Brucisms - Thoughts on Life, Leadership, and The Pursuit of Happiness

photo by Denise O’brien

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, philosopher and poet (1803-1882)

Quality 1: Character; Invest in Your Integrity Bank Today!

In The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, John C. Maxwell says that:

“Talent is a gift; but character is a choice… In fact we create it every time we make choices - to cop out or dig out of a hard situation, to bend the truth or stand under the weight of it, to take the easy money or pay the price. As you live your life and make choices today, you are continuing to create your character.”

In fact building your character is like investing in your integrity. Every time you make a choice that lives up to your values - you make a deposit into your Integrity Bank; and every time you make a choice that shortcuts your values - you make a withdrawal. The more deposits you make, the more interest you earn - and the more likely you are to make choices with integrity in the future. Conversely, the more withdrawals you make, the more likely you are to shortcut your integrity in the future - and eventually will become morally bankrupt.

Here is a simple way that you can take steps today to make deposits into your Integrity Bank:

First, make a short list of values that you would like to work on. This could be anything - compassion, love of family, servitude, courage - anything you feel you may be lacking. Next, make a conscious decision to do one thing today that demonstrates one of those values. Read a story to your child, take a walk with your significant other, cross the street to give a homeless person a couple of dollars rather than avoiding them. Very soon, you will have a rock solid foundation of integrity steeled with the iron will of conviction. Try it - you’ll be amazed at the results!

Note from Bruce: I have recently revisited John C. Maxwell’s The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. As an exercise in personal development, I will be writing an article each week that focuses on one of these qualities until I have addressed all 21.

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Related posts:

1. Quality 2: Charisma; Drawing People to You
2. Quality 3: Commitment; Staying the Course