Your Character Precedes You

Hello Friends,

Hope all is well. "Remember what your last name is." This is what my parents would say to me every time I left the house when I was younger. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I mainly thought that they didn't want me to tarnish the family name. As a teenager, I thought that they were only worried about themselves.

Now that I am older, I understand the principles that they were trying to instill in me. It wasn't necessarily the last name that would be tarnished, but rather my character that might be damaged. When you think of people like Gandhi, Mother Theresa, or Dr. Martin Luther King, there character proceeds them. You knew without a doubt that their actions were going to be noble and kind.

My parents wanted me to build a name in this manner. It wasn't to protect the family name. They reminded me of this daily so that I good build and maintain my own good name. At work there may be "that person" that when you see them coming, you say to yourself, "Here comes trouble". You know from there past actions that they will probably end up in some kind of conflict. This is their nature. They tend to talk about people behind their backs. They constantly try to make themselves look better than others.

Then there are people who seem to brighten up a room. They are well liked. People like to be around them. They seem to emit very strong positive vibrations. These vibrations are so strong that they transfer to everyone they may come in contact with. The character of this person is never questioned, and if it is, they don't get upset because they know that lies can not survive in the light of truth.

Start thinking about how others perceive you. Do they run when they see you coming or do they welcome you with open arms. Are you hearing the whispers of deceit and betrayal or are you hearing the whispers of praise and approval. Your character proceeds you. They say the first impression is important. Will you let a reputation of having bad character be your introduction, or will you let your good character seal the deal before you have even arrived. It's up to you. Many blessings, and thanks for listening.

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.
Henry David Thoreau

Be your character what it will, it will be known, and nobody will take it upon your word.
Lord Chesterfield

Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.
Thomas Paine

Nothing of character is really permanent but virtue and personal worth.
Daniel Webster

The essential thing is not knowledge, but character.
Joseph Le Conte

It requires less character to discover the faults of others, than to tolerate them.
J. Petit Senn

A good name will shine forever.
Proverb

A fair reputation is a plant, delicate in its nature, and by no means rapid in its growth. It will not shoot up in a night like the gourd of the prophet; but, like that gourd, it may perish in a night.
Jeremy Taylor

Sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap a character; sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
George Dana Boardman

Talents are best nurtured in solitude. Character is best formed in the stormy billows of the world.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe