Have you ever known someone who was born into a life of privilege, having been offered every opportunity you can imagine on a silver platter, yet for whatever reason they blew it never becoming the person of character or success they could have been? I’m sure you have witnessed such tragedy. We all have. On the other hand, have you known someone from a disadvantaged background who in spite of all kinds of adversities managed to grow into a person of great character attaining extraordinary success? Of course you have. Perhaps you are one.

We are all born into circumstances – rich, poor, or middle-class. But circumstances do not create character; they merely reveal it. So what forms character? First and foremost we would probably all agree it is the influence of another person, a role model who has demonstrated good character and served as a teacher or mentor. And certainly some are more fortunate than others to be exposed to such positive influencers, regardless which side of the tracks they come from. Yet, even then some blow it while others take the right path. What makes the difference?

Ultimately the formation of character is a matter of choice, and we all have the freedom to choose how we respond to life’s circumstances. Someone once suggested that if freedom is defined as “the opportunity to make decisions”, then character is “the ability to make right decisions”. If that is true, then one of the quickest ways to reveal the true character of a person is to give him the freedom to choose his own path.

Neither is character a once-upon-a-time choice; rather, it is a choice we must make each and every day in each and every circumstance. Unfortunately some blow it. Others, though, seem to have developed the ability to take the right path in almost every circumstance. They are people we would say have great character.

While we are not always in control of our circumstances, we are in control of the choices we make within those circumstances. And it is those choices that reveal our character.

It is not insignificant that we celebrate birthdays – although I must admit I have reached the age where I’d rather not be reminded of mine. But seriously, birthdays are important to celebrate because they do serve as a reminder – a reminder that each of us is a child of God born into this world for a purpose. We celebrate not only to honor the person being celebrated, but also to celebrate ourselves and the gift of life we have been given.

In the story of the Passover God instructed the Israelites, who at the time were living as slaves in the land of Egypt, to slaughter a lamb and to then smear some of its blood on the doorframes of their homes. By doing so they would avoid the plague that would kill all the first-borns within the households of Egypt. “The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” (Exodus 12:13)

Of equal importance to the Passover itself God also commanded that “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord – a lasting ordinance.” (Exodus 12:14) God’s instruction to institute the feast of the Passover as an annual celebration event was for the purpose of reminding people from then on of His mercy toward them and their freedom from Egyptian bondage.

Just last week we celebrated the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., surely one of the most significant Americans in our nation’s history. Next month we celebrate the births of our Presidents, and in July we will celebrate the birth of our nation. Why do we set aside these days as festive events? We do so to commemorate so the generations to come will not forget those remarkable people and events that made and sustained our nation’s freedom.

It is important that we never forget the significance of our individual lives, or those who have gone before, those who sacrificed on behalf of the rest of us, and especially the God who created life. Celebrations, festivals, and traditions ensure that we will never forget. They serve as reminders.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17

The former CEO of my former corporate employer, a large Wall Street investment firm, used to say that “people will always be in need of the advice and counsel of a fellow human being.” When he first said this it was exactly what everyone needed to hear, for it was in the late 1980’s just when the internet was gaining traction in revolutionizing all sorts of commerce, creating fear among those in almost every industry that the new electronic age would soon replace humans altogether. The financial services industry being at the leading edge of that fear needed to hear our CEO’s inspiring reminder more than ever, that human beings will always need other human beings.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Looking back it is amazing how prophetic were the words of our former CEO, for as much as the internet has become a fast and reliable universal resource it has yet to replace the need for human interaction and expertise. Take medicine, for example, there is all kinds of information about diseases, ailments and conditions, but when we are ill we still need a doctor, do we not? The same can be said for almost any profession. People will always need the advice and counsel of a fellow human being.

“There is a mental sharpness that comes from being around good people,” I read recently, “and a meeting of minds can help people see their ideas with new clarity, refine them, and shape them into brilliant insights.” Those words, in fact, are practically the mantra of executive coaching, my current profession, a profession created specifically for the purpose of one person sharpening another. Ironically coaching as a profession didn’t even exist prior to the evolution of the internet. Could it be that the overwhelming volume of information available at the mere click of a mouse actually increased awareness for the need of human interaction rather than suppressing it?

Two people who bring their thoughts and ideas together can help each other become sharper – just as iron sharpens iron. “People will always be in need of the advice and counsel of a fellow human being.” Technology will never replace that.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.” John 15:16

“You just do,” he answered. . . . It was the occasion of my brother and sister-in-law’s fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration when one of their grandsons asked his grandfather how it is “you manage to stay married for fifty years.” My brother just shrugged his shoulders. “You just do,” he said. It was a deep and profound answer, though; for the covenant they had made with each other and with God many years before to love, honor, and cherish means that “you just do” whatever it takes every single day to make that happen.

Several years ago I realized that in order to have a clear understanding of the purpose of my life I needed to have a personal mission statement, a sentence or phrase that clearly defined my life’s direction. It was not an easy project to find those exact words. In fact, it took almost two years of reading, journaling, praying and meditating to articulate exactly what my life’s mission really is. Then one day I read John 15:16 and the light went off. That little verse summed it up for me simply and clearly, “to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last”, so that every action I am about to take, every decision I am about to make, and every sentence I am about to state can be measured by this: will it bear fruit – fruit that will last? If it does it is probably the right thing, if not I should reconsider.

When my brother Richard and his lovely bride Janice said “I do” to God and each other fifty years ago (now fifty-one) their vows became the mission statement of their marriage. From then on every action, decision, and word could be measured against that mission statement. If what either of them was about to say, do, or decide lived out their vow to love, honor, and cherish then it was probably the right thing, if not they should reconsider. It is the secret to how they have managed to stay married all these years. They just do.

Do you have a clearly defined mission by which to measure your every word, action, and decision? Because once you do, then “you just do.”

Our little three-month-old granddaughter, Corrina, recently started rolling over. She’s so proud of herself! She grunts and struggles and gets frustrated, until all of a sudden she’s belly to backside. Ah, what an accomplishment and feeling of satisfaction! And in that moment she sees the world from a whole new perspective. For Corrina it is just the beginning of a lifelong process of learning.

Then there’s her Grandpa who the week just before Christmas found himself grumbling about spending two nights in front of a computer screen attending webinar classes, desperately trying to complete the continuing education requirements needed by year’s end to renew my coaching credential. (Had I procrastinated perhaps?) I grumbled and grunted and got frustrated expecting to be bored to tears not to mention all the other things I needed to do this time of year. Just get it over with I kept thinking, wondering how I would manage to stay awake. Then I got into it, and much to my surprise I found the whole subject matter to be quite interesting, the instructor inspiring and knowledgeable, and the class lively and interactive. By the end of the first evening I could hardly wait for the next one. Like Corrina rolling from belly to backside I began to see the world from a whole new perspective.

I should know better of course, after all I am a professional coach whose job, among other things, is to encourage others to be enthusiastic lifetime learners. Like most coaches I know we are all perpetual and persistent students, passionate about learning and dedicated to inspiring others to do the same. I think I must have briefly forgotten that.

Henry Ford once said that “anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning is young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.”

Seems to me Grandpa has a lot to learn from his youngest grandchild. I think my new year’s resolution should be to be more like her no matter how much grunting and struggling and frustration it takes – to keep on learning.