--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Folks build a reputation by attacking you…" description: "\"Folks build a reputation by attacking you while you’re alive - or praising you after you ain’t.\" — Chuck Palahniuk" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/chuck-palahniuk-37_alive_folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-yo_1260864.jpg" --- # Folks build a reputation by attacking you while you’re… ![“Folks build a reputation by attacking you while you’re alive - or praising you after you ain’t.” quote by Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/chuck-palahniuk-37_alive_folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-yo_1260864.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/chuck-palahniuk-37_alive_folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-yo_1260864.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/chuck-palahniuk-37_alive_folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-yo_1260864.jpg) > “Folks build a reputation by attacking you while you’re alive - or praising you after you ain’t.” [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People’s opinions of you shift dramatically after you’re gone, revealing their true motives. **In simple terms:** Reputation changes after death. Key Takeaway Don't let posthumous judgments define you. Themes reputation perception mortality legacy Mood reflective critical Type observational philosophical When to use this quote - career evaluation - family relationships - public image management Key Concepts social psychology ego authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain integrity while alive? - Do you value living reputation over posthumous fame? A Different Perspective It may overlook that some praise is sincere, not merely opportunistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Reputation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reputation/) ## Related quotes > [You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do. It's simple, fantasize, rehearse, then go out into the world and DO IT!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/you-can-t-build-a-reputation-on-what-you-re-going-to-do-it-s-simple/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minuted to ruin it. If you think about that you'll do things differently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/it-takes-20-years-to-build-a-reputation-and-five-minuted-to-ruin-it/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [You don't build a reputation on what you're going to do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/you-don-t-build-a-reputation-on-what-you-re-going-to-do/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Location is the key to most businesses, and the entrepreneurs typically build their reputation at a particular spot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/location-is-the-key-to-most-businesses-and-the-entrepreneurs/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [I want to build a reputation as the Treasury Select Committee chairman, as somebody who asks tough questions, listens and looks into what people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-morgan/i-want-to-build-a-reputation-as-the-treasury-select-committee/) [Nicky Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-morgan/) > [It's not easy for an entrepreneur to find the time to blog. But for those who do it, it is a great tool to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-wilson/it-s-not-easy-for-an-entrepreneur-to-find-the-time-to-blog-but-for/) [Fred Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-wilson/) > [I hope to build a reputation as a science-fiction writer. That's the pitch. We'll see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-hope-to-build-a-reputation-as-a-science-fiction-writer-that-s-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [It took time to really build myself a reputation as a good live performer, a musician and an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-goulding/it-took-time-to-really-build-myself-a-reputation-as-a-good-live/) [Ellie Goulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-goulding/) > [It takes a career, a lifetime, to build up a reputation, and only one misstep for it all to crumble away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rodgers/it-takes-a-career-a-lifetime-to-build-up-a-reputation-and-only-one/) [Aaron Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rodgers/) > [Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-smith/begin-somewhere-you-cannot-build-a-reputation-on-what-you-intend-to-do/) [Liz Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-smith/) > [You can't build a reputation on what you intend to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-smith/you-can-t-build-a-reputation-on-what-you-intend-to-do/) [Liz Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-smith/) > [The best time to start promoting your book is three years before it comes out. Three years to build a reputation, build a permission…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-best-time-to-start-promoting-your-book-is-three-years-before-it/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [It takes 5 years to build a reputation and only 5 minutes to destroy one, if you would have known would you have done things differently?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-grenier/it-takes-5-years-to-build-a-reputation-and-only-5-minutes-to-destroy/) Alex Grenier > [You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/you-can-t-build-a-reputation-on-what-you-are-going-to-do/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Build your reputation by helping other people build theirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-j-d-angelo/build-your-reputation-by-helping-other-people-build-theirs/) [Anthony J. D'Angelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-j-d-angelo/) ## More by Chuck Palahniuk > [Because after you've crossed some lines, you just keep crossing them. And there's no escaping from constant escape. Distracting ourselves. Avoiding confrontation. Getting past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-after-you-ve-crossed-some-lines-you-just-keep-crossing-them/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [According to Plato, we don't learn anything. Our soul has lived so many lives that we know everything. Teachers and education can only remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/according-to-plato-we-don-t-learn-anything-our-soul-has-lived-so-many/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [His saliva tasted like the wet dicks of ten thousand lonely truck drivers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/his-saliva-tasted-like-the-wet-dicks-of-ten-thousand-lonely-truck/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“shoulder. They weigh that much. Tyler’s a banquet waiter,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/shoulder-they-weigh-that-much-tyler-s-a-banquet-waiter/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [We'll never be as young as we are tonight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-ll-never-be-as-young-as-we-are-tonight/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“We drive west the rest of the night, away from where the sun will come up, trying to outrace it, trying not to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-drive-west-the-rest-of-the-night-away-from-where-the-sun-will-come/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Just for the record, how I feel right now is very terrific.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/just-for-the-record-how-i-feel-right-now-is-very-terrific/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Nobody's told me anything to date that I've been completely reviled by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nobody-s-told-me-anything-to-date-that-i-ve-been-completely-reviled-by/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/then-you-re-trapped-in-your-lovely-nest-and-the-things-you-used-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Some stories, you use up. Others use you up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/some-stories-you-use-up-others-use-you-up/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Verbs allow you to communicate a story in a much more converged or involuntary way for a reader. The verbs allow you to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/verbs-allow-you-to-communicate-a-story-in-a-much-more-converged-or/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Waiters will always pee in soup, people will always fall in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/waiters-will-always-pee-in-soup-people-will-always-fall-in-love/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Branch Bacardi, star of The Da Vinci Load, To Drill a Mockingbird, The Postman Always Cums Twice, Chitty Chitty Gang Bang, The Twilight Bone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/branch-bacardi-star-of-the-da-vinci-load-to-drill-a-mockingbird-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Every unkind remark or crude gesture by others is a blessing, an opportunity to exercise our own capacity to forgive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/every-unkind-remark-or-crude-gesture-by-others-is-a-blessing-an/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Nuestro deber es enseñar a esos hombres y mujeres la libertad a través de la esclavitud; y el coraje a través del miedo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/nuestro-deber-es-ense-ar-a-esos-hombres-y-mujeres-la-libertad-a-trav/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) [Explore all 2,041 Chuck Palahniuk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Folks build a reputation by attacking you while you’re alive - or praising you after you ain’t.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Chuck Palahniuk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-you-while-you-re-alive-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-you-while-you-re-alive-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/chuck-palahniuk-37_alive_folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-yo_1260864.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/chuck-palahniuk-37_alive_folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-yo_1260864.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/256/chuck-palahniuk-37_alive_folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-yo_1260864.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Folks build a reputation by attacking you while you’re alive - or praising you after you ain’t.” — Chuck Palahniuk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Chuck Palahniuk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Folks build a reputation by attacking...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-you-while-you-re-alive-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/folks-build-a-reputation-by-attacking-you-while-you-re-alive-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```