The big question about how people behave is whether theyve got an Inner Scorecard or an Outer Scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an Inner Scorecard. I always pose it this way. I say: Lookit. Would you rather be the worlds greatest lover, but have everyone think youre the worlds worst lover? Or would you rather be the worlds worst lover but have everyone think youre the worlds greatest lover? Now, thats an interesting question. Heres another one. If the world couldnt see your results, would you rather be thought of as the worlds greatest investor but in reality have the worlds worst record? Or be thought of as the worlds worst investor when you were actually the best? In teaching your kids, I think the lesson theyre learning at a very, very early age is what their parents put the emphasis on. If all the emphasis is on what the worlds going to think about you, forgetting about how you really behave, youll wind up with an Outer Scorecard. Now, my dad: He was a hundred percent Inner Scorecard guy. He was really a maverick. But he wasnt a maverick for the sake of being a maverick. He just didnt care what other people thought. My dad taught me how life should be lived. Ive never seen anybody quite like him.

The Snowball by Alice Schroeder