This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.
Thought and character are one, and as character can only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance, the outer conditions of a person’s life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. This does not mean that a man’s circumstances at any given time are an indication of his entire character, but that those circumstances are so intimately connected with some vital thought element within himself that, for the time being, they are indispensable to his development.
Character | Circumstances | Indispensable | Life | Life | Thought | Time | Will | Thought |
The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.
Mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance.
Joseph Fourier, fully Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier
The integrals which we have obtained are not only general expressions which satisfy the differential equation, they represent in the most distinct manner the natural effect which is the object of the phenomenon... when this condition is fulfilled, the integral is, properly speaking, the equation of the phenomenon; it expresses clearly the character and progress of it, in the same manner as the finite equation of a line or curved surface makes known all the properties of those forms.
They themselves are makers of themselves by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.
Character | Enlightenment | Ignorance | Mind | Pain | Virtue | Virtue |
Jean Paul, born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, aka Jean Paul Richter
A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's.
Jean Paul, born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, aka Jean Paul Richter
Never does a man portray his own character more vividly than in his manner of portraying another.
Jean Paul, born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, aka Jean Paul Richter
We learn our virtues from our friends who love us; our faults from the enemy who hates us. We cannot easily discover our real character from a friend. He is a mirror, on which the warmth of our breath impedes the clearness of the reflection.
It requires less character to discover the faults of others than to tolerate them.
John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, 4th Baronet, Sir John Lubbock
Your character will be what you yourself choose to make it.
John Wooden, fully John Robert Wooden
The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.
John Newton, fully John Henry Newton
Too many show, in this respect, that they are dead while they live; dead to God, insensible and regardless of their many obligations to him, in whom they live, and move, and have their being. They live without prayer; they offer no praises to the God of their lives, but rise up and lie down, go out and come in, without one reflection on his power, goodness, and providence; even like the beasts that perish. But the awakened soul cannot do so. He trembles to think that he once could neglect that God whom all the hosts of heaven worship; and is convinced, that however fair his character might have been amongst men, he justly deserved to have been struck to hell.
Character | God | Heaven | Neglect | Reflection | Soul | God | Think |
Your success stops where your character stops. You can never rise above the limitations of your character.
John F. Kennedy, fully John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy
The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are; but it is one of the most consistent with our character and our courage as a nation and our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high — but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and this is the path of surrender or submission. Our goal is not victory of might but the vindication of right — not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved.
Character | Cost | Courage | Freedom | God | Peace | Present | Right | Surrender | Will | God |
It's true that charisma can make a person stand out for a moment, but character sets a person apart for a lifetime. You build trust with others each time you choose integrity over image, truth over convenience, or honor over personal gain. Character makes trust possible, and trust is the foundation of leadership. Character creates consistency, and if your people know what they can expect from you, they will continue to look to you for leadership. Over time, is it easier or harder to sustain your influence within your organization? With charisma alone, influence becomes increasingly more difficult to sustain. With character, as time passes, influence builds and requires less work to sustain.
Character | Charisma | Honor | Influence | Integrity | People | Time | Trust | Truth | Will | Work |
Our community is in spiritual distress, and some of our organizations are often too concerned with digits. Our disease is a loss of character and commitment, and the cure of our plight cannot be derived from charts and diagrams.
John Wooden, fully John Robert Wooden
We can become great in the eyes of others, but we’ll never become successful when we compromise our character and show disloyalty toward friends or teammates. The reverse is also true: No individual or team will become great without loyalty.
Character | Disloyalty | Individual | Will | Friends |