Great Character Quotes

• Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.

  Anne Frank

  Inspirational, Growing Up, Women

  FaceBook post by Anne Frank from Nov 29, 2014

  67 Copy quote

  Show source

• Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.

  Anne Frank

  Inspirational, Hope, Believe

  "Voices Carry" by Alice Hoffman, www.huffingtonpost.com. March 22, 2011.

  39 Copy quote

  Show source
• 

  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

  Inspirational, Success, Basketball

  John Wooden, Jack Tobin, Bill Walton (2004). “They Call Me Coach”, McGraw Hill Professional

  1674 Copy quote

  Show source

• Talent is nurtured in solitude; character is formed in the stormy billows of the world.

  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

  Character, Literature, World

  "Torquato Tasso". Play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Act 1, Scene 2, 66, 1790.

  19 Copy quote

  Show source
• 

  When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.

  Billy Graham

  Health, Character, Losing

  Twitter post from May 25, 2015

  188 Copy quote

  Show source

• Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.

  J. C. Watts

  Integrity, Character, Thinking

  101 Copy quote

• I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.

  George Washington

  Trust, Hope, Truth

  George Washington, Stephen Lucas (1999). “The Quotable George Washington: The Wisdom of an American Patriot”, p.46, Rowman & Littlefield

  126 Copy quote

  Show source

• Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

  Helen Keller

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  Helen Keller (1957). “The Open Door”, Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday

  359 Copy quote

  Show source
• 

  I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Dream, Kings, Children

  Speech at Civil Rights March,Washington, D.C., 28 Aug. 1963

  314 Copy quote

  Show source

• Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.

  Bruce Lee

  Wisdom, Respect, Knowledge

  Bruce Lee (2015). “Bruce Lee Striking Thoughts: Bruce Lee's Wisdom for Daily Living”, p.46, Tuttle Publishing

  48 Copy quote

  Show source

• Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

  Abraham Lincoln

  Inspirational, Success, Honesty

  Abraham Lincoln (1982). “Abraham Lincoln, wisdom & wit”, Peter Pauper Pr

  109 Copy quote

  Show source

• The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

  Thomas B. Macaulay

  Inspirational, Inspiring, Integrity

  66 Copy quote

• Character is much easier kept than recovered.

  Thomas Paine

  Life, Integrity, War

  Thomas Paine (1819). “The American Crisis”, p.190

  81 Copy quote

  Show source

• Character isn't something you were born with and can't change, like your fingerprints. It's something you weren't born with and must take responsibility for forming.

  Jim Rohn

  Inspirational, Character, Responsibility

  FaceBook post by Jim Rohn from Feb 02, 2016

  104 Copy quote

  Show source
• 

  People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built.

  Eleanor Roosevelt

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  97 Copy quote

• Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.

  Theodore Roosevelt

  Running, Perseverance, Stay Strong

  Theodore Roosevelt (2015). “Theodore Roosevelt on Bravery: Lessons from the Most Courageous Leader of the Twentieth Century”, p.44, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

  12 Copy quote

  Show source

• Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.

  Henry Ford

  Inspirational, Life, Education

  44 Copy quote
• 

  Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all.

  Sam Ewing

  Motivational, Success, Attitude

  120 Copy quote

• The law of harvest is to reap more than you sow. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit and you reap a character. Sow a character and you reap a destiny.

  James Allen

  Inspirational, Birthday, Character

  41 Copy quote

• Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have - life itself.

  Walter Anderson

  Moving On, Thankful, Gratitude

  Walter Anderson (1997). “The Confidence Course: Seven Steps to Self-Fulfillment”, Harpercollins

  75 Copy quote

  Show source

• Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet.

  Helen Keller

  Strength, Being Strong, Encouragement

  Helen Keller (1957). “The Open Door”, Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday

  32 Copy quote

  Show source

• Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking.

  J. C. Watts

  Inspirational, Life, Honesty

  33 Copy quote

• Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.

  Phillips Brooks

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  35 Copy quote

• Don't try to be different. Just be good. To be good is different enough.

  Arthur Freed

  Integrity, Character, Hypocrisy

  54 Copy quote

• Character is simply habit long continued.

  Plutarch

  Perseverance, Character, Long

  14 Copy quote