My Character Coach

As I watch news reports from around the world on CNN, MSNBC and others I have notice a growing need among mankind. Character.  We sometimes talk about peace and equality and tolerance but what we see around us is to the contrary.

The atrocities we commit against one another is unspeakable. And the only solutions many world leaders have stemed from an humanistic viewpoint. We’ve never seen the rapid moral decline in all of history until now. And still many don’t want biblical values in the public square and in schools and we continue to fall.

Humanism leads to hedonism then to hoplessness. Humanism is accountable only to “self”. Everyone has their own truth but what happens we your truth doesn’t line up with someone else’s truth? Conflict. The answer is not humanism, it is character derived from a biblical source that will hold us accountable. The fate of the world lies in the character of mankind. We are not accountable to “self” we are accountable to the Creator.

The cry for authentic, noble, upright character is deafening. Are you prepared to stand for biblical morality?

James Allen wrote in his classic “As a man Thinketh” - A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. A noble and God-like character is not  a thing of favor or chance, but of long-cherished association with God-like thoughts.

We are empowered to shape and mold our character by virtue of thought. God has given us this ability and in fact urges us to build strong character. Just read the bible. We are not prisoners of thought or circumstance we are co-creators of our lives. It’s a God given ability that once you grasp it, it will open up a whole new reality. Character is the tool by which you and I can share in our God given abundance. It’s the difference between having a mentality of “lack” or one of “plenty” and once you make it a disposition of character it is practically on auto pilot.

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I started a marketing company at age 18 and was awarded a contract with a major department store which earned me about 54k the first year after starting with only $300. It was great but I couldn’t seem to get more contracts and I had poor money management skills. Later in life I decided to start a business from something I loved. That resulted in me opening a comic book store. I loved it but boy was it tough to stay afloat and eventually I sunk.

So a number of years later I decided to go into personal finance as an analyst and I learned a ton about money but something was missing. Throughout my life I have experienced minimum wage years and six figure years and through it all I’ve learned that money was not my problem, it was money management and character. You see personality can get you to the top but only character can keep you there. People such as Trump, Gates, Buffett and Soros are not wealthy because of their personality it is because it is who they are, their character.

The same can be said for relationships, your character will determine the long term make up of your family life. So I submit to you that when you look around at the different areas in your life and you don’t like what you see, look at the contents of your character. Character is the missing link in sustained success.

“If I keep my good character I shall be rich enough”                        - Platonicus

 

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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.

 

The “new age” thinking of quantum mechanics and the law of attraction would have you believe that bad things don’t have to happen if you “will” it not to or we get the deepest desire of our dominant thoughts, both what we want and don’t want. 

Well, this is only partly accurate. We do get what we send out of our dominant thoughts or believe in faith, however, trials will come because we live in a fallen world, period. The bible says:” and when troubles come…” not IF.

Your character is like a sword forged by the pounding pressure of life tempered by the flames of circumstance. 

Life is an adventure filled with suffering and sacrifice, trials and triumphs, adversity and opportunity, all of which at its core, has one purpose; character development. You choose how you come out of the fire.

The bible clearly points out that  there will be suffering and trials but the bible also promises the development of character and victory if we count it all joy. (Romans 5:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 3:3, James 1:2 and 1 Peter 1:6) until next week!

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There are different types of currency that makes the world go round and money is only one of them. First there is emotional currency, spiritual currency, physical currency, character currency and financial currency. Let’s examine each:

 

Emotional currency: emotional currency can be defined as, for example, filling your spouses love tank. You have heard of the term emotionally bankrupt. You have to keep investing emotionally in your relationship in order to keep the passion or bond strong. Building emotional currency comes when you speak your spouses love language and practice forgiveness among other things for emotional connection and interaction.

 

Spiritual currency: spiritual currency is the inner strength of a person. It’s the power that lies beyond the physical and the ego. It’s renewed inner strength, emotional integrity and power to change your reality. It is acquired through prayer and communion with the Creator.

 

Physical currency: this currency is simple to understand. The more we invest in our health through exercise, nutrition, relaxation and stretching the greater output we get from our bodies. We feel rejuvenated and gain certain vitality when we take care of our bodies on a deep level. I often say being physically fit is not a goal, it’s a lifestyle. Physical currency pays off in good health.

 

Financial currency:  We are aware of the currency of cold hard cash but there is more to it than that. Financial currency comes in the form of a financial statement, credit, assets and commodities. In fact, financial currency is anything that can gain or create value. Obviously, financial currency can be abused and misused and lead us to financial ruin. While others who properly manage money and assets prosper beyond compare.

 

Character currency:  The greatest of these is character currency. Character currency can get you all the rest, you can’t buy character but character can get you money. You can’t exercise your way into character but character can get you to exercise. Spirituality is part of who you are and a way of life, It will take strength of character to live it out. Character also gives you the self control in order to manage your emotions.

 The universe is governed by laws be it spiritual, metaphysical or scientific. Call it karma, cause and effect, relativity, motion, attraction or any other law. Call it what you will, they all stem from the creative source, God. We are only discovering what God has already done but we create our lives through character. We can either shape our life through character or our life (the world) will shape our character. The difference is being proactive or reactive. Until next week! 

Your comments are welcome click the comment link.

I spoke with a friend of mine and she had a very interesting perspective on my last blog entry. She did not agree with my statement that we live in a world of mud and are bound to get dirty. Her view was that we do not have to get dirty and she used the Lotus flower as an example. She said that they grow in mud and when they blossom they look untouch and pure even when it’s surrounded by mud. I think she makes a great point. I see our character as that purity she spoke of. When we refine, build and develop our character it is like an armor and compass that protects and guides us. Regardless of what happens in our lives we can choose our response. What is in you will come out. Focus on character because that’s what is exposed in trying times and determines how you come out of the situation.

Character has a relation with the law of attraction. If you are a “negative person” and you send out that energy you will recieve negativity back. What it has to do with character is that character puts your positive traits on autopilot. When you don’t have to conciously send out positive thoughts (which is energy) it is a part of character. Of course this takes time. When you think that everyone else has all the “luck” or gets all the breaks, it is because that is the energy they send out. Character is engraved on the soul, it is you at the soul level. We all operate from our character’s auto pilot and may not be aware of what we are attracting into our lives. Only when we raise our awareness and replace negative traits with positive ones will we realize a powerful and abundant life. Instead of using “new age” terms like attracting or manifesting, I’ll call it “believing”. What are you “believing” is true in your life? Do you see yourself as your circumstance is now? Do you believe your life is out of your control? What you believe is true because you make it so! 

God is continually working on our character after we recieve Christ. The bible says old things are cast away and made new. That includes our character. God promised abundant, prosperous life not a trouble free life and character is the seed (through Christ)  

 Feedback Welcome!

Based on some of the comments I recieved, I feel a little clarification is in order. I don’t believe we can trace everyone’s misfortune back to their character, indeed, we live in a fallen world full of trials and suffering so we are bound to go through some ourselves. I see character as a way, to some extent, create good furtune or an abundance. When we walk in a world full of mud we are likely to get dirty. Your feedback is welcome.

In 2002 I realized I wasn’t where I wanted to be in life and after re-examining my life and looking at the direction I was heading, I couldn’t figure out why I was stuck in a rut. Out of nowhere the word Character popped in my head. So I decided to look it up. Here’s what I found; From the Middle English: a distinctive mark, imprint on the soul, to engrave. Roman Catholicism; An indelible mark impressed on the soul. Then I began to reseach a little more to see what books, articles and speakers had to say about character. One quote I found was from Ralph Waldo Emerson that said: “Nature magically suites a man to his fortunes, by making them fruits of his character.” That was my problem all along. My character brought into my life exactly what it was supposed to. The same is true for the rest of you, your abundance is a direct result of your character. After the definition and Emersons’ thoughts I come to realize two things: character is both internal and eternal and it is the seed to our abundance. Give me your thoughts!