Do you find that who you pretend to be is not who you are? Do you lie to others, and maybe even yourself, so you feel better about yourself? Are you perhaps lacking in the character it takes to admit to who you really are? This book is a Christian look at what character is, and how to build character. It's short, but very useful. The subtitle says a lot: Choosing Consistency, Resisting Compromise. The author uses his own life and experience sometimes to illustrate where he came from and how he has grown and needs to grow, so even though he is clear on what is required of us to be people of character, he is humble in the telling.

And now perhaps a few quotes from the book to give you a taste for some of the content, and the writer's style:

Character, a wise person once said, is what we do when no one is looking.

I do not want to cave in under difficult circumstances and compromise my convictionsor give up on difficult challenges. I do not want to be a coward; I want to be courageous.

Every single day we make choices that show whether we are courageous or cowardly. We choose between the right thing and the convenient thing, sticking to a conviction or caving in for the sake of comfort, greed, or approval.

How much courage is required to stay sexually pure in a sex-crazed culture?

Sometimes we think courageous people were born without fear. In actuality, courageous people are ordinary people like you and me who began at some point to face their fears rather than running from them.

Discipline is delayed gratification.

There's no question about it: it is hard to devote yourself wholeheartedly and regularly to bringing up your children properly. But hard work during the children's early impressionable years usually forms strong character in them.

The key to practicing discipline can be described in three words--advance decision making.

Delayed gratification. Advanced decision making. Accountability. These six words define discipline and tell how to achieve it. The rewards of a disciplined life are enormous, and they are within your reach if you are willing to make the effort.

Vision is the God-given ability to see possible solutions to the everyday problems of life. Visionary people are solution oriented, not problem oriented.

Vision is a vitally important quality to cultivate, because life is really just a series of problems, challenges, trials, and disappointments. If you allow yourself to be overwhelmed by difficulties, your future is not bright.

occasionally it pays to consider the high cost of quitting. So many people live with lingering scars or lingering wounds from having quit on something or someone.

If you are at a quitting point right now, count the cost very carefully before throwing in the towel. Quitting is not glamorous. It does not develop your character. God does not call it blessed. In most cases, you will regret it the rest of your life.

God is bigger than any problem you face. The solution is to find out just what path he is going to open up so that your life can take a new course.

Quite often the truth simply must be told straight out, with no room for confusion or misinterpretation, to avoid the greater damage of living by lies.

truth telling is more important than peace keeping.

Peace at any price is a form of deception from the pit of hell.

True personal fulfillment never comes through self-gratification.

Love never seeks to get away with doing the bare minimum.

That's all the quotes for now. Peace.