Quotes about Character

if you are an effective manager of yourself, your discipline comes from within; it is a function of your independent will. You are a disciple, a follower, of your own deep values and their source. And you have the will, the integrity, to subordinate your feelings, your impulses, your moods to those values.

Character Ethic as the foundation of success—things like integrity, humility, fidelity, temperance, courage, justice, patience, industry, simplicity, modesty, and the Golden Rule. Benjamin Franklin's autobiography is representative of that literature. It is, basically, the story of one man's effort to integrate certain principles and habits deep within his nature.

Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. "Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit

So the place to begin building any relationship is inside ourselves, inside our Circle of Influence, our own character.

There are people we trust absolutely because we know their character. Whether they're eloquent or not, whether they have the human relations techniques or not, we trust them, and we work successfully with them. In the words of William George Jordan, "Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil—the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be.

What you want to be (character) and to do (contributions and achievements) and on the values or principles upon which being and doing are based… never compromise with honesty

Listening involves patience, openness, and the desire to understand—highly developed qualities of character.

It takes a great deal of character strength to apologize quickly out of one's heart rather than out of pity. A person must possess himself and have a deep sense of security in fundamental principles and values in order to genuinely apologize.

Humility is the mother of all virtues.

Integrity is, fundamentally, the value we place on ourselves. It's our ability to make and keep commitments to ourselves, to "walk our talk

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

Only basic goodness gives life to technique.