Character is an internal quality that is fed by external sources. Character has no self-creative powers, nor any self-corrective power. The best character is in constant need of checks and balances from without. It requires stimulus from without, so it won't fail in development. Character deteriorates over time unless it is fed from external sources. The purity of external sources that character feeds on determines its strength.

Jamal was given the opportunity to administrate a burgeoning company, yet felt incapable of keeping up with the challenges of growth. He was determined to advance as far as possible and earn as much as possible so he applied himself to improvement. The place he went was the library and the biographies he most admired. He read voraciously, making notes about the principles they lived by and the patterns they followed. After reading about those whom he knew, he read about those whom he'd never heard of, and he amassed reams of note paper filled with words to live by. His company never exceeded his character and, after twenty years, he's the top man today.

The books you read and the people you meet are externals that help build or destroy your character. That's why you can tell the character of a person by the company he or she keeps. Evil companionships corrupt good character.

Quality is always determined internally, never externally. The cheaper the internal quality of merchandise, the higher the gloss needed externally. Cheap office furniture is covered with finishes, paint, and shellac. But in the executive's chambers with its high quality furniture, the wood is buffed to show off its internal luster.

Cheap knives have painted plastic handles and covered pot metal blades to try to make them look right. A high quality knife has a plain bone handle with a stainless steel blade, both of which only need polish for their internal beauty to be seen. Real quality in material or character needs nothing to cover it up. What you see is what you get.

The principle is: the cheaper the merchandise, the higher the gloss. It's true of furniture and knives, and it's true of men and women. Good character requires no faking, no facade, no flamboyance or flair. Externals reveal what is internal and the internal shines through.

Excerpts from Treasure, Uncovering Patterns & Principles

that Create Prosperity by Edwin Louis Cole

P: 905.593.2345

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"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." - Albert Einstein