Are You Being Shadowed by Life Training?

Socrates said. .. “Regard your good name as the richest jewel you can possibly possess.” Gary Eby says … “Your Reputation is like a shadow. Sometimes it follows you…sometimes it precedes you, but it is always with you” and your Reputation is built upon your Life Training. Your name and your Reputation become synonymous. When people think about you, they think of your Reputation. That’s why it is so powerful to know the value of a good name. It’s like a fire … once you have kindled it you may easily preserve it, but once you extinguish it, it is extremely difficult to rekindle it again. An Ancient Proverb tells us that a good name is to be desired more than great riches … its favor is better than silver and gold … If gold is a treasure that people have spent their entire lives looking for, then a good name is to be treasured. It’s something to seek out and to value. All-powerful leaders realize that a good name is a great advertisement. All powerful leaders also recognize that Life Training is key to a good name. When my mother had her first child she really wanted a girl. She would name her Darlene. As the big day grew closer she was so excited … she just knew it was a girl! When the baby arrived … you guessed it. It was by big brother, Bill (Life Training Opportunity) Well, maybe next time. Three years later … after nine months of anticipation … the stork came again! He must have come to the wrong house … because Darlene had to be named … James Albert Eby! Oh, Brother (another Life Training Opportunity)! It’s not the actual vowels and consonants that make up a name. Of course Mama loved these boys … but she wanted a baby girl … with little pink dresses and hats. Now, it was three years later … “this” time would be “the” time. Only girl clothes were bought. And the ONLY name discussed was Darlene! The ONLY name! On April 24th … in the wee hours of the morning … The baby was delivered. They IMMEDIATELY checked the plumbing and … I was a boy! They just looked at me in disbelief. What a great welcome. They all just stared. What do we call it? “IT” … I was listening! They bounced around a few names and no one agreed. They had just given no thought to a boy’s name! Finally my Dad said … “Name him “Ralph” after me.” Mama just rolled her eyes. She looked me right in the eyes and said … “I know what I’m going to name this boy, Theawpholis!” “Theawpholis?! What is that? … you mean Theophilus .. like in the Bible?” “No,” she said. “Theawpolis … like in “that’s the awfulest looking kid I’ve ever seen!” Thank God, they finally decided on “Gary.” But again … it’s not the actual vowels and consonants that are powerful … it’s the Reputation behind the name! That is what is powerful! There have been people who disliked their name so badly that they changed it! Nobody knows who Ralph Lifshitz is? He changed his name to Ralph Lauren. Remember Leonard Slye? He became Roy Rogers (Life Training Opportunity)! Who knows Marion Morrison? Is the name a little feminine for the guy who would later become the personification of manhood? Yes, you guessed it right. He was John Wayne. The story goes that Luther D. Knox, a candidate in the Louisiana gubernatorial primary, had his name legally changed to “None of the Above”. Don’t worry. He did not get a chance. The Judge threw out his application. It’s far easier to change the name … the vowels and consonants than it is to change your Reputation. Henry Ford once said …”You can’t build a Reputation on what you’re going to do.” I’ve heard that the fastest growing crime in the world is identity theft. It’s now a multi-billion dollar crime industry. You have to understand … when they steal your identity … steal your name … it’s your Reputation that they want. Your credit Reputation … your banking Reputation … your buying Reputation … it is your credibility that they are banking on! They don’t care about ruining your good Reputation. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary says that Reputation defined is “the character commonly imputed to a person … A good name; a place in public esteem.” We have got to protect our name … and not from identity thieves … but from our ownselves(another Life Training Opportunity)! Yes … Sometimes a person’s name can be ruined by his enemies, but usually it is ruined by either a person’s lack of character or his lack of integrity. When people speak to your face they may have one opinion, … but someone has said that what people say behind your back is really your Reputation. And what do people say about you when you are not around? That’s a lot to think about! How exactly do we get our Reputation? The answer is rather simple — by our actions. The actions of our lives tell the story. Okay, let’s take a brief survey of a person’s Reputation. Where would we start? We would start by talking to the people who know you. That would be, for the most part, the people you have worked for … your family members … near and far … your business associates … your church acquaintances… and so on. Could anyone talk to your friends, co-workers, and family and get a good report? If you were arrested today for being a man or woman of integrity … would there be enough evidence to convict you? A lack of integrity will catch up to you! I read a story about a cigar smoker who bought several hundred expensive cigars and then had them insured against fire. After he’d smoked them all, he filed a claim, pointing out that the cigars had been, in fact, destroyed by fire. The insurance company refused to pay, and the man sued. A judge ruled that because the insurance company had agreed to insure the cigars against fire, it was legally responsible. The company had no choice but to pay the claim. Then, when the man accepted the money, the company had him arrested for arson. What is it they say? “Be sure your sins will find you out?” Build a good name. Build a good Reputation … build a good life through your Life Training!

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