What’s Your Character Worth?

Would you walk away from a guaranteed $12M one-year contract…simply because you felt you were not contributing? You were not worth it? You were not earning your share? You already had enough?

That’s exactly what Kansas City Royals starting pitcher, Gil Meche, did today. (Click here to read the full story)

Today and over the weekend, we will be exposed to dozens of articles (like this one?), reports, and blogs on Gil’s counter-intutitive decision. We’ll listen to amazed sports commentators as they wax poetic on how Gil epitomizes the lost art of integrity in society and sports.

This story will overwhelm our attention for a few days, then quickly fade away by early next week as all such stories do.

But one thing will never fade away.

Gil Meche’s personal character!

Your character is your “Internal GPS” – your Internal Guiding Principles System. (Yeah, I like this phrase too – I’ll write much more about this in the future).

Listen to Gill’s character in his own words quoted from the article linked above:

“When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it,” Meche told the paper from his temporary home in Lafayette, La.“Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.

“This isn’t about being a hero – that’s not even close to what it’s about,” Meche said. “It’s just me getting back to a point in my life where I’m comfortable. Making that amount of money from a team that’s already given me over $40 million for my life and for my kids, it just wasn’t the right thing to do.”

Character has three essential parts. Wisdom is to know and understand the right thing to do. Integrity is to do the right thing, to walk the talk. Self-discipline is to keep doing the right thing even when it is hard. All three are essential to being a person of high character.

Gil Meche is indeed a man of character. Before he faced this tempting situation (take an easy $12M for nothing), his internal GPS told him what was the right thing to do. He did it. Even at the loss of $12M dollars.

How many of us would make the same decision?

Nothing in your life is more critical than your character. Your character is your legacy.