The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

November 24Reputation and Character

Influence follows close upon the heels of character; and whatever we are, that we shall in the end be acknowledged to be.

Caroline Healey Dall—Historical Pictures Retouched: A Volume of Miscellanies, in Two Parts (1860)

Are you most often who you are or who people think you are? That might neatly sum up the difference between reputation and character, but eventually they are one and the same.

As Emerson famously said, “What you are shouts so loudly in my ears I cannot hear what you say.”

So maybe the better question is, what does it take to build or reveal true character?

Consider this aphorism attributed to many, including Emerson:

• We sow a thought and reap an act;
• We sow an act and reap a habit;
• We sow a habit and reap a character;
• We sow a character and reap a destiny.

So let's conclude that character is built from our habits. But here's the hard part: people don't fall in love with our habits. They fall in love with who we are. Creating and adhering to a strict list of “good habits” may indeed move you closer to some goals, but it may also stifle your true character.

When writers develop characters for their stories, they are advised above all to show the parts that make them real.

Revealing what makes us real means that we have to be willing to, be vulnerable, admit what we really care about, what we believe, and what we don't know.

Challenge Question

1. What character trait showcases the most authentic part of who you are?