Your character is your destiny

Greek philosophers were so adamant about character that they believed it defined one's value as a citizen. Heraclitus said that "character is destiny," and Aristotle told us that "to enjoy the things we ought to enjoy…has the greatest bearing on excellence of character" and "no one who desires to become good will become good unless he does good things." More recently Ralph Waldo Emerson advised that "character is higher than intellect," and Albert Schweitzer said that "example is not the main thing in life…it is the only thing!

In a business case, a breach of trust can cause a transaction to fail, degrade one's reputation, and increase costs. Personal and team trustworthiness must be placed on the highest priority list, measured, and practiced. But how? 

Here are five simple steps:

• Always meet your commitments. 
  
• Do more than is expected of you. 
  
• Do things faster than expected. 
  
• Achieve better results than expected. 
  
• Do all of the above with integrity and with little fanfare.
  

Unbeatable Mind: Forge Resiliency and Mental Toughness to Succeed at an Elite Level