Do What You Must

.
."A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality." Winston S. Churchill

I had dinner recently with an old boss and a new friend. It's kind of funny how that works in life. The line that was necessary when you work for, or report to, someone vanishes once you are away from the shared arena and day to day cauldron of expectations. It's replaced by anecdotes, memories and respect. We shared a steak and a beer and great conversation about a new venture he was starting with a couple of former Navy Seals. The discussion turned to character traits, business lessons learned and what was at the core of things and people in life. John smiled when he spoke of his children and we shared pictures. Then we spoke about the "core" of people. We spoke about character and what we wanted for our children and he asked me what I treasure in people. I responded "The Core". Some people have a core that is like tempered steel. It is a self defined set of principles that they have determined will drive their life. It's an honor thing. An uncompromising, unwavering no matter what thing. Some people define their core by what others believe are unreasonable expectations and those are the people I respect. They hold unreasonable expectations of themselves and those they come to respect. Circumstance and conditions are irrelevant to their core. Churchill said "A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality." Each of us determines what we "must" do. Each of us determines our core and how strong and unrelenting that core will be. What earns respect?

A well defined and tempered steel core.