List Of Character Traits That Bring Success

List Of character Traits That Bring Success

I am going to be transparent here so that you know where I’m coming from. In 2008 I took a nose dive from living my dream and working my dream job, to losing it all. I lost my Job, purpose, and identity. This was more than a mid-life crisis, this was a crisis of faith.

This did not come about because of a poor work ethic, lack of ability, or willingness to do the job. This came about because of character. I was lacking certain character traits.

What I failed to see was that my character was not firmly grounded to survive the long haul.

Even though I was a pastor, I desired power, control, and fame above all other things. It did not start out this way, but over time it evolved into this. I wrote about it in this short read, “Tainted Faith-The Rise and Fall of A Pastor”

God has slowly shown me some things over the last four years, but He has slammed me with some real hard hit messages over the last few months.

1. One clear message I received from God was that I needed to reclaim my position as a man. I had relinquished this role through depression, lack of direction, and not really knowing what I was supposed to be doing with my life. I allowed the enemy to take me out of the game.
2. The second thing God showed me was I needed to rediscover my purpose.
3. The third, which is recent, is time management. Wasting time on things that produce little to no fruit. The methods in which this has come to me and shown to me has been embarrassing to me.

List Of Character Traits

With these three things in mind, God has shown me, that at the age of 42, I have to start over with my own character development. What is becoming evident is that excellence doesn’t occur by accident, but rather, from intentional effort correctly applied over time. Developing these types of character traits takes time and effort.

Change comes from the inside out. The life that I’m living centers around the character traits I choose to live. It is important to choose wisely what these characteristics are and should be in our lives. My downfall was that I bought into the great lie of our society, I valued image over integrity, commercialism over character, and fame over foundations— and I paid the price for these errors.

I had lost sight of what America was built on. What we were known for. What allowed us to become one of the greatest nations of all time. I had forgotten what Author Jim Black wrote, “For most of our history, Americans placed greater stock in a man’s character than in his possessions. The American Dream held that, by hard work and self-discipline, we could achieve success. And success was not measured in material possessions alone. . . . The common wisdom of the day taught that greed, luxury, and self-indulgence were the passions of weak character. And the frugal nature of the pioneers taught that the treasures to be valued most were the virtues of honesty, good character, and moral strength.”

Fail To Realize

My desire to succeed and be someone in history overshadowed the very thing that it would take to accomplish anything of great importance in this world. I allowed my pursuits to  destroy my character. Orin wrote this; “Without character, one can never be truly successful because the foundation of all long-term successes isn’t what a person owns but who he is.”

What i failed to realize was that I lost trust in myself. It was evident when others had lost trust in me. Simply put, any person who cannot trust himself to follow his convictions should not be shocked when others refuse to trust his convictions as well. Truth be known, I no longer knew what my convictions were and how to restore them.

It Is A Character Issue

When it became clear in mind that this was a character issue above all, was the moment I rediscovered my starting place. Scripture says that perseverance produces proven character. Out of that type of character comes hope.

Romans 5:4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  

Of course the scripture is talking about hope in christ, but the same holds true in those we lead and work with. That through proven character we instill hope in others. When they can trust our character, they can trust to give their lives to follow us.

It All Starts With You

Looking back on how I got to the top of my game early on in my life, was when I took serious the calling of God and the work he was doing in my life. I have been writing a series titled the seven callings from God. One of those callings is to be like Him. It wasn’t until I took that calling serious did things really start to break loose for me.

This is not some woe is me deal, this is a calling for men to stand tall, to take action, and to evaluate their lives with a critical eye. Not once or twice, but to do so over and over again. To challenge yourself to see where character has been pushed aside by other pursuits. To see where character has hindered your ability to perform at work, love your spouse  raise your children. To do the things that will carry a longer legacy than anything else you can accomplish here on this earth.

It is a tough calling. it is one that takes time to commit to, because this is not something we solve today or even a year from today. This is something that takes years to accomplish and master in our lives.

This isn’t some post on something you should do…this is a call of something you must do.

Washington had 110 resolutions that he studied and lived by. They were a code that he was to live his life by. It always installed character and living a life of duty rather than rights. At times we can dismiss such nonsense and continue to pursue after the things that bring happiness and self fulfillment  But I am here to say that those things have a very short shelf life. The pursuit of self recognition and fame do not change cultures or leave legacies. The saying goes; “15 minutes of fame”

Look at how this can play out, In the book George Washington’s Character, Katherine Kersten asked: What would Washington have accomplished if happiness, rather than integrity and service, had been his life-goal? Instead of suffering with his men through the snows of Valley Forge, he might have followed the example of Benedict Arnold, another Revolutionary War general. Though brave and talented, Arnold valued his own well-being and prosperity above all else. Out of self-interest, he plotted to betray West Point to the British, and died a traitor to his nation. What can we learn from Washington and his contemporaries about character-building? They teach us, most importantly, that “the soul can be schooled.”

I am here to tell you that if my life would’ve been one of Washington instead of Arnold, I would be in a much different place in my life. The pursuit of self carries a much to heavy price to pay. I just wish I would had paid it at a much younger age.

If you don’t know the value of developing resolutions in your life, take into account how they were used by the giants of History.

At twenty years of age, Ben Franklin chose to move in a new direction, launching a self-improvement project he called “moral perfection.” He started with four resolutions: “He resolved to become more frugal so that he could save enough money to repay what he owed to others. He decided that he would be very honest and sincere ‘in every word and action.’ He promised himself to be industrious ‘to whatever business [he took] in hand.’ Lastly he vowed ‘to speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a manner of truth’ and to ‘speak all the good I know of everybody.’”

As you can see there are values or resolutions we can develop from character traits.

A List of Character Traits

• Honest
• Light-hearted
• Leader
• Expert
• Brave
• Conceited
• Mischievous
• Demanding
• Thoughtful
• Keen
• Happy
• Disagreeable
• Simple
• Fancy
• Plain
• Excited
• Studious
• Inventive
• Creative
• Thrilling
• Independent
• Intelligent
• Compassionate
• Gentle
• Proud
• Wild
• Messy
• Neat
• Joyful
• Strong
• Bright
• Courageous
• Serious
• Funny
• Humorous
• Sad
• Poor
• Rich
• Tall
• Dark
• Light
• Handsome
• Pretty
• Ugly
• Selfish
• Unselfish
• Self-confident
• Respectful
• Considerate
• Imaginative
• Busy
• Patriotic
• Fun-loving
• Popular
• Successful
• Responsible
• Lazy
• Dreamer
• Helpful
• Simple-minded
• Humble
• Friendly
• Short
• Adventurous
• Hard-working
• Timid
• Shy
• Bold
• Daring
• Dainty
• Pitiful
• Cooperative
• Lovable
• Prim
• Proper
• Ambitious
• Able
• Quiet
• Curious
• Reserved
• Pleasing
• Bossy
• Witty
• Fighter
• Tireless
• Energetic
• Cheerful
• Smart
• Impulsive
• Loyal

Here are some examples of character traits turned into resolutions that you can live by. 

Ben Franklin’s Thirteen Virtues

1. Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. Industry. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

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