Introduction: The Dangers of Believing Your Reputation
Self-confidence is an excellent leadership trait. Overconfidence is a dangerous quality to have, which could result in serious repercussions. It’s important to build and protect your reputation. And it’s great to be known for something, but don’t ever let it get to your head and affect your performance. There are inherent dangers of believing your reputation.
Have you Read?
Review – Success Lessons from Gin Blanco in Jennifer Estep’s Spider’s Revenge
Over the weekend I read the latest installment of the Elemental Assassin Books, By a Thread (Elemental Assassin)
by Jennifer Estep. And yes, I know that being an assassin is an unworthy profession, but as they say, there is honour among thieves, or should I say assassins. Let’s put that aside for a moment, By a Thread by Jennifer Estep is fiction, a work of art, and of course we can learn from the protagonist Gin Blanco also known as Spider – her assassin moniker.
On the Harvard Business Review Blog, Anne Kreamer writes an excellent blog post titled The Business Case for Reading Novels (The link is included at the end of this post).
The Spider is the best at what she does, which is killing people. In the previous installments in the series (Review – Success Lessons from Gin Blanco in Jennifer Estep’s Spider’s Revenge), the Spider kills Mab Monroe, who was Queen of the Underworld, and one of the most evil and vicious person you could ever find. Mab was also one of the most powerful fire elementals you could find. She used her fire elemental magical powers to fry people, and she was the one who killed the Spider’s family years ago, because she was scared of their elemental powers.
The Spider is unusual because she has two strong elemental powers, ice and stone, when others only have one. Since Mab has died, many are trying to take her place in the underworld. They have also been trying to kill the Spider, who has built a reputation for herself. If you read Review – Success Lessons from Gin Blanco in Jennifer Estep’s Spider’s Revenge, you will learn some key things about the Spider.
Gin and her only surviving sister Bria are taking a weekend vacation. Bria wants to return to Blue Marsh, an island on the Georgia-South Carolina line where she grew up. When they arrive, they learn that Bria’s best friend Callie Reyes is being terrorized by the powerful vampire Randall Dekes because he wants her land to build a resort. Dekes kills all the landowners, who refuse to sell to him and Callie is now the only person holding out.
And of course, the Spider goes to the rescue. Her foster brother gathers intelligence for Gin on the vampire. However, Gin doesn’t take the time to carefully plan the way she usually does. She thinks, how difficult could it be to eliminate Randall Dekes, after all, she is the powerful assassin, Spider. Gin Blanco did not assess the dangers of believing your reputation.
When they arrive at the location, Gin’s instinct is warning her that she is in danger, and she needs to leave. But she doesn’t listen. The vampire immobilizes her with a dart, sinks his fangs into her, and starts feeding on her blood, depleting Gin’s ice and stone magical power. Dekes becomes stronger and Gin gets weaker. He feeds off her and she comes to an inch of losing her life. Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, quickly learns the lesson, Don’t Believe Your Reputation. There is great dangers of believing your reputation.
This is a work of fiction, and what happened to Gin, will never happen to you, but learn the lesson because life imitates art, so never believe your reputation. Yes, you have spent time creating a reputation for yourself, but life is about evolving and growing. Don't rely on what you have done in the past, keep on creating now and in the future. That sets you apart from most people.
Further Reading
The Business Case for Reading Novels
Review – Success Lessons from Gin Blanco in Jennifer Estep’s Spider’s Revenge
Build Your Reputation: Grow Your Personal Brand for Career and Business Success
Speak Connect Succeed: Build your Reputation As you SpeakReputation Repair – How to Build, Repair, and Protect your Reputation on the Web (Reputation Management Series Book 1)Trust Agents (Revised and Updated): Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation, and Earn Trust (Your Coach in a Box)How to Build Your Reputation: The Secrets of Becoming the Go to Professional in a Crowded MarketplaceSmall Business Marketing Made Easy: 8 proven strategies to grow your revenue, build your reputation and create ongoing wealth
