caring naught for what vengeance the mob has in store, / Let that mob be the upper ten thousand or lower.

James Russell Lowell—“A Fable for Critics” (1848)

What is reputation? What is your reputation? Do you have any idea?

Let's allow author Seth Godin to weigh in on this:

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.

seths.blog

Okay, now you got it?

But here's the hard part. You control your actions, but others control your reputation. You can tell people to trust you all you like, but your trustworthiness will come at the hands of what others say and confirm about you.

Might be in an online forum, at a conference, or on a review site, but that's your reputation and that's the part that is slightly out of your control.

Again, from Godin: “The single best way to maintain your reputation is to do things you're proud of.”

Simple, yet painfully truthful advice.

Challenge Question

1. What would someone who knows you say if a friend asked them for a referral? Write down the words you think they would ...