Character Development:

My talk on "CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT":
billmountjoy@yahoo.com

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

#1 What do I wish for in the education of my children?

#2 (VINCE LOMBARDI) “Character is the direct result of mental attitude. You can’t dream yourself into character. CHARACTER RATHER THAN EDUCATION IS MAN’S GREATEST NEED AND MAN’S GREATEST SAFEGUARD. I BELIEVE THAT CHARACTER IS HIGHER THAN INTELLECT and the difference between men is certainly in energy, in invincible determination, in the strong will; but leadership is in sacrifice, in self-denial, in love and fearlessness and in humility and the disciplined will. This is the distinction between great and little men”!

#3 (JOHN WOODEN) “Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Character is what you really are; reputation is merely what you are perceived to be”!

#4 (PAUL BROWN) Character = “the eternal verities”. “The “eternal verities” will always prevail. Such things as truth, honesty, character, and loyalty will never change no matter how people and times change.” (loyalty is a two-way street; if you “stab someone in the back” – you have “sown the seeds of discord”).

#5 (PAUL BROWN) Example of workers in a bank: “you can teach people to add and divide, but you can’t teach them to be honest”! (loyalty MUST be inherent).

#6 (PAUL BROWN) “ME FIRST MENTALITY” is endemic to the philosophy of higher education today and has affected the quality of people in NFL. Selfish, disloyal people can’t sublimate themselves for the overall good of the team. They are like a “CANCER”.

#7 (VINCE LOMBARDI) “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will”!

#8 IS character a product of upbringing, or later experiences in life?
A) (BEAR BRYANT) “When we have a good team, I know it’s because we have boys that come from good mommas and papas”. (“Football doesn’t teach character as much as it reveals it”)!
B) (WOODY HAYES) “I recruit young men from home where the FATHER is a strong authority figure”. (“I don’t teach character, I get rid of the people who don’t have it”).
C) THESE LESSONS BEGIN AT HOME BUT MUST BE CONTINUED AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS!

#9 CHARACTER EDUCATION COURSE PROPOSED CONTAINS:
A) Trustworthiness; B) Caring; C) Responsibility; D) Courage; E) Citizenship;
F) Respect; G) Perseverance; H) Fairness; I) Self-discipline.

#10 MAJOR PROBLEM IN EDUCATION TODAY = Teachers are given the responsibility, but rarely the authority – to do a good job (& quite often – no support)!

#11 WHAT I PRAY THE END RESULT WILL BE: (VINCE LOMBARDI) “Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work”! (“It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men”).

#12 IN CONCLUSION: I pray that my children exemplify the following attitudes:
A) (VINCE LOMBARDI) “It’s not whether you get knocked down , it’s whether you get up”!
B) (GEORGE C. MARSHALL) “Never make even the slightest compromise between right and wrong”!
C) (WINSTON CHURCHILL) “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense”!!!

Lao Tzu > Quote:  “Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”


SEE ATTACHMENT = we give to our players (below):