Leadership is... Character

Never do anything to compromise your integrity. Anything worth achieving is worth an honorable and honest effort. There are no short cuts to becoming a champion. You will never take any trophies or medals with you when you leave this life, but your character will be with you always. Be true to yourself, and keep in perspective the fact that even if you can’t be the world’s best athlete in your chosen sport every day … you can be your best person every day.

“Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are, to some extent, a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it piece by piece by piece, by thought, choice, courage and determination.”

“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.”

“You identify yourself by what you do when no one is watching. The supervised athlete may be the hardest worker, the most selfless and responsible competitor. But how he practices when no one sees him, how he interacts with teammates when the coach is not within listening distance—that’s when he defines himself—his character.”

“Everyone has the opportunity to make choices based on truth, integrity, responsibility, and loyalty—all of which are necessary to develop and maintain character.”

“Character is always lost when ideals are sacrificed for conformity and popularity.”

“Swearing is a device for making ignorance audible.”

“If you can’t explain it to your mother or your grandmother, don’t do it.”

“By constant self-discipline and self-control you can develop greatness of character.”

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Character is what you really are. Reputation is just what people say you are.” -John Wooden

Character is the real foundation of all worthwhile success. A good question to ask yourself is, “What kind of world would this world be if everybody were just like me?”

“Athletic competition will reveal character.”