vitality

Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Crack Up. By F. Scott Fitzgerald. 1945. As found in 2022 Great Quotes From Great Leaders Boxed Calendar: 365 Inspirational Quotes From Leaders Who Shaped the World.

who we truly are

What I learned through it is that we are not on this earth to accumulate victories, or trophies, or experiences, or even to avoid failures, but to be whittled and sandpapered down until what’s left is who we truly are. This is the only way we can find purpose in pain and loss, and the only way to keep returning to gratitude and grace.

Arianna Huffington

"Why We Need Wisdom More Than Ever," by Arianna Huffington. Thrive Global. November 30, 2016. Excerpt from Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder pp. 116–130. As found in 2022 Great Quotes From Great Leaders Boxed Calendar: 365 Inspirational Quotes From Leaders Who Shaped the World.

then by all means paint

I know the soul's struggle of two people: Am I a painter or not? Of Rappard and of myself - a struggle, hard sometimes, a struggle which accurately marks the difference between us and certain other people who take things less seriously; as for us, we feel wretched at times; but each bit of melancholy brings a little light, a little progress; certain other people have less trouble, work more easily perhaps, but then their personal character develops less. You, too, would have that struggle, and I tell you, don't forget that you are in danger of being upset by people who undoubtedly have the very best intentions.

If you hear a voice within you saying, “You are not a painter,” then by all means paint, boy, and that voice will be silenced, but only by working. He who goes to trends and tells his troubles when he feels like that loses part of his manliness, part of the best that's in him; your friends can only be those who themselves struggle against it, who raise your activity by their own example of action. One must undertake it with confidence, with a certain assurance that one is doing a reasonable thing, like the farmer drives his plough, or like our friend in the scratch below, who is harrowing, and even drags the harrow himself. If one hasn't a horse, one is one's own horse - many people do so here.

Vincent Van Gogh

Letter from Vincent van Gogh to Theo van Gogh. Drenthe, 28 October 1883. Van Gogh's Letters: Unabridged & Annotated. As found in 2022 Great Quotes From Great Leaders Boxed Calendar: 365 Inspirational Quotes From Leaders Who Shaped the World.

great calamity

What happens to us becomes part of us. Resilient people do not bounce back from hard experiences; they find healthy ways to integrate them into their lives.

In time, people find that great calamity met with great spirit can create great strength.

Resilience: Hard-won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2015. p.23

must be paid heavily for

There are some things which cannot be learned quickly, and time, which is all we have, must be paid heavily for their acquiring.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Resilience: Hard-won Wisdom for Living a Better Life by Eric Greitens. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2015. p.19

an empty bag

'Tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright 

Benjamin Franklin 

Autobiography and Other Writings by Benjamin Franklin, edited by Russel B. Nye. 1949. p.174

doesn't suddenly become dishonest

An honest man doesn't suddenly become dishonest any more than a clean field suddenly becomes weedy. 

Spencer W. Kimball

The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball. 1969. p.215 

great necessities call out great virtues

It is not in the still calm of life, or the repose of a pacific station, that great characters are formed... The Habits of a vigorous mind are formed in contending with difficulties... Great necessities call out great virtues. When a mind is raised, and animated by scenes that engage the Heart, then those qualities which would otherways lay dormant, wake into Life, and form the Character of the Hero and the Statesman.

Abigail Adams

John Adams by David McCullough. 2001. Simon & Schuster. p.226

all that we suffer

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. … All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable. … It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.

Orson F. Whitney

From Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle (1972), 98, as quoted in Paul V. Johnson, "More Than Conquerors through Him That Loved Us." April 2011 General Conference.

to develop a more radiant and lovely character

Sickness may waste the body, but the true life is the spirit within, that which thinks and feels and loves and suffers and wills and chooses, aspires, achieves. The purpose in life is to beautify, ornament, develop that something within. To develop a more radiant and lovely character is the true purpose in life.

David O. McKay

Gospel Ideals [1954], 357

a mark of a noble soul

Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, more likable.

Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Live in Thanksgiving Daily," Ensign, Sept. 2001, 8

one in five corporate executives are psychopaths

An Australian study has found that about one in five corporate executives are psychopaths – roughly the same rate as among prisoners. 

The study of 261 senior professionals in the United States found that 21 percent had clinically significant levels of psychopathic traits. The rate of psychopathy in the general population is about one in a hundred.

Nathan Brooks, a forensic psychologist who conducted the study, said the findings suggested that businesses should improve their recruitment screening. 

He said recruiters tend to focus on skills rather than personality features and this has led to firms hiring “successful psychopaths” who may engage in unethical and illegal practices or have a toxic impact on colleagues.

Jonathan Pearlman

"1 in 5 CEOs are psychopaths, study finds." The Telegraph. September 13, 2016

to-be list

Many of us create to-do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to-be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can’t earn checkmarks with to be’s. I can take my wife out for a lovely evening this Friday, which is a to do. But being a good husband is not an event; it needs to be part of my nature—my character, or who I am.

Lynn G. Robbins

"What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?" General Conference. April 2011

hire for attitude and train for skill

The best companies hire for attitude and train for skill. Pal’s [Sudden Service - a burger joint] 26 locations employ roughly 1,020 workers, 90 percent of whom are part-time, 40 percent of whom are between the ages of 16 and 18. It has developed and fine-tuned a screening system to evaluate candidates from this notoriously hard-to-manage demographic—a 60-point psychometric survey, based on the attitudes and attributes of Pal’s star performers, that does an uncanny job of predicting who is most likely to succeed. Among the agree/disagree statements: “For the most part, I am happy with myself.” “I think it is best to trust people you have just met.” “Raising your voice may be one way to get someone to accept your point of view.” Pal’s understands that character counts for as much as credentials, that who you are is as important as what you know.

Bill Taylor

"How One Fast-Food Chain Keeps Its Turnover Rates Absurdly Low". Harvard Business Review. January 26, 2016.

walk the talk

Inspiring leaders walk the talk. They have character and conviction. They live by a different moral compass. They back up their words with action...

On October 2, 1994, the 49ers were losing to the Eagles 40-8. Head coach George Seifert pulled [Steve] Young from the game. Years of pent-up frustration boiled to the surface. Young was livid and visibly argued with the coach. While it was out of character for Young to show such anger publicly, the players began to perceive him in a different light. They saw a fiery leader committed to winning. The “Steve Young Rant” became a rallying cry for the rest of the season.

Five days later the team played in Detroit. Young got hit so hard an excruciating pain shot up his leg. “Writhing in pain” Young crawled on his elbows to the sideline. The doctors were worried he had injured a nerve and told him not to play. Young overruled them. As long as he could walk, he wanted back in. Two plays after crawling off the field he jogged back to the huddle and completed 17 of 20 passes, leading a come-from-behind victory. “Dude, you really are crazy. You did the death crawl,” one of his teammates said. Young had cemented his leadership role.

The 49ers played like a team with a new conviction. They won the next ten games and ended the season with the number one offense in the league. Young was named MVP, but didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment. In the locker room he gave the speech of his life:

“It’s 34 days to the Super Bowl. We need to make a commitment that every day we do everything we can to put the flag on top of Everest. Let’s go make some history!” Everyone roared. Young had become the leader everyone wanted to rally behind, but only after his actions during the season gave them a reason to follow him.

“Perception is reality. I had worked hard my entire career to establish myself as a leader. But I wasn’t a leader until I was perceived as one. You become a leader in times of trouble,” says Steve Young. “Leaders emerge when things don’t go well. When everyone else starts pointing fingers, a leader takes responsibility.”

Carmine Gallo 

"Hall Of Fame QB Steve Young On Leadership, Character And Conviction" Forbes. Nov. 2, 2016

treasures of fortitude

I have seen great beauty of spirit in some who were great sufferers. I have seen men, for the most part, grow better not worse with advancing years, and I have seen the last illness produce treasures of fortitude and meekness from most unpromising subjects.

C. S. Lewis 

“Adversity and You,” by Marvin J. Ashton. Ensign, Nov 1980, 54

one great thing

Remember this: there is no one great thing that you can do which will determine your happiness or success in life. Life is a series of little things-how you do your work from day to day, personal honesty in your everyday contacts, a smile and a handshake, courtesy and kindness-these are the "little things" that become the sum of your character. 

Ezra Taft Benson

The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 462.

a hero

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.


Christopher Reeve
Still Me. Ballantine Books, 1999

the psychological muscle

Character, writes Amitai Etzoni, the George Washington University social theorist, is “the psychological muscle that moral conduct requires.”

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. Random House LLC, 2006. 358 pages, p.285

unintended messages

Above all, even in what might be considered the smallest “white lie,” ethical leaders are careful not to signal that hypocrisy is OK. As an example, a leader may casually review an employee’s presentation and provide feedback like, “I think we need to take these two slides out – that data is inflammatory and we don’t want to derail the ultimate outcome which is to convince the budget committee to give us the resources we want.” While the leader might presume he has acted in the best interest of the group – going to bat for resources they need- the person building the presentation has just been told, “We can’t tell the entire truth because it could prevent us from getting what we want.” Leaders must put themselves in the shoes of those they lead and look back at their actions to see what unintended messages they may be sending.

Ron Carucci

"Four Ways Your Leadership May Be Encouraging Unethical Behavior" Forbes. 6/14/2016