Character Counts

When you think of someone buying a luxury home with a price tag that reaches the stars, you would expect the new home to be of high quality.

- Dr. Marc Clark

Such is not always the case. The preliminary designs for the new home of Michael Eisner, who was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company, included one wall that was so thin it would have buckled under its own weight. The $40 million new home of one billionaire software developer had pine siding so vulnerable to decay it started to rot before the home was even completed. It is easy for buyers to mistake luxury for quality. Experts in the home building industry say that: most buyers agonize over the wrong things.”

A builder of luxury homes once said, “It appears that what sells homes depends on having a tub larger enough for at least two people, and probably more; flashy stairs and other glitzy, totally unnecessary elements, as opposed to spatial or constructional quality.”

At it is with homes, so it is with people. Too many people put all their efforts into image and appearance and pay no attention to the quality of their character.

What is “Character”? If you look up the definition of character, it comes from the Greek word ““χαρακτnραc”. It was a term originally used for a mark impressed upon a coin. In today's world, a character is known as the sum of all the attributes possessed within a person, such as a fortitude, morality, courage, trustworthiness, and integrity. It is also the collection of an individual’s experiences and thoughts throughout their lifetime. One’s character is perhaps the most important element that makes ups an individual, as it defines who that person is and how that person reacts to the people and world around them.

Every decision you make, every choice you act upon will either enhance or diminish your character. Why should you care? Because humanity will fall apart and the way of life that you enjoy will no longer exist.