Monday 5 October 2009

Where have all the people of character gone?

Heavy storm clouds stay hanging over business, religion, politics, sport and the media. Almost daily many so called icons are continuing to have their character questioned. These clouds always produce rain and wash away the stars like twigs in a river.

Like never before the world needs ordinary people of character to stand up and be counted because many of the people leading us don’t understand leadership, have sacrificed their characters in their quest for power, and in some cases their behaviour threatens our very lives.

Recently the father of a good friend passed on. He was a man of character and an inspiration to my friend. His passing caused me to reflect on my own father who passed 10 years ago.

Life my friends Father, my Dad never had his name up in lights too often but left a legacy to be proud of in his world nonetheless. I miss him. Dad was a man of character. We never always saw eye to eye. It was the words of the Mike and the Mechanics song ‘In the Living Years’ that urged me to settle my differences with Dad not long before he died.

“It’s too late when you die” the song says “to admit you don’t see eye to eye” Towards the end Dad came to hear me speak and said before I spoke “I probably won’t agree with everything the speaker says this morning but I am proud he is my son”

People of character lay it on the line like that.

People of character are unafraid to speak their minds.

People of character always tell the truth as they see it

People of character are trustworthy

People of character have integrity

People of character enjoy being popular but don’t seek popularity

People of character seek win / win but do not compromise their principles

People of character do what they believe is best for the common good regardless of the resistance they encounter

People of character praise in public and criticize in private

People of character put others first

People of character are givers not takers

People of character focus on building people’s self esteem and never engage in put downs or the blame and shame game

People of character are those we really look up to and admire

People of character are those we follow when it matters most.

Be a person of character. You are needed like never before.


Be remarkable
Ian
Founder Differencemakers Community
Writer and International Business Speaker on how doing good is great for business

1 comment:

Graeme Bowman said...

A powerful post, Ian, with several strong messages. Thank you.