Here's a perfect example. 这有一个完美的例子。

One evening I was in a hurry to get home for an important call when I pulled into my residential area behind a car that was going 10 MPH in a 25 MPH zone. 一天晚上我因为一个很重要的电话匆忙回家,当我到我的小区时等在一辆车的后面，它是10英里每小时在25英里每小时的区域。

I wanted to honk, yell, and flash my lights at the slow poke that was making me late for my call. 我想按汽车喇叭,大喊，缓慢戳我的灯光，因为这样让我迟到。

Moment after agonizing moment passed as I followed him down street after street. 时刻后痛苦的时刻我跟着他传递了一条又一条街道。

Still this driver did not turn off. This continued right up to my neighbor's driveway. 还是这个驱动程序没有关掉。这种情况持续到我邻居的车道。

You guessed it. The driver was my neighbor who wasn't feeling well that evening. 你猜对了。司机是我的邻居,他那天晚上感觉不舒服。

As a new neighbor, I did not recognize his car. 作为一个新邻居,我并不认识他的车。

Had I given in to my impulses and honked, or gotten irritated and sped around him, my actions could have negatively affected my neighbor's view of me. 要是我冲动并且鸣笛了，或是变得生气和在他旁边加速前进,我的这些行动可能会负面的影响我的邻居对我的看法。

As a man of influence in the community, who knows what the ripple effect could have been. 作为一个在社区的影响力的人,谁知道涟漪效应可能是什么。

Your reputation is a life-long accumulation of your actions and your interactions with the people around you. 你的名誉是你行为上的终身积累和你对于身边人的交流。

What does your reputation say about you today? 今天你的名声对你说什么？

What would your neighbors, co-workers or business acquaintances say about you if they were asked for a personal recommendation? 如果你的邻居，同事，或者业务熟人被要求对你提出一些私人建议，他们会说什么呢？

Have you burned bridges in your past? Most of us have at one time or another, but it is possible-and advisable-to make amends. 你曾经自毁后路吗？我们大多数人在同一时间或另一个时间有过，但是为了赔罪它是合适的明智的。

Oftentimes, when you go out of your way to restore a previously damaged relationship, 经常性地，当你为了恢复之前一段受到伤害的关系而改变你的方式，

you make a stronger, more favorable impression than if you were to let sleeping dogs lie. 你会变得更强大，给人印象更好而不是你继续自找麻烦。

Take some time today to do a self-examination of your reputation. 今天花些时间对你的名誉做一个自我反省。

If you're honest with yourself, you'll know right away in which areas you need to improve. 如果你对自己诚实,那么你立刻就会明白自己哪些地方需要改进。

And again, if you have burned a few bridges in your past, perhaps it's time to restore some of those damaged relationships. 再一次，如果你在过去自毁后路，也许是时候恢复那些受到伤害的关系。

At least make the effort. You'll feel better about yourself and who knows, you may be doing yourself a favor. It's a small world! 至少做出一些努力。你对自己感觉会更好,谁知道呢,你可能会帮你自己一个忙。这是一个微世界。

And my final word of encouragement is this.Build a personal reputation that speaks for you when you are not around. 当你不在场时，建立一个为你说话的名声。