A person’s reputation is arguably the most important thing a person can develop. With a good reputation, opportunities can arise that wouldn’t have otherwise, and it can also make it significantly easier to capitalize on those opportunities. Your reputation is so important that it can even dictate the course of your life. If your reputation is ruined, it can often lead to the ruin of your entire life and all that you had worked for. That being said, it should be obvious that there are so many things that depend on your reputation, especially since humans are social creatures and therefore dependent on the opinion of others, at least to some extent. This means you need to guard your reputation with your life, almost literally.
“Reputation is the cornerstone of power. Through reputation alone you can intimidate and win; once it slips, however, you are vulnerable, and will be attacked on all sides. Make your reputation unassailable. Always be alert to potential attacks and thwart them before they happen. Meanwhile, learn to destroy your enemies by opening holes in their own reputations. Then stand aside and let public opinion hang them.”[1]
Chuko Liang
The story of Chuko (Zhuge) Liang shows just how powerful a person’s reputation can be. Commonly known as the “Sleeping Dragon”, he is known for his legendary feats in the War of the Three Kingdoms in China. During the war, he won battle after battle and was known to always have a trick up his sleeve. His reputation was of being the cleverest man in China, something that always struck fear into the heart of his enemies.
However, Liang found himself trapped in a city with only about a hundred soldiers to defend himself. Even though he knew the enemy army approaching him had orders of magnitude more men, he told his troops to hide in the city. Contrary to his troops, Liang stayed in the most visible part of the city in his prayer attire and started playing a lute. When his enemy arrived and saw him unguarded, the enemy general ordered a retreat. His enemy was so afraid of the cleverest man in China, that he decided it was preferable to retreat for fear of the trap the Sleeping Dragon may have set, even though he would have captured him easily if he proceeded. That is the power of reputation. Liang’s reputation throughout China was so strong that it literally saved his life.
P.T. Barnum
Phineas Taylor Barnum is another person from history in which we can learn about the importance of reputation. However, his actions attack it from a different angle.
Barnum wanted to purchase a museum in Manhattan, however, he was just starting out in his career, so he didn’t have much money. Despite his low amount of funds, he was able to get a verbal agreement from the owners to sell it to him. However, one of the partners who possessed ownership of the museum retracted his agreement and they sold to Rubens Peale since Peale had an already established reputation. Obviously irate with the situation, Barnum wanted revenge on Peale by destroying his reputation. He did so by discrediting the owners and causing the public to doubt their ability to operate a museum or entertain people. Also, Peale was selling stock at the time and Barnum was able to influence the publics opinion of it so much that the stock crashed, destroying any confidence the public had in Peale’s reputation.
Another example of how Barnum ruined Peale’s reputation is when Peale started to put on shows for his “Scientific” version of hypnotism. These shows drew massive crowds, so Barnum chose to capitalize on this and started a hypnotism show of his own. However, Barnum did it in such a way that the audience knew it was fake. Barnum would try to use it on audience members, and it would obviously not work. Trying to prove that it wasn’t a hoax, Barnum said he would cut off his assistant’s fingers while she was under hypnosis, but when he started to sharpen the knife, she “magically” woke up on her own and ran away. Essentially, Barnum created a parody of Peale’s show, causing the public to believe it was fake and therefore creating doubt in Peale, effectively ruining his reputation.
Attacking an opponents reputation
Doubt is a very powerful weapon, especially in the court of public opinion. This is because when you start rumors about your opponent, it does not leave them very good options. They can deny the rumors, sometimes vehemently, and even go to the extent of proving that you are slandering them. Nevertheless, some suspicion will still remain, and some people will even come to wonder why they are so adamant in defending themselves, leading them to think there may be at least some merit to the rumors. The other path your opponent could take is completely ignoring your rumors. However, this allows the rumors to grow if they are good enough. This lose-lose situation for you opponent makes using doubt very powerful for you, especially if you do not have a reputation of your own.
Another gentler attack is just by ridiculing your opponent’s reputation. Barnum did this when he started his own hypnotism show that was a parody of Peale’s show. By doing this, his opponent was put on the defensive while also drawing attention to himself, therefore allowing for the growth of his own reputation. If you wish to do this without harming your own reputation, you can set up a facade of humor. By making yourself appear the jester you can poke holes in your opponent’s reputation while not harming your own. This could be one reason why some commercials that attack an opponent’s product or service tend to use comedy.
“It is easier to cope with a bad conscience than with a bad reputation”
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900
Why you should Guard your reputation with your life
So, hearing that reputation is so important makes sense. When you hear it, a lot of people just take it for granted without any further thought, but why exactly is reputation so important? One reason for this is that it is impossible to know another person’s thoughts with complete certainty. Even if you trust someone, you pretty much have their word and behavior to gauge whether or not they are telling the truth. Therefore, we must base our social interactions off of appearances, especially when meeting new people. That being said, if you slip up or have a sudden change in your appearance in the right situation, that can be disastrous for your reputation. Building your own reputation gives you an appearance that precedes you, giving you the ability to not be constantly on your guard since you do not have to be physically present for your reputation to do work for you.
Furthermore, it is important for your reputation to be simple. By choosing one, maybe two, admirable qualities and really mastering and finely tuning your reputation to those qualities. Your calling card if you prefer. This increases your presence and can amplify your strengths without further investment of your energy. Overall, your reputation is a treasure that you must protect at all costs.
Exceptions?
I cannot honestly think of an exception this concept. There are no advantages to neglecting your reputation. If you neglect it, someone else will build it for you, and it may be rather unfavorable for you. Regardless of your feelings about it, we live in a society of many people and must therefore depend on the opinions of others. This is why it is absolutely vital to master and build your own reputation.
Conclusions
This post was inspired by Robert Greene’s fifth law of power “So much depends on reputation-Guard it with your life”. Reputation is very similar to branding from what I can tell. When you build a brand, you are literally building the reputation of a concept. Keeping this analogy, when you are building your reputation, you are also building your personal brand. You ARE your brand. They are the same entity. That is why reputation is so important to build and maintain, and as Greene explains vehemently, guard your reputation with your life.
To your wealth and future,
James Forsythe
For a YouTube video of me explaining my thoughts more in depth
To learn about building your reputation through a personal brand
https://jamesdforsythe.com/personal-brand/
[1] Judgment of Robert Greene’s 5th law of power, The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene pg. 37
