Reputation, not Honour, Will Pay Off

Reputation, not Honour, Wil Pay Off ‘Reputation is what other people know about you. Honour is what you know about yourself.’ A n American author, Lois McMaster Bujold (b. 1949), once observed: ‘Reputation is what other people know about you. Honour is what you know about yourself.’ Reputation is the opinion that others have about you. How is this opinion formed? It is formed on the basis of your deeds, not of your words. Reputation represents your external personality, while a sense of honour is your own inner perception of yourself. It is like selfpraise, that is, believing that you are ‘so and so’, without taking into account what others think about you. Your reputation is like a cheque that can be cashed at the bank. The market knows you by your reputation, and not through your self-perception. You cannot ‘cash in’ your self-perception or your sense of honour in the market. If you want to have a place for yourself in society, you have to create a reputation for yourself by your actual deeds. Your own sense of honour or selfpraise cannot give you any status in the world.