May 5--N.C.W.

With enough courage, you can do without a reputation.  --Margaret Mitchell

    Humorous motivational speaker and musician, Greg Tamblyn, refers to himself with the initials N.C.W. That stands for "No Credentials Whatsoever." 

    A reputation is what others think a person to be. It can be good or bad, depending on the onlooker. It is based on what others perceive to be one's character, beliefs and deeds. It seems to me that the reputation may or may not match the actual person. 

    This quote says to me that one does not need a lofty reputation to accomplish any given desire. All one needs is the courage to take the "baby steps" needed to achieve a goal. It doesn't matter what a person's past history is--it is the effort moving forward that counts. 

    For some reason unknown to me, "reputation" tends to be a mostly negative word, and a bad reputation could certainly be a hindrance to accomplishment. Conversely, a good reputation could smooth the path to achieving a mission. Ms. Mitchell indicates that any reputation is irrelevant if you are courageous enough. History has proven this over and over with relative "nobodies" creating great things. Once again... we just do it!

        Leta