Be Intentional About Your Character
Success is desirable. I’ve yet to meet anyone who said they didn’t want to succeed. But good success does not come cheap. Last week, we talked about endurance. Need a reminder? Here you go:
Pillar One: Endurance
Persistence.
“…continuing a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition”
Endurance is a key pillar to achieving good success in every area of life. Endurance calls you to linger in pursuit of your vision.
Remember:
“Your story is powerful. The world needs you around to tell it.”
So do not give up!
Pillar Two: Character… you can’t succeed without it.
Photo by Celestine Chua | Flickr
Character reveals what we are made of. It’s our core values played out for all to see.
Our character determines our reputation and plays a significant role in our success or lack of it. I’m a firm believer of the fact that:
“Character will keep a man where his gifts can only bring him to.”
Your gifts and talents may bring you to great heights. Only character determines whether you stay there or not.
Talent is not enough
Talent is awesome and gives us a platform for success. But to remain awesome in our calling and gifts, we need to have an unquestionable character. What leaves a mark on others most is the aroma of our character, not our eloquence of speech, as good and important as that may be.
You might say; “I know folks without a good character and yet are successful.” I don’t disagree they may be successful (and I know a few too) but the question is, by who’s standard do we measure success?
I’ve learned to probe myself with the question:
“How do I want to live? How do I want to be remembered?”
A few might remember your works but many will remember your person. And character is what makes the person. Tweet this.
Build your character
Good success requires intentionality. Building your character is intentional too. When you invest in your attitude to life, people around will see the result; your character will speak for you.
And when you build your character, you won’t have to worry about your reputation and legacy.
Good success requires you develop a character of unquestionable integrity. This takes time, but it’s time worth investing to shape your life and your leadership.
Question: What’s your take on character and its place in personal and leadership success?
About Joseph Iregbu
From a homeless, near-school-dropout to living a story worth telling. Purpose is my passion. What's your story?
For me character is far more important than simply doing the right thing. Without character I will only do the right thing for so long and then eventually will come a time when I stop doing the right thing because that’s really not me. However if I start with character then doing the right thing becomes a natural outcome of who I am on the inside.
This is beautiful, Caleb. There’s a wealth of truth and wisdom in your words and I need to digest them slowly. Thanks for the deep insight as always.
What a great post!
I’ve always said integrity is vital. I want to be a person others can trust. I want them to know that I keep my word.
It takes a lifetime to build our character and only a moment to ruin it. We must stay intentional in remaining true to the calling God has placed in our lives. We all mess up, but someone of integrity doesn’t hide mistakes. It’s painful and embarrassing, but mistakes are part of life. We must acknowledge them (even if only to ourselves) and as much as is possible, we must make things right.
Enjoyed reading.
Absolutely love the emphasis on integrity. Character is indeed a lifetime process, never an end point as long as we are alive. I enjoyed reading your comment too!