What does it take to be a good man? Most of us know what our ideal is but what is the essence of the best men? Sometimes we forget what it means to be a good man, a good husband, father, lover, friend, boss or employee. We are not talking religion here. Every religion has their own admonitions and beliefs about what a good man is and should do. But generally it boils down to the same traits; kindness, generosity, love for God and family, honesty, commitment, honor.
“Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones. “
Theodore Roosevelt
“The heart of a good man is the sanctuary of God in this world. “
Suzanne Curchod
“The man who is deserving the name is the one whose thoughts and exertions are for others rather than for himself. “
Walter Scott
“He who stops being better stops being good. “
Oliver Cromwell
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one. “
Marcus Aurelius
“You spend time with your family? Good. Because a man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man. “
Don Vito Corleone
“Nothing deters a good man from doing what is honourable. “
Seneca the Younger
“The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones. “
Brandon Sanderson
“If unwilling to rise in the morning, say to thyself, ‘I awake to do the work of a man.’ “
Marcus Aurelius
“Life is too short to be little. Man is never so manly as when he feels deeply, acts boldly, and expresses himself with frankness and with fervor. “
Benjamin Disraeli
“A man may conquer a million men in battle but one who conquers himself is, indeed, the greatest of conquerors. “
Buddha
“The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. “
Thomas Paine
“Men are like steel. When they lose their temper, they lose their worth. “
Chuck Norris
“A good man will want you to shine. He wants you to be your amazing self. A good man loves to show off his happy, intelligent, amazing, powerful woman. “
Anastasia Netri
“Being a ‘good man’ is something you do, not something you are. “
Luvvie Ajayi
“A good man’s prayers will from the deepest dungeon climb heaven’s height, and bring a blessing down. “
Joanna Baillie
“It is not what he has, or even what he does which expresses the worth of a man, but what he is. “
Henri-Frederic Amiel
“One good man, one good man, it ain’t much – it’s only everything. “
Deborah Kerr
“Adversity toughens manhood, and the characteristic of the good or the great man is not that he has been exempt from the evils of life, but that he has surmounted them. “
Patrick Henry
“A good man would prefer to be defeated than to defeat injustice by evil means. “
Sallust
“There are two questions a man must ask himself: The first is ‘Where am I going?’ and the second is ‘Who will go with me?’ If you ever get these questions in the wrong order you are in trouble. “
Sam Keen
“No great man ever complains of want of opportunity. “
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“If a man’s mind becomes pure, his surroundings will also become pure. “
Buddha
“The good man is the man who, no matter how morally unworthy he has been, is moving to become better. “
John Dewey
“He who Serves his fellows is, of all his fellows, greatest. “
E. Urner Goodman
“A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker. “
Gautama Buddha
“What a man knows should find its expression in what he does. The value of superior knowledge is chiefly in that it leads to a performing manhood. “
Christian Nestell Bovee
“A strong man doesn’t have to be dominant toward a woman. He doesn’t match his strength against a woman weak with love for him. He matches it against the world. “
Marilyn Monroe
“A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job. “
John Wayne (see more inspirational John Wayne quotes)
“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. “
John F. Kennedy
“A man should be able to hear, and to bear, the worst that could be said of him. “
Saul Bellow
“It is part of a good man to do great and noble deeds, though he risk everything. “
Plutarch
“There is nothing noble being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. “
Winston Churchill
“The way of a superior man is three-fold: virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear. “
Confucius
“It is not the situation which makes the man, but the man who makes the situation. “
Frederick William Robertson
“A gentleman will open doors, pull out chairs, and carry things. Not because she’s helpless or unable, but because he wants to show her that she is valuable and worthy of respect. “
Charles J. Orlando
“The mark of a real man, is a man who can allow himself to fall deeply in love with a woman. “
C. JoyBell C.
“You have to be a man before you can be a gentleman. “
John Wayne
“Compassion for animals is intimately associated with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man. “
Arthur Schopenhauer
“Good men who exercise power are really the most fascinating of all people. “
John Keegan
“A man’s ledger does not tell what he is, or what he is worth. Count what is in man, not what is on him, if you would know what he is worth—whether rich or poor. “
Henry Ward Beecher
“Being a good husband is like being a good stand-up comic: you need ten years before you can even call yourself a beginner. “
Jerry Seinfeld
“Good men have the fewest fears. He has but one great fear who fears to do wrong; he has a thousand who has overcome it. “
Christian Nestell Bovee
“Though in the order of nature angels rank above men, yet, by scale of justice, good men are of greater value than bad angels. “
Saint Augustine
“The first step to be a good man is this: You must deeply feel the burden of the stones some else [is] carrying. “
Mehmet Murat ildan
“A man must at times be hard as nails: willing to face up to the truth about himself…But he must also be tender. No weapon will breach the armor of a woman’s resentment like tenderness. “
Elisabeth Elliot
“If there is anything that a man can do well, I say let him do it. Give him a chance. “
Abraham Lincoln
“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds. “
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“It is his nature, not his standing, that makes the good man. “
Publilius Syrus
“The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions “
Leonardo da Vinci
“A good man does not spy around for the black spots in others, but presses unswervingly on towards his mark. “
Marcus Aurelius
“The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively. “
Bob Marley
“Excellence or virtue in a man will be the disposition which renders him a good man and also which will cause him to perform his function well. “
Aristotle
“Women love us for our defects. If we have enough of them, they will forgive us everything, even our gigantic intellects. “
Oscar Wilde
“Try not to become a man of success, but rather become a man of value. “
Albert Einstein
“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. “
Samuel Johnson
“There is nothing wrong with being afraid – but there is nothing more wrong than allowing that to be your master. “
Bobby Darin
“A superior man is modest in his speech , but exceeds in his actions. “
Confucius
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“A good man is kinder to his enemy than bad men are to their friends. “
Joseph Hall
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“Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you. “
Aldous Huxley
“A good man and a wise man may at times be angry with the world, at times grieved for it; but be sure no man was ever discontented with the world who did his duty in it. “
Robert Southey
“Life’s not about hard of a hit you can give….it’s about how many you can take, and still keep moving forward. “
Sylvester Stallone in Rocky
“A good man will not lie, although it be for his profit. “
Marcus Tullius Cicero
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet keep looking. Don’t Settle. “
Steve Jobs
“The life of a good man is at the same time the most eloquent lesson of virtue and the most severe reproof of vice. “
Samuel Smiles
“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree. “
Martin Luther King Jr.
“To be a man requires that you accept everything life has to give you, beginning with your name. “
Burl Ives
“To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe “
Anatole France
“Try to live the life of the good man who is more than content with what is allocated to him. “
Marcus Aurelius
“A good man can be stupid and still be good. But a bad man must have brains. “
Maxim Gorky
“People often tell me I could be a great man. I’d rather be a good man. “
John F. Kennedy Jr.
“It is the task of a good man to help those in misfortune. “
Sophocles
“Life is strange. Every so often a good man wins. “
Frank Dane
“Living or dead, to a good man there can come no evil. “
Socrates
“Most important is be a good man. “
Pele
“The good man does not grieve that other people do not recognize his merits. His only anxiety is lest he should fail to recognize theirs. “
Confucius
“No evil can happen to a good man either in life or after death. “
Plato
“It takes a great man to be a good listener. “
Calvin Coolidge
“The life of a good man was a continual warfare with his passions. “
Samuel Richardson
“You have to have a bunch of dimensions of yourself. You have to be able to adapt in this world. You can’t be a nice guy living in a world of savages. “
Mike Tyson
