CREDIBILITY — THE CROWN JEWEL OF BELIEVABILITY

Credibility is not something you announce about yourself.

It is something other people slowly discover about you.

And once they believe your word, your value as a human being rises.

Have you ever seen or heard something and your first response was:

“That’s incredible”?

In other words, you are saying it lacks credibility.

Now apply that same dynamic to a human being.

Credibility brings value to the person who possesses it. Incredibility causes people to doubt you—and once doubt enters, your word begins to lose value.

CREDIBILITY IS THE CROWN JEWEL OF BELIEVABILITY

Credibility is made up of honesty, integrity, genuineness, and pure motives.

Once attained and put to use, it begins working throughout your personal and professional world.

Eventually, credibility becomes part of you.

Your personal stock as a human being goes through the roof.

You do not have to advertise it.

People know.

YOUR MOUTH IS NOT YOUR WORD

Your mouth speaks words.

But your word is who you are.

It comes from somewhere deeper inside you—from a sacred and respectable place where character lives.

People eventually know where you are coming from and what is standing before them.

It is not so much what you say you are.

It is what they discover you are.

Give people a clear enough experience with you and they will figure it out.

IT STARTS WITH WHAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH

Your word has to mean something.

It has to count for something if you expect people to believe it.

When you know that you know something is true, state it firmly but calmly.

Then stand on it.

Do not scream.
Do not perform.
Do not exaggerate.

Say what you know and raise that confidence flag high enough for people to see.

Say it.

Then stand firm.

I DON’T KNOW

One of the most powerful credibility builders in the English language is:

“I don’t know.”

If you do not know something, say so.

People respect that more than you may realize.

They might not acknowledge it at the moment, but later—through hindsight and reflection—they remember.

They remember that you could have pretended.

But you did not.

You told the truth.

And your credibility grew.

I’D RATHER NOT SAY

Another credibility booster is:

“I’d rather not say.”

There are times when you may know something but should not—or simply do not wish to—share it.

Say so.

People may challenge you.
They may pursue you.
They may keep asking.

Remain constant.

“I’m sorry, but I’d rather not say. Thank you.”

Then stop talking.

Your restraint can say more about you than another hundred words.

I BOO-BOOED

If you made a mistake, say so.

“I made a mistake.”

“I was wrong.”

“I boo-booed.”

Admit it.

If an apology is necessary, apologize.

Correct what can be corrected.
Learn what can be learned.

Then move on.

A person who can admit a mistake does not become smaller.

Quite often, they become more believable.

A MORE ADVANCED YOU

Practice these things with patience and devotion and something interesting begins to happen.

People start treating you differently.

They begin seeking your opinion, your support, your judgment, your direction, and your guidance.

Why?

Because your word now carries weight.

Credibility sells for you, tells for you, and serves you while it serves other people.

What a magnificent dynamic to have working inside a human being.

BONUS POINT

Be advised:

A new identity begins forming.

You become a depository for truth, responsibility, honesty, and integrity.

These qualities are invisible, but they are enormously valuable and always in demand.

They can go to work for you even when you are not aware they are working.

Opportunities may present themselves.

People may give you the benefit of the doubt.

When uncertainty appears, your history speaks before you do.

That is the power of credibility.

BONUS OF ALL BONUSES — THE POINT OF ALL POINTS

ABOVE ALL…

YOU BECOME VERY ATTRACTIVE TO GOD AS A VESSEL FOR HIS USE.

Truth can be trusted.

Integrity can be entrusted with responsibility.

And a person whose word means something can carry something meaningful into the world.

So how do we get started?

Look for the very next opportunity to practice what I have shared with you.

Someone will ask you something.

A mistake will happen.

You will know something.

You will not know something.

You may be tempted to exaggerate, hide, bend, pretend, or say more than you should.

There it is.

Your opportunity.

Practice credibility.

Then do it again.

And again.

First, your little world becomes better because you brought value to it.

And then…?

Who knows how far one believable human being can reach.

— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com