5/04/2008

Choose Character

By John C. Maxwell
A Leaders Way
Philippine Daily Inquirer

“A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart, but a principled life can stand up to the worst.” -- Proverbs 11:4 (The Message)

How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you a lot about their character. Crisis doesn’t necessarily make character, but it certainly does reveal it.

Adversity is a crossroads which makes a person choose one of two paths: Character or compromise. Every time leaders choose character, they become stronger, even if that choice brings negative consequences.

As Nobel Prize winning author Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “The meaning of earthly existing lies, not as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul.”

The development of character is at the heart of our development, not just as leaders, but as human beings.

What must every person know about character?

Character is more than talk.
Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.
Character brings lasting success with people.

Leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character.

This is worth repeating.

Adversity is a crossroads which makes a person choose one of two paths: Character or compromise. Choose character.