Reputation versus truth
Reputation. Let’s talk it.
A reputation has no benefit to a person other than that which is measurable. I’m talking dollars and cents. Forget being liked. Forget looking perfect for the sake of being considered so. Where is the utility?
There is indeed utility in glamour. It drives prices up. It creates an air of exclusivity. People want in because they can’t get in. This is real. This is worth considering in the game of business.
But reputation for the sake of feeling good? What happens when it’s gone; when the illusion’s shattered?
Not only will you lose real-world benefits, you’ll be reeling from the damage to your self-image, perceived or otherwise, because you’re so invested in it.
This is why it’s solely effective to view these things as practical tools in the magicians pouch. Not things to stake your life upon; your emotion, your “identity”, your health.
In fact, it’s far more keen to never blow this bubble in the first place. For a bubble blown through ruthless honesty is no bubble at all. There is no weak point from which a mere prick could burst it.
Not only is ruthless honesty effective in creating a so-called reputation in the first place, it creates one that lasts. Because really it’s a non-reputation. It’s the truth. And you can try to distort it, but you can’t poke holes in it.
And though distorted it may become, the bearer knows what’s what. This will always grant him a certain solace to weather the storms. This too has a useful, real-world effect, as others will sense this. And in sensing this they will sense the truth as well.
How you feel about yourself is all that matters. And to outsource this; to wait on that ship — one waits on the Titanic. How one feels about himself must necessarily be based in truth if he is to remain sovereign and safe from the grasping hands of the Hivemind.
There is no greater luxury in this world than sovereignty and solitude.
The poor man who needs others to constantly fill his empty well of false imagery cannot afford true sovereignty. The ocean may be available to him but he’s far from sea-ready and will capsize.
In this case it pays to be among poor wolves rather than poor sheep. As the sheep bah their songs of morality, the wolves cut to the heart of the matter with their carnivore teeth.
But only the lone wolf can rise above all of this, and the limitations imposed on him by the pack. It’s always a good time to leave, and never too early. Even a wolf pack’s howl is homogenized in nature.