by Tiffany Steele

Created on: May 09, 2008   Last Updated: November 21, 2010

Inspiring quotes are all around us. They can be found in books, famous speeches, the Bible, even from entertainment figures. When I think of what personally inspires me the most, I think of character, how a person can be the best he or she can be.

These 15 character quotes are my favorites and have given me good examples of how to strengthen my own character every day.

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising every time we
fail." - Confucius

"Character is built out of circumstances. From exactly the same
materials one man builds palaces, while another builds hovels." - G. H. Lewis

"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and the wrong.
Sometime in your life you will have been all of these." - Bob Goddard

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because
your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely
what others think you are." - John Wooden

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away."
- Raymond Hull

"When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and
examine ourselves." - Confucius

"Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that
perfectly." - St. Francis De Sales

"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become
actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they
become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny."
- Frank Outlaw

"How a man plays the game shows something of his character, how he loses
shows all of it." -Author Unknown

"The great man is he that does not lose his child's heart." - Menicus

"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." - John Luther

"It is never too late to be what we might have been." - George Eliot

"Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries."
- James A. Michener

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of
comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and
controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the
sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed
only if there is a light from within." - Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

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