Tag: character

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Quotes from The Lombardi Rules

I recently read The Lombardi Rules by Vince Lombardi, Jr. While the book was a short and easy read, I found a few good quotes. The book is intended to guide new leaders.

“Most important, character is a series of decisions and choices that you make as you grow and mature. Character is not something that is handed to you; it must be forged through years of hard work and discipline. It is the culmination of years of choosing to act one way rather than another, of choosing truth over deception, respect over arrogance, compassion over cruelty.”  (Pg.18)

While at work, I have told people that character takes a long time to build but destroying it is fast.

Monarch butterfly

I chose a butterfly to signify the journey of building character. A butterfly starts as a caterpillar and becomes a butterfly in secret just as we build character outside of the eyes of others.

“Great achievements require courage, determination, drive, and a willingness to pay the price.” (Pg. 35)

I question whether I am willing to pay the price. I prefer not to work overtime at work. I give my all when at work but I rarely stay late. I want to become a lead for a small work group some day.

“Even if you don’t feel you’re getting the visibility you deserve, continue to hone your skills and demonstrate your competence. Years of obscurity gave Lombardi the chance to improve his technique.” (Pg. 70-71)

This quote makes me think of the value of being faithful.

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Thoughts on Susan Cain’s Quiet

I re-listened to Quiet by Susan Cain while at work today. It reminded me of a concept that I had never heard of before this book. It states that the idea of a culture of character being replaced by a culture of personality in the 1900s is from Warren Susman. Cain wrote,”In the Culture of Character, the ideal self was serious, disciplined, and honorable. What counted was not so much the impression one made in public as how one behaved in private. The word personality didn’t exist in English until the eighteenth century, and the idea of ‘having a good personality’ was not widespread until the twentieth. But when they embraced the Culture of Personality, Americans started to focus on how others perceived them.” (Pg. 21)

This part made me wonder if I live in the wrong time except that I like being able to vote. So, I can’t live in a time before women got the right to vote and other rights.

Ms. Cain shared that the industrial revolution encouraged this shift. I have a book titled Getting on in the World that I am curious to read in order to see if it focuses on character more than personality or charisma.