Protect Your Rep!

As an addition to my previous post which highlights the importance of self-confidence and awareness in achieving success, I also wanted to talk about REPUTATION.

Recently I've heard so many stories on TV and the radio about people's lives and reputations being ruined because of horrible judgement in personal behavior both in public and private situations. I touched on it in my Facebook and Myspace.com Post, and I think it is important to revisit the problem of putting personal information out in the public domain. Anything and everything you put on the Internet is fair game to the public and the media, and we all know that they can be merciless!

But...we can also learn a lesson from celebrities and their embarrassing behavioral displays in private and public that somehow make it to the forefront of the media and end up tarnishing reputations for life.

In an Associated Press article by Erin Carlson that was published May 4, 2007 on SignOnSandiego.com by the Union-Tribune, Carlson discusses the sad reality of Hollywood actors horribly embarrassing behavior and the media frenzy that surrounds it. The article "Celebs beware: multimedia gaffes make for embarrassing publicity," talks about the crazy and embarrassing behavior of celebrities and how it can affect their lives and reputations, as well as relationships with others, and then goes on to talk about the "damage control" it ensues.

Although it seems like no one would ever want to pay attention to our boring little lives most of the times people's behavior is less than acceptable, it is going to be talked about. Every time you make the decision to put yourself in social and professional settings you put your name and reputation out there with it.

So just remember to take a lesson from the embarrassing celebrity behavior media frenzy, and realize that no one is exempt from the word-of-mouth or the media for that matter. Therefore, protect your reputation because it really is all that you have when it comes down to it, and it is pretty hard to be confident and successful without a respectable reputation to back the other traits up!