Of Reputation...

The words that have been sticking in my mind this week come from Amulek.  If you turn to Alma 10:4, Amulek is introducing himself to the people.  Though he says many things about himself, it is this verse that has caught my attention. "...I am also a man of no small reputation among all those who know me..."  What kind of man was Amulek?  What kind of man did he become?  Did his reputation change?  If so, how?

I have spent several quiet moments pondering this idea.  If you follow the footnotes, we are taken to Acts where the council is discussing the reputations of men.  Some gained a reputation of many, but in time, their reputations became as nought, because...?   

This is what has me pondering.  What kind of reputation do I have?  Is it an influence of good, bad, or just indifference?  Can I change it?  What kind should I have?  

When I was younger, I found myself in a strange land, speaking a strange tongue, and trying to figure out who I was, who I wanted to be, and how I was going to accomplish both.  It was not an easy transition.  My associates found themselves in the same boat.  Each of us trying to make our mark in life.  It was then that I learned several things about myself and the game of life.

We are not here in a race or competition.  It is not about finding out who is better, faster, stronger, or more persuasive than the other.  It is not a challenge to see who has more of one thing verses another.  Plain and simple, we are here to be the best we can be.  That being said, our best, may be different from someone else's best.  I found that the best way for all of us to succeed was when we combined the forces of each of our best, to accomplish the best as one. 

Sometimes that takes some introspection on our behalf.  

At one point, I was asked to work with another who didn't seem to understand this idea.  We were given a specific assignment, but he did not want to focus on that assignment.  As I reflect upon it now, he had built himself a reputation on the last assignment he was working on.  He was comfortable working within that group and wanted to be where he was most comfortable.  Because of his reputation, he was viewed as a leader of sorts, but now, he, like myself, was in a new environment, starting from scratch, and maybe even challenged by the rawness of the situation.  We only had our past experiences to rely upon.  Each day we met to talk about and work on our new assignment, but this associate was always looking for reasons to return to his former assignment.  At first, I went along, hoping to find some common ground we could use to build into our new assignment.  But after a few days, it became obvious, we were not going to make progress on our assignment.  I did not feel that I was doing my best.  I did not feel that my associate was doing his best either.  So I had a choice to make. Keep doing what I was doing or make a change.  I decided to change.  It was not easy.  I shared my concerns, made some suggestions as to what we could both do to fulfill our assignment, and let him know that I was not going to spend time hanging out on a past assignment.  It was not easy.  There were times that I found myself alone.  It was not a good feeling, but I knew I was doing what was right.  I was building my own reputation.  Within a few days, I found myself being assigned to a different team.

On the flip side, I was asked to lead on new assignment.  It felt kind of strange.  The individual I was asked to work with appeared to have more experiences, time, and knowledge about assignment we were given.  However, the decision was that I would lead the project.  I learned a great deal from this person.  The longer we worked together the more I respected him and his reputation.  I learned that he was had also worked on a previous assignment with the previously mentioned individual.  They has great success while working on that assignment, then one day they made a choice to cut some corners and deviate from boundaries of their assignment.  I learned that because of the reputation they had built, there were many who followed.  On that day, everyone involved got washed out and wet.  Many reputations became as nought.  Those, who at the time were leaders, were not trusted any longer.  New assignments were given and new leaders chosen.  All had a choice to make and time for introspection.  The question became, was I doing my best?  Can I change now and do my best?  What can I do to safeguard doing my best in the future?

My associate made a choice.  He wanted to do his best.  He put the past mistakes behind him.  Together, we committed to share our best with each other and to the assignment we were given.  What I learned, is that it was better at time to let him lead where he was best while he let me lead where I was best.  Together, we were the best for the assignment.  We did not try to control or out do the other, we just did our best.

So, where are you?  Are you doing your best?  Could you do better?  Is there someone you are working with that has strengths where you are weak?  Are humble enough to let them lead in those areas while you follow?  It is not easy, but together, we can succeed.  Just be your best.