CHARACTER

Despite what the economy is like, despite the circumstances around us, we have to be inspired and encouraged about our future. It’s not enough to get a good start; we need to finish well too.

The words endurance doesn’t elicit positive feelings. However endurance has wonderful benefits.

One of the greatest benefits of endurance is that it enables us to build character. There is a clear connection with endurance and character. You cannot have one without the other. They go hand in hand.

The problem is I believe that our world is endurance challenged. Everyone wants a quick fix! We want things simple and we it want it fast! McDonalds has certainly gotten this formula perfected and as a result dominated the fast food industry. McDonalds makes it really convenient and there seems to be a location at every other block. Essentially, very few people understand the value of patience. Most people want instant gratification and to be successful overnight. How many get quick rich schemes have taken advantage of innocent people? You have probably heard this many times but it’s worth emphasizing that life is a marathon not a sprint! Overall it’s important to engage in strengthening of character by developing endurance. There are many things we will miss in life if we don’t endure.

What is endurance? Endurance is the ability to stand wear and tear, or the willingness to stay put and press through. The opposite is hopelessness which is to expect that nothing good will come. It’s kind of like being dropped in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and the boat leaves you to tread water and find your way back alone. These bad times will test your endurance and strengthen your character. The key to developing endurance is to stick to commitments and not live by your feelings.

Understand character:

Character is all about quality. A person or object of quality has weight and substance. Most of us appreciate great character when we see it. Something that is handmade has better quality. For example, I love coffee. I can taste the difference between caffeinated and decaf, just as recognizing the difference between regular coke and diet coke. Real sugar versus splenda. People appreciate quality because there is authenticity and integrity, which can be demonstrated in a person’s commitments and relationships. A person of integrity is not all about image, it’s what you do when no one is looking.

Character is a combination of spiritual, mental, emotional, and relational. I’ve had roommates in college that were very intelligent and had mental character, but were emotional basket cases!

Overall, character is a make or break issue. It is going to determine the success level of our lives. Weakness of character will always catch up with you at some time in your life; we will only be successful as the quality of our character.

In the following is a story about the creators of YouTube which taught me why character is a make or break issue. People who may not have the right character yet, won’t respond appropriately to the opportunities given to them.

It was while working at PayPal that Hurley and Chen became fast friends. They began to spend their free time discussing several different business ideas. When eBay purchased PayPal for $1.54 billion, the two received large bonuses for their role in growing the small startup. They decided to use their money to create their own venture. With Chen’s engineering skills and Hurley’s creativity, they thought forming a company together was a plausible idea.

In January 2005, Hurley and Chen attended a friend’s dinner party in San Francisco. They had taken a few digital videos of the event and wanted to share them with each other the next day, but could not find a good means to do so. The files were too big to email, while posting them online would take hours. With that, Hurley and Chen had their first idea for a sustainable business. Using the money they had received from the PayPal buyout, Chen and Hurley decided to create YouTube, to make uploading and sharing videos online as easy as anyone could want.

It was the birth of a revolution.

There are three kinds of people in the world: People who make things happen, people who watch things happen, people who wonder what happened.

Rest assured and prepare yourself, there’s another opportunity around the corner from you! Which one are you going to be?

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