Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent. Most talents are, to some extent, a gift. Good character, by contrast, is not given to us. We have to build it, piece by piece - by thought, choice, courage, and determination.
Interpretation
Good character is earned through effort, while talent is often innate.
This quote emphasizes the importance of character over innate talent, suggesting that while talent may be a natural gift, good character is developed through deliberate actions and choices. It highlights that virtues such as thoughtfulness, courage, and determination are essential in building one’s character, and that this process is a conscious effort requiring commitment and perseverance.
In practice
Use this quote in a motivational speech about personal development.
Instruction for life: Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk. When you lose, don't lose the lesson. Follow the three R's: - Respect for self. - Respect for others. - Responsibility for all your actions. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
Believe in miracles but don't depend on them. When you hear kind word spoken about a friend, tell him so. Spoil your spouse, not your children. Never make fun of someone who speaks broken English. It means they know another language. To help your children turn out well, spend twice as much time with them and half as much money.
Never make fun of someone who speaks broken English. It means they know another language.
Never forget the nine most important words of any family- I love you. You are beautiful. Please forgive me.
I've learned that education, experience, and memories are three things that no one can take away from you.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
People striving, being knocked down and coming back... this is what builds character in a man.
I always tell my students to complicate your characters: never make it easy for the reader. Nobody is ever one thing. That's what makes characters compelling.
It is one of the greatest problems. It will appear very paradoxical, but this is true - before you can lose your ego, you must attain it. Only a ripe fruit falls to the ground. Ripeness is all. An unripe ego cannot be thrown, cannot be destroyed. And if you struggle with an unripe ego to destroy and dissolve it, the whole effort is going to be a failure. Rather than destroying it, you will find it more strengthened, in new and subtle ways.
Everything you've ever read of mine is first-draft. This is one of the peculiarities of the comics field. By the time you're working on chapter three of your masterwork, chapter one is already in print. You can't go back and suddenly decide to make this character a woman, or have this one fall out of a window.
It's always appealing to play a character that has to overcome himself as well as an obstacle. It makes the drama so much deeper.
I can count all the ways in which being a mother has enriched my understanding of the world, of character, my sense of the future and my attachment to it. I can't imagine what kind of writer I'd be if I didn't have my kids.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.