A classmate of mine had this inscribed inside his Citadel Class Ring:
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Of course that goes a long way towards what the average cadet goes through in four years at The Citadel… or any military academy, but perhaps the statement goes a lot more towards character and not so much a physical death.
How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you a lot about their character. Crisis does not necessarily make character, but it certainly does reveal it…and we see this as cadets/future leaders make their way through these academy systems. We also see it in corporate, military, church, and other folks in positions of authority.
Adversity is a crossroads which makes a person chooses one of two paths: Character or Compromise.
Every time leaders choose character–they become stronger…even if that choice brings negative consequences.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn once said, “The meaning of earthy existing lies, not as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul.”
The development of character is at the heart of our development, not just as leaders, but as human beings.
What we need to know about character:
1) Character is more than talk
2) Talent is a gift…but character is a choice
3) Character brings lasting success with people
…and finally…leaders cannot rise above the limitations of their character….
A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart,
but a principled life can stand up to the worst.
Proverbs 11:4
The Message (MSG)
(Check out John Maxwell’s The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader for more data)
Mastermind Century Group 
One Reply to “”