My Character Coach

The cure for a failing country is the character of man. It starts with each of us growing a moral and spiritual backbone. The work has to start on the inside and work its way out as a manifestation of character. Without authentic and noble character, all else has little meaning. 
 
Character vs. titles
 Many people put far too much emphasis on a position, title or credentials. Often they are defined by that title. I remember when I worked with a financial services company and initially, there was only insurance being sold but no one wanted to be an insurance salesman. Many times people in the organization were asked what they did, they responded with hymns and haws and made up titles. By the time I came along other financial products were added and a new title was adopted “personal financial analyst”. Now a sense of pride swept through the organization. Notice when you ask someone what they do, the bigger the title the more it is said proudly. I’m not saying not to be proud of what you do just to be proud of the person behind the title.

Character vs. reputation
 Reputation is very important to many people. They run around trying to protect their reputation. How can that be done? Dr. Wayne Dyer says reputation is theirs, character is yours. Your reputation is made up from the opinions of others. It’s their opinion not yours. Trying to shape everyone’s thought of you is not only futile, but also causes you to lose yourself. It becomes hard for you to tell the difference between whom you are and who people think you are. Celebrities are often advised not to read their own press. You can’t make everyone happy and you can’t please everyone. Reputation is theirs, character is yours!

 One of the first things I did when it was pressed upon my heart to research character was go to the library and hit the books. The first books I hit were the dictionary and encyclopedia. I found a definition of character that said: a composite of good moral qualities typically of moral excellence and firmness blended with resolution, self discipline, high ethics, force and judgment. The stiffening of the moral fiber we call character. After that, I was blown away; I must have spent weeks and weeks constantly looking up different words. I wanted to find the words that lost their meaning or somehow gotten distorted over time. My search continues.

Character vs. personality
 Today we confuse personality with character. But they are two different things. The difference is nature and demeanor. Character is your nature, who and what you are made of on the inside. Personality is more closely related to demeanor, it’s what people perceive you to be. Personality is the outward projection of your character. However, from time to time personality can be misunderstood. Sometimes people can mistake your intentions for something else. Have you ever heard the phrase “She made a mistake but her heart was in the right place”. Only through the stiffening of the moral fiber will you get the “benefit of the doubt” when your personality or intentions are misunderstood.

Character is what inside of us all, good or bad. I read a book by once that said “If you squeeze an orange what comes out?” Orange juice is the obvious answer. You can’t squeeze it and get tomato juice. What is inside comes out. In life we’re put in situations that test our character. Who we are inside comes out. If you want to know what’s in a person apply pressure.

More to come next week! click on comments to add your feedback.