"I thought I knew him."
"I never would have expected it was her all along."
How many of you have said some variation of those phrases above? You may even recall thinking that thought multiple times.
For better or worse, our minds categorize things into categories of familiarity. Whenever we see a glass filled with some sort of liquid, we instantly recognize it as some sort of consumable beverage. If that liquid is a translucent amber color, we may recognize that as some sort of apple juice or beer.
This is why first impressions are such a big deal. When we meet somebody, our minds form a picture about that person based on their behavior, body language, apparel, and more that is so strong that it takes weeks or even months for that person to re-influence the way we think about them. (Which is why we need to be mindful of the symbols we surround ourselves with.)
When it comes to business or life matters in general, there are two high level ideas we need to keep in mind.
First, trust is earned by consistency of character over a long period of time.
One big purpose in me starting this blog is to establish trust with my peers in a way that I could not before. Sure, I have social media profiles like Twitter and LinkedIn, but neither of those display my character as somebody whose opinion you'd trust when it comes to business matters.
I am fully aware that it may take a very long time for some of you to trust me, and some of you may never trust me. I can't let those thoughts deter me from trying, though, or else I'll never gain anybody's trust.
The second idea is that trust, even one built up over years, can be lost literally overnight.
Ask Bill Cosby about this one.
For decades, Bill Cosby was looked at in a favorable light. He was a good citizen in the eyes of his peers. Not to downplay his crimes at all, but he arguably helped infinitely more people than he harmed over the years.
When news of his crimes started coming out, that trust he built up over decades vanished. Vanished to the point that Cosby will probably never get his reputation back.
Same with that dentist that shot Cecil the lion. We, as the general public, don't really know what he was like prior to the lion incident, but what we do know is that that single incident that took place over a mere few hours irrevocably damaged his reputation for the rest of his life.
So I come back to a point I've stressed in this blog a number of times now: what story are you telling? Are the symbols you surround yourself with consistent with your character? Are there skeletons in your closet that could come back to haunt you one day?
For you young professionals like myself, ask yourself those questions early and often. Especially in the age where everything gets plastered and stored online forever, the actions we take today may yet come back to bite us in twenty years.
"I never would have expected it was her all along."
How many of you have said some variation of those phrases above? You may even recall thinking that thought multiple times.
For better or worse, our minds categorize things into categories of familiarity. Whenever we see a glass filled with some sort of liquid, we instantly recognize it as some sort of consumable beverage. If that liquid is a translucent amber color, we may recognize that as some sort of apple juice or beer.
This is why first impressions are such a big deal. When we meet somebody, our minds form a picture about that person based on their behavior, body language, apparel, and more that is so strong that it takes weeks or even months for that person to re-influence the way we think about them. (Which is why we need to be mindful of the symbols we surround ourselves with.)
When it comes to business or life matters in general, there are two high level ideas we need to keep in mind.
First, trust is earned by consistency of character over a long period of time.
One big purpose in me starting this blog is to establish trust with my peers in a way that I could not before. Sure, I have social media profiles like Twitter and LinkedIn, but neither of those display my character as somebody whose opinion you'd trust when it comes to business matters.
I am fully aware that it may take a very long time for some of you to trust me, and some of you may never trust me. I can't let those thoughts deter me from trying, though, or else I'll never gain anybody's trust.
The second idea is that trust, even one built up over years, can be lost literally overnight.
Ask Bill Cosby about this one.
For decades, Bill Cosby was looked at in a favorable light. He was a good citizen in the eyes of his peers. Not to downplay his crimes at all, but he arguably helped infinitely more people than he harmed over the years.
When news of his crimes started coming out, that trust he built up over decades vanished. Vanished to the point that Cosby will probably never get his reputation back.
Same with that dentist that shot Cecil the lion. We, as the general public, don't really know what he was like prior to the lion incident, but what we do know is that that single incident that took place over a mere few hours irrevocably damaged his reputation for the rest of his life.
So I come back to a point I've stressed in this blog a number of times now: what story are you telling? Are the symbols you surround yourself with consistent with your character? Are there skeletons in your closet that could come back to haunt you one day?
For you young professionals like myself, ask yourself those questions early and often. Especially in the age where everything gets plastered and stored online forever, the actions we take today may yet come back to bite us in twenty years.
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