Appearance – Attitude – Assiduity
“Like a house of cards, a good reputation is built on a solid foundation. It is difficult to build and it can crumble at the slightest false move.”
Jacques Dufort
Over the last two summers, my son occupied the position of ambassador (tourist guide) for the City of Quinte West. However, last summer he was laid off three weeks before the end of his contract. How could this be? Didn’t he possess all of the desired qualifications for the job? Alexandre comes off pretty well; he projects a good image and has sufficient interpersonal skills when he applies himself. He also seemed to display initiative, going so far as to perform searches online in order to better serve his customers, even when they were seeking information about things outside his territorial jurisdiction. Moreover, he was the only fully bilingual employee, a major asset for a region with a high-traffic of Francophone tourists coming from Quebec.
This is when, while not wishing to interfere in his affairs, I still felt it was my duty as a father to offer him some support, if he wished to have it, of course. In return, this exchange allowed me to feed his thinking as to the events he had just lived.
It appears that Alexandre had received several warnings about his assiduity. I don’t know if other facets might have been reproached, but I do,however,know, having observed it myself, that he often went to work without being clean-shaven, wearing a cap backwards, sporting the “teen” look. In addition, Alexandre is rather calm by nature, so it can be safe to presume that, since it already happened in the past, this calmness could’ve been interpreted as nonchalance.
Following our discussion and respecting the fact that he has already become a young adult, I got the idea to prepare an inspiring poster for him that he could put up in his college dorm room if he wished. In essence, this poster could serve as a reminder so that he may always remain aware of the realities of “adult life” through the way that I perceive them.
So it is with his consent that I am pleased to share with you my first reflection based poster, hoping that it will inspire you as well. I also invite you to read the back of the PDF poster that I’ve prepared. On it, you will find more information on my interpretation of the meaning of the three A’s. You can download it by clicking on the following link:
(I recommend having it printed double sided in order to have the description on the back and to be able to refer to it if need be.)
Finally, I thank you for being so generous Alexandre. Keep up the beautiful journey that you have undertaken towards your adult life. You’re on the right path; all that remains is for you to build your reputation.
Your father that loves you.
