How would you respond to this question?

11 years ago I was teaching a leadership session in Boston and we worked, as we always do, on how to build a character worth trusting. As we got into the specifics, one man didn’t want to do any of the work. I asked him why.

He said, “I’m 57 years old. If I don’t know who I am by now, what the hell am I doing?”

I said, “Ok. That makes sense. Who are you, exactly?”

I’ll never forget the look in his eyes or the silence in the room. He couldn’t answer the question. Not to me or his colleagues. More importantly he was unsure of the answer to himself.

Character requires constant attention and continuous improvement. Choose it with intention. Live it with discipline. Be accountable to it with courage.

Do the work.