- “The one recurring problem among people who have inherited money out of the blue is that most of them end up struggling to come to grips with the effects of ‘sudden wealth’. That’s because who we were the day before the inheritance was received, or lottery winnings paid out, is who we are the day after. We have the same strengths, the same flaws, the same habits. Character is not improved by the sudden receipt of money. It is revealed by it.” Beating the Midas Curse, by Perry L. Cochell and Rodney C. Zeeb, Page 44 -45
- “The trendy shops along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills sell the rarest and most expensive baubles imaginable. South Beach plastic surgeons can turn a toad into a prince (or at least a shiny-faced likeness of one). But boutiques don’t sell the character, and plastic surgery can’t remove our hidden insecurities with the touch of a scalpel. We are, each of us, the product of a lifetime of experience that no amount of cash falling on our heads from heaven can alter. The sudden receipt of ‘money without meaning’ only magnifies the personal weaknesses with which each of us lives, no matter our station in life.” Beating the Midas Curse, by Perry L. Cochell and Rodney C. Zeeb, Page 49
- “Dad used to say that hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t run up at all.”Beating the Midas Curse, by Perry L. Cochell and Rodney C. Zeeb, Page 161
- “…It is a character that tells. I do not mean simply nor chiefly bravery. Many a man has that, who may become surprised or disconcerted at a sudden change in the posture of affairs. What I mean by character is a firm seasoned substance of the soul. I mean such qualities or acquirements as intelligence, thoughtfulness, conscientiousness, rightmindedness, patience, fortitude, long-suffering and unconquerable resolve….” (Joshua Lawrence Chamberlaine, 20th Maine Monument at Gettysburg, 3 Oct. 1889)
- “There are two influences in the world today and have been from the beginning. One is an influence that is constructive, that radiates happiness and that builds character. The other influence is one that destroys, turns men into demons, tears down and discourages. We are all susceptible to both. The one comes from our Heavenly Father and the other comes from the source of evil that has been in the world from the beginning seeking to bring about the destruction of the human family. We will all be tempted; no man is free from temptation. The adversary will use every means possible to deceive us; he tried to do that with the Savior of the world without success. He has tried it on many other men who have possessed divine authority, and sometimes he finds a weak spot and the individual loses what might have been a great blessing if he had been faithful.” Manual, Teachings, Chapter 18, George Albert Smith