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Each of us is a candle. Think of your flame as your presence and it is your character. The light that is emitted for the world to see is your reputation. These are two things each of us holds that we need to protect because in a single breeze, your flame could be out. The strength of your character will make sure your flame remains lit no matter how intense the world around us might be. One impacts the other and the other, in turn, can direct back to the source. We need to protect both of these because it has an impact right at our foundation.

Character is who you are and reputation is people’s perception of who you are. Your character is your foundation and reputation is built over many years by every single interaction, words and actions. Unfortunately, we sometimes don’t take care with our character and that damages our reputation…and a reputation becomes stuck with you and you carry it around like a heavy chain.

Think about reputation as what people say about you when you are not around. It is what you don’t hear that is most important because that can be the authentic you, or it is the perception people have of you. It is a reminder to take care in how we treat each other, what we do, how we work and what we say. All of these aspects come together to create your presence. Should we really care what people say and think about us? Not always but when it comes to areas of importance, of course!

Character and reputation go hand in hand. There are times in our life where we have to make decisions and the choices we make are guided by our character and impact our reputation. We may not think that it is a big deal but others might. Sometimes the smallest things are what people see and make a note of. For example, it could be about you always making a promise and then over deliver on that promise. Make it a realistic promise and then give them bit more. People’s perception will be that you can deliver and you go over and above. This is how you go about building your brand.

Someone once said that you spend half your life making your name and the other half trying to keep. These are very true words. Go out and build a solid brand so that your flame burns bright and strong for the world to see and you are the light and warmth they seek.