Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

John Wooden (1910–2010), the long-time UCLA basketball coach, was as well known for his moral instruction as for his championships. Throughout his career he emphasized “character” as a foundation for leadership and performance, codified in his Pyramid of Success and repeated in speeches, practices, and later-life interviews and books. This quotation reflects Wooden’s consistent distinction between inner standards (what one is) and external approval (what others say), a theme he used to teach players to focus on controllable conduct—preparation, honesty, self-discipline—rather than publicity, praise, or criticism. It aligns with his broader educational aim: using sport as a vehicle for ethical formation.

The quote contrasts two kinds of social identity. “Reputation” is contingent and unstable—an image produced by other people’s limited information, biases, and changing moods. “Character,” by contrast, is the durable reality of one’s habits, choices, and integrity, especially when no one is watching. Wooden’s counsel is practical as well as ethical: you can directly govern your actions and principles, but you cannot fully control how you are perceived. By prioritizing character, a person anchors self-worth in conduct rather than applause, and builds trust over time. The statement also implies that reputations eventually follow character, but only indirectly and imperfectly.