What is your definition of character? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.
“The story of each stone leads back to a mountain.”
“It is the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.”
“Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself.”
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Most of us love a good mystery. We love good books, TV shows, or movies that take us on a ride with plot twists and surprises. We enjoy excitement and delight when we sleuth our way through these adventures. We are primed for openness to go down whatever path lies ahead.
When we close our books, turn off our sets, and clean up our popcorn and candy containers, how open do we remain when we return to our actual lives?
How can you expand your openness of character to more fully experience the many mysteries life has to offer?
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Life is very different from traditional schooling in that it gives us the test first and then we (hopefully) learn the lesson.
What character-building experiences and trials has life presented you over the past year?
How has your soul been strengthened?
Where have your ambitions been inspired, leading you toward new levels of achievement and success?
Please pick up a copy of The Road to Character by David Brooks to challenge yourself to re-balance the scales between the focus on external success (“resume virtues”) and your core principles.
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I have a friend and client named Tim who is a highly successful business leader. He exemplifies many strong qualities of leadership and personal character that most of his customers, colleagues, and even competitors admire.
Among his most positive attributes is his willingness to take initiative and proactively put himself out into the world to see the people and make things happen.
Where do you find yourself on the introvert-to-extrovert spectrum, especially given the constraints caused by the pandemic?
How have you continued to reach out to connect despite your efforts to be physically distant and keep one another safe?
Where have you not made the effort to be out in the world in some essential way?
How can and will you get out there and (safely) see the people in the coming months?
How can and will you encourage others in your personal and professional communities to do the same?
I am reading The Daily Stoic for the third time.
History’s greatest minds — including George Washington, Fredrick the Great, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and today’s top achievers — embrace the practical wisdom of the ancient stoics.
The timeless wisdom of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, Epictetus, and others offers all of us a practical philosophy for living a better life.
The stoics were individuals of great character who navigated their lives by core principles and guiding tenants, not simply by what was easy in the moment.
Their long-term perspective on what was morally right and served society at large guided their thoughts and deeds.
Where and how can you more fully leverage your own strongest character traits to advance your own life and that of others in your personal and professional communities?
We need more Level 5 leaders today!
In his classic book, Good to Great, Jim Collins describes Level 5 leaders as more like Abraham Lincoln and Socrates than George Patton or Julius Caesar.
Level 5 Leaders have a mixture of humility and stoic resolve, doing what it takes to make organizations—and hopefully a nation—truly great again.
These special people demonstrate character by shouldering responsibility for difficulties and generously acknowledging and praising others for the efforts and progress that are realized.
Where are you seeing evidence of great character and resolve in the leaders in your personal and professional communities?
How and in what ways can you also fall back on yourself during these difficult times?
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Can you recall anyone telling you that you are “a chip off the old block”?
Perhaps you’ve used this phrase to refer to some bright, precocious youth showing great promise and demonstrating the positive qualities of their parents, teachers, or other well-regarded people.
Who have been the rugged, mountainous individuals in your life?
How have they shaped and carved your character, personality, attitudes, and talents?
What experiences and life lessons did they provide to help you become the person you are today?
Who are the people in your personal or professional worlds that see you as their mountain? How can and will you intentionally guide, teach, and coach them to be their very best?
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Reflecting on this Quotable Coach series over the past eight years, I realized that it was the values and character traits of each author that had me select their quotes.
These daily nuggets of practical wisdom are more often gleaned from the rushing streams of life than tranquil self-reflection.
Cultivating our talents in both tranquil and active times provides an added foundation for many of the character traits we most admire and wish to emulate in our own lives.
If developing your own character is a priority, you may wish to read the remarkable stories of less well-known individuals in David Brooks book, The Road to Character.
No one who has ever lived has led a completely charmed life in which everything went well, pushed along by a kind breeze.
On the surface of things, many people think that celebrities, great sports figures, accomplished business leaders, and even folks that share the highlights of their lives on social media have it made.
When you look even inches below the surface however, we all bear the scars of the numerous lumps and bumps life delivers.
How can you demonstrate and more fully appreciate the dignity and grace in yourself and others as you and those around you make the best of what life presents?
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Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, and Founding Father who served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the principle author of the Declaration of Independence and a significant proponent of democracy, republicanism, and individual rights.
Today’s quote points to the importance of personal character, honesty, and integrity in holding each other to the highest standards of personal conduct.
What might Jefferson think about our world today, where, for all intents and purposes, the world really is watching our every move?
How pleased and proud are you regarding your personal and professional conduct? Where is there room for higher standards you wish to live by and show the world?