John Wooden, the great coach of the UCLA Bruins and greater man of character, would spend countless minutes in his practice sessions building his player’s character rather than working on basketball skills. He would teach them and pour into the character of the individual by teaching his ‘pyramid of success’. John Wooden felt that if he could build the man’s character, then basketball would take care of itself. It worked…his teams won 10 National Championships in 12 years and in those 10 championships, they won 7 in a row. He was the National Coach of the Year 6 times.
His teams always had a reputation for playing hard the entire game. They had a reputation for winning. Their reputation, or what others believed to be truth about them, was an outflow of the character traits that Coach Wooden spent countless hours instilling into their lives. Coach Wooden said it best when he said,
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.
Character and reputation go hand in hand. In fact, your reputation is forged by your character. You can spend 20 years building your reputation and lose what you built with one misstep. Now that may seem like a lot of pressure that one is putting on themselves to constantly live a life that lives up to their standards they have set for themselves. I would argue that if you are the one that set your standard bar, then there is no pressure to live up to it. I also believe that a person will try to achieve their expectations no matter how high they may set them. In this day and age, I believe that the greatest tragedy and disservice that we can do for the younger generation is to allow their standards to be set too low. Without lofty expectations, the results experienced are low. It has been said that the greatest enemy of great is good.
As a parent, it is my responsibility to instill in my children the necessary character traits that will help them to succeed in life. I don’t want them to have the necessary skills to ‘just get by’. I want them to excel. I want them to set their standards high. I want to inspire them to greatness! I want them to dream and have the character to reach for their dreams. I also want them to have a good reputation. Your reputation is important! In fact, Luke the Physician wrote in the Acts of the Apostles concerning Timothy, in Acts 16:2-3,
2 Timothy was well thought of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium, 3 so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek.
This stemmed from his character that was handed down from his parents. I believe that there are 4 ingredients of a Good Reputation. This is what I hope to instill into my children and I want to share them with you today.
- Love– Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as your self.
- Truth– Always be truthful even and especially if you are wrong. When you tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said that was a lie.
- Honor– Live a life that will honor God and make His name known. Live a life that brings honor to God, your parents, grandparents, your family and your children. You represent more than just yourself when you are alone or in a crowd, you represent all of the above.
- Serve– Dedicate your life to serving God and always listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Serve at places like your church, community, family, neighbors and friends. Take the initiative and serve others when you see something that needs to be done, do it without being asked.
When these ingredients are thrown into the mix of a person’s life, your character will become the strong foundation that your reputation is built upon. With this recipe, I leave you with this statement and 3 questions. Some people change jobs, mates and friends, but never think of changing themselves.
- What are the ingredients that you are putting into the character mix of your life? Your Family? Your Children?
- What are your goals and dreams as an individual? A family?
- Are you striving for great or settling for good?
oneguyseyes 