To get a name can happen but to few. A name, even in the most commercial nation, is one of the few things which cannot be bought . It is the free gift of mankind, which must be deserved before it will be granted, and is at last unwillingly bestowed.
Interpretation
A person's name is something earned through character and actions, not something that can be purchased.
This quote by Samuel Johnson emphasizes the significance of one's reputation and name, suggesting that while many things can be bought in a commercial society, a name must be earned through merit and integrity. It highlights the intrinsic value of a name, which is a reflection of a person's character and contributions rather than a mere commodity.
In practice
During a leadership seminar, I shared this quote to underline the importance of earning trust and respect.
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
Fly-fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
When any anxiety or gloom of the mind takes hold of you, make it a rule not to publish it by complaining; but exert yourselves to hide it, and by endeavoring to hide it you drive it away.
A fishing rod is a stick with a hook at one end and a fool at the other.
The satisfaction to be derived from success in a great constructive enterprise is one of the most massive that life has to offer.
It is possible that the scrupulously honest man may not grow rich so fast as the unscrupulous and dishonest one; but the success will be of a truer kind, earned without fraud or injustice. And even though a man should for a time be unsuccessful, still he must be honest: better lose all and save character. For character is itself a fortune. . . .
Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover.
The secret of long life is double careers. One to about age sixty, then another for the next thirty years.
Sure of their qualities and demanding praise, more go to ruined fortunes than are raised.
The road to success may be, and generally is, obstructed by many influences which must be removed before the goal can be reached.
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