This article was last updated on February 11, 2022
I got an e-mail yesterday from a 63-year old man who asked me why I have never posted anything about building character. No quotes, no articles, no videos. And I couldn’t really think of a good answer. He said that our character is who we are in the dark. I totally agreed with him. Our true character is revealed when we are alone and when no one is watching. So here are a few life changing quotes about “character” I’ve collected in the past! Enjoy.
12 Life Changing Quotes on Building Your Character
1. “The first gift is Strength. May you remember to call upon it whenever you need it.” – Unknown
2. “People do not seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
3. “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.” – Thomas B Macaulay
4. “You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him.” – James D. Miles
5. “Everyone tries to define this thing called Character. It’s not hard. Character is doing what’s right when nobody’s looking.” – Unknown
6. “Most people say that it’s the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.” – Albert Einstein.
7. “Character is the result of two things: Mental attitude and the way we spend our time.” – Elbert Hubbard
8. “Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” – Albert Einstein
9. “Character is what you know you are, not what others think you have.” –Unknown
10. “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” – Abraham Lincoln
11. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
12. “Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” – Stephen Covey
10 Insightful Quotes On Character
13. “Character isn’t something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you weren’t born with and must take responsibility for forming.” – Jim Rohn
14. “I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character!” – Theodore Roosevelt
15. “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden
16. “How true Daddy’s words were when he said: all children must look after their own upbringing. Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” – Anne Frank
17. “Knowledge will give you power, but character – respect.” – Bruce Lee
18. “Men show their character in nothing more clearly than what they think laughable.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
19. “Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance.” – Kurt Vonnegut Jr
20. “The man who cannot believe in himself cannot believe in anything else. The basis of all integrity and character is whatever faith we have in our own integrity.” – Roy L. Smith
21. “Our true character is that person we become when no one is watching.” – Unknown
22. “Misery builds character, happiness makes cheesecake.” – Abhijit Naskar
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23. “Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” – Sam Ewing
24. “Man looks in the abyss, there’s nothing staring back at him. At that moment, man finds his character. And that is what keeps him out of the abyss.” – Hal Holbrook
25. “Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.” – Bear Bryant
26. “Character, not circumstances, makes the man.” – Booker T. Washington
27. “Character is formed in the stormy billows of the world.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Final Words
It is unarguable that character makes the man. In more than one way. There is a reason why so many great people are putting an exclamation on character when discussing the topic. Thriving to become a better version of yourself takes a lot of that.
Oftentimes, what we need is a reminder and what better way to do that than through some life-changing quotes?
Thank you for reading. Please don’t forget to share the article if you enjoyed these quotes!
Photo credit: José Manuel Ríos Valiente
