Gone are the days of how a news about you reached other people via snail mail or other means. Now it takes a few seconds before your whole life is put on a plate for others to enjoy (or criticize).
At the end of the day it’s your job to create a reputation of yourself. Absolutely no one else has that in their hands but you. If you want to be known as trustworthy, then do something that revolves around it. If you are to be remembered as someone who is good with your promises, then meet up when you say you will. And if you want to be someone who has good manners, then your actions should speak louder than your words, you really need to raise the bar when being among people, and when alone, learn to think good and noble thoughts.
Is good reputation so important?
If it can make or break your business or anything that you put your hands into, then yes. A good reputation is the most important thing that will make your career or ideas more forward. If you are someone who no one will lend 5 bucks to because of your reputation, then how can you expect anyone to ever invest in you or let alone want to do business with you? You might get a profit here and a profit there by being cunning and “wise”, but this wiseness is of no use if it’s something that has cost you the entire career within your segment or marketplace.
How to fix a bad reputation?
It depends on what type of reputation you are referring to. Is it something that’s become a part of your character then you would have to really dig deep and work hard on that specific bit. For example, if you have in the past few years done things that have made people look at you as someone who can’t keep promises, then you would really have to go beyond your limits to fix those things. It doesn’t help saying “I am a changed person”, when the next meeting or a deal is missed because you slept late the night before and couldn’t turn up. You get what I mean? Go beyond your limits and focus on every single thing that revolves around that reputation. See it as a project, write down steps you need to take, work with a mentor, a teacher or someone who can guide you in “fixing” that reputation.