Welcome to the Inspirational Living podcast.

Today's podcast has been edited and adapted from The Rhythm of Life by Charles Brody Patterson, published in 1915.

If there is any one question of more importance than another in life,

it is certainly that of character building,

because character, or the lack of it,

makes or unmakes the man and woman.

We have the power within ourselves to feel, to think, and to act.

The ideal person is the individual who is thoroughly rounded out,

who has used to the full the attributes of soul,

the faculties of the mind and the physical senses,

and who through their use has developed soul and mind and body to their fullest extent.

When we say that a person has a strong character, we mean that they are living life

in a strong true way, that they have strength of mind and purpose, and that they are able

to carry both into their daily work.

Such an individual commands the respect of their neighbors and coworkers, but the weak,

characterless person, the one who is negative in all their thinking and doing, is neither

respected nor trusted by those around them.

It is character that counts in life.

The person who is independent and self-reliant, who thinks clearly and who acts from conviction, brings a far greater

influence to bear upon life than could any number of weak, negative-minded people.

If character then is so necessary to life, it should be a part of wisdom not only to desire it, but to work for it,

because character, like everything else, has to be worked out.

...