I enjoy reading the biographies of great people. I would define a great person as someone who became well known because of a significant accomplishment that came as a result of character. A book I am reading now is about Norman Schwarzkopf, titled “Life Lessons from the Bear”. In the book each chapter deals with a character trait that Schwarzkopf endorsed, taught and modeled. Some of those traits are courage, integrity, love, perseverance, leadership, discernment, and reliability. A question I have is how does a 67 year old man acquire these character traits and grow stronger in them. It is a fact that the older one gets the more set in his ways he becomes, and that is not just in preferences. I would like to shift into high gear in the area of character acquisition and growth in my life. It is for sure more difficult than learning how to sing. Much of what is needed is basic character traits as a foundation for more. One of those foundation stones would be humility in the sense of being willing to recognize that there are huge deficits that need to be worked on. It is easy to get comfortable with who we are and get locked into that character state because of the natural desire to protect ourselves and to create a sense of worth that is not true. Intense scrutiny of our own character weaknesses without paralyzing ourselves with a sense of failure is tricky, but I think very doable with perseverance. I am determined to grow rapidly with the short time left to do that. I don’t want to miss a day growing because I am reluctant to face the discomfort that self examination brings. Help me Lord to pursue being more and more like You.