Sometimes things in life are looking great. You’ve got all your ducks in a row and then, Boom! Your life is t-boned.

We’ve all been there. You feel like a failure, you feel ashamed and panicked. In reality, you are human and you will never be in complete control of your life. You’re going to get knocked down.

The big question, though, is how you get back up. That’s the measure of your character and spiritual strength.

And on character, here are a few great lines about it from James B. Stenson’s To Be a Man:

  • “This invisible thing we call character resides in a man’s mind and will and heart.”
     
  • “Character is what we have left over if we ever go broke, character is what each of us is, minus our money and possessions.”
  • “Character is the aggregate of qualities that people esteem in us despite our flaws.”
  • “Character is what parents seek most in their grown children’s prospective spouses.”
  • “Character is what employers hunt for…”
  • “Character is what makes people proud and delighted to count us as friends, not just acquaintances. It is what makes real friendships last a lifetime.”
  • “Character is what children unconsciously imitate in their parents’ lives. It is the compass they take through life by which they judge their own peers, including prospective spouses.”