Character Counts
Character, like physique, must be earned. You can’t buy it, borrow it, steal it, or cheat your way to it. Character is the result of consistent positive action over time. It’s harder to build the later in life you begin. And it makes you appealing to everyone around you.
Learning the hard way
In the mid 1980s, at an off-campus Yale party, JR Moehringer learned a painful lesson in character.
Before Moehringer wrote his New York Times bestselling memoir, The Tender Bar, or ghost-wrote Andre Agassi and Phil Knight’s books, he was a broke college student struggling to find his way. He felt unnatural at Yale, like a coach passenger who was upgraded to first class but didn’t know how to use the hot towel.
To earn some beer money, Moehringer started a laundry business. At fifty cents a shirt, the trust fund kids kept him busy. One night, Moehringer was behind on the laundry, but he wanted to go out with friends. The laundry would have to wait. Tearing through the piles, he found a stylish button down from one of his customers, ironed it, put it on, and headed into the crisp Connecticut evening.
After many rounds of gin, the night led Moehringer to a house party where he saw a classmate and customer named Bayard. As the two men talked, Bayard glanced down at the cuff of Moehringer’s shirt – the cuff adorned with Bayard’s monogram.
“Is that my shirt?” Bayard asked.
As Moehringer wrote in his memoir,
“I started to explain, but Bayard stopped me. With a half-smile of pity on his face, he took a step sideways and walked on past me, delivering a swift and forceful lesson in class.”
How many times would ego win in that situation?
How many college sophomores would make a scene?
How many adults would do the same?
Probably the majority. Class and character are like the taste of a fine wine touching your tongue – so satisfying because the experience is so rare.
Being a Bayard in a world of buffoons is a bigger benefit than having the bases loaded with no outs and your clean-up batter at the plate. Good character is a superpower in almost any situation, and it complements accomplishments like no other quality.
Character of Action
The Wright brothers spent years and thousands of their dollars to build a flying machine. Almost no one cared. The public didn’t care. The newspapers didn’t care. The U.S. government didn’t care. Finally, the brothers received interest from the British government.
On a regular day in 1904, Lieutenant Colonel John Edward Capper, an officer for the British Army, arrived in Dayton, Ohio at the request of the British government. He was there to see the Wrights’ flying machine in action. Capper even requested a proposal for sale of the machine.
After being snubbed by nearly everyone, you might think the brothers jumped at his request. But in an exceptional display of character, they favored ethics over profit. The brothers refused to sell their flyer to another government without first offering it to the United States.
After politely postponing a proposal for the British government, they drafted a proposal to the US Secretary of War, William Howard Taft. Their proposal was rejected with today’s equivalent of an auto-reply email. After being turned down, Wilbur wrote,
"It has for years been our business practice to sell to those who wished to buy, instead of trying to force goods upon people who did not want them. If the American Government has decided to spend no more money on flying machines till their practical use has been demonstrated in actual service abroad, we are sorry but we cannot reasonably object. They are the judges."
The brothers went on to entertain offers from both the British and French governments - but only after putting principles above profits.
Character of Restraint
Orville and Wilbur were known for displaying character through actions, but character is built as much on what you don’t do.
The Wright brothers weren’t the only people pursuing flight. They were actually two of the least qualified men to even attempt it. They hadn’t gone to college. They had no technical training. They’d never collaborated with more experienced people. They weren’t well connected. They didn’t have benefactors. And they weren’t independently wealthy.
Among their competitors were Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Sir Hiram Maxim (inventor of the machine gun), and Samuel Pierpont Langley (head of the Smithsonian).
Langley was the most notable of the competitors. His team built and tested flying machines with plenty of public fanfare. He received $70,000 of funding from the US War Department, the Smithsonian, and private investors. He tested his machines in Washington D.C. in front of huge crowds and enthusiastic reporters.
While the brothers toiled in relative obscurity on the coast of Carolina and the prairies of Dayton, Langley received all the money and attention. It would be hard to blame Wilbur and Orville if they had a chip on their shoulders or harbored ill will. But that wasn’t the case.
As David McCullough wrote in his book, The Wright Brothers,
"Neither brother was ever to make critical or belittling comments about Langley. Rather, they expressed respect and gratitude for the part he had played in their efforts."
An amazing display of character in the face of competition and unfair treatment.
History ultimately remembers the Wright brothers as the pioneers of aviation. As for Langley - you’ve likely never heard his name - he never achieved a successful flight. The Wright Brothers earned their place in history through persistence, intelligence, dedication, and resilience. But their impeccable character elevated them from historical figures to role models worthy of our admiration.
Character may not cause you to accomplish great feats, but it will complement those feats like a hot cup of coffee complements a good book on a crisp fall morning. Character elevates you in the minds of those who matter. And the admiration of the right people is more rewarding than trophies on a shelf.
