Thinking Out Loud, Volume CCCXXXIII

I'm a salesman. That's what I do for a living. In my industry, I'm what's known as a multi-line rep, which means that I'm a self employed contractor who sells merchandise for several different companies. Too many times in my career, I've seen instances where the salesman will successfully promote his product until it gets to the point where this formerly unheard of brand becomes a household name, and then the company will feel that their product is so popular that the salesman who built it up is no longer needed. I'm speaking not only from personal experience, but also from what I've heard from some of my cohorts. That has forced me, and men and women like me, to change our tactics when we're pushing our products. My new method of salesmanship is to sell the customer on me, with the product being secondary. Believe it or not, that plan works. I've actually had companies, who have felt that they could sell just as much product without me working the field, call me up and admit that they had no idea how loyal my customers are to me, and ask me to come back. Sometimes I go out on a limb and do favors for my clients, and when I do, I always make sure they know it was me doing it for them, not the company. That's how I operate in the business world, but I have to confess that I sometimes find it difficult to separate my business life from my personal life. What that means is sometimes I will try to do a personal favor for a friend, or maybe even for a stranger, and then toot my own horn so that the world will be aware of just what a nice guy I am, although I'm acting like a politician. According to the way I've been taught, if I do that and receive personal recognition as a result, that recognition is all the reward I will ever receive for my acts of kindness. But more than that, it's a character issue. It means I've acted selfishly. Although I was helping someone in need, I was doing it for my own glorification. Sure, the person I helped still benefits, but I've done myself a disservice, and I'm letting the world know just how shallow my character actually is. When I go to church, it's okay for others to see me worship or hear me pray, as long as I do the same thing when there's no one else around but God and me....and as long as I'm not doing it just to put on a show. If I'm asked to sing, play an instrument, teach, etc., I can only perform those activities in view of other people, so the real issue comes down to motive. Sometimes I do all those things I just mentioned, and when I do, I believe in giving it all I've got, so as a result, at least one time that I heard about, I've been accused of being a showman. It hurt my feelings, but it also made me stop to take inventory of my motives, just to make sure that I'm not simply trying to bring attention to myself. The real test comes when there's an opportunity to give of myself, and share my blessings when no one else will ever know anything about it. I've heard it said that the difference between reputation and character is my reputation is what others think I am, and my character is what I really am. Whether or not any of us want to admit it, we are concerned about our reputation, but how much effort do we put on character? I've come up with a plan that I firmly believe will settle the issue once and for all. Even though it's important that my fellow man has a good opinion of me, I need to quit worrying about my reputation. Instead, I should place all my emphasis on becoming a man of honorable character. If I'm a man of character, a good reputation will automatically follow. It doesn't work the other way around. Preston