Character is Destiny: The Value of Personal Ethics in Everyday Life

The book we give each of our children when they leave for college.

Each and every day, we are faced with scores of choices that, in subtle yet discernible ways, can either enrich or impoverish our personal character. The choices we make, and the manner in which we make them, illuminate the paths our lives will take.

An inescapable truth lies at the heart of this simple yet profound book: The quality of our lives is not determined by the happenstance of genetics or by the influence of environment. On the contrary, the intrinsic value of the lives we lead reflects the strength of a single trait: our personal character. 

By cultivating the habits of virtue, we will strengthen not only ourselves but, more importantly, our families and our world. This book shows how to overcome the most formidable obstacle to an ethical life: ourselves. 

Russell W. Gough, a nationally prominent writer and speaker, describes the steps to personal growth–from examining our lives to taking responsibility for our actions, from discarding selfishness to embracing the greater good, from becoming a better role model for our loved ones to finding the courage to do the right thing naturally and consistently.