--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Character and ideals are catching. When…" description: "\"“Character and ideals are catching. When you associate with men who aspire to the highest and best, you expose yourself to the qualities that make men ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/carolyn-coats-101770_greatness_character-and-ideals-are-catching-when-y_157210.jpg" --- # Character and ideals are catching. When you associate with… ![“Character and ideals are catching. When you associate with men who aspire to the highest and best, you expose yourself to the qualities that make men great.” quote by Carolyn Coats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/carolyn-coats-101770_greatness_character-and-ideals-are-catching-when-y_157210.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/carolyn-coats-101770_greatness_character-and-ideals-are-catching-when-y_157210.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/carolyn-coats-101770_greatness_character-and-ideals-are-catching-when-y_157210.jpg) > ““Character and ideals are catching. When you associate with men who aspire to the highest and best, you expose yourself to the qualities that make men great.”” [Carolyn Coats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-coats/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Surrounding yourself with aspirational people influences your own character and ideals. **In simple terms:** Being with great people makes you great. Key Takeaway Seek out inspiring companions. Themes character influence aspiration growth excellence Mood inspirational thoughtful Type Greatness:1 Qualities:1 Men Great:0 Qualities Make:0 Character Ideals:1 Men Aspire:0 When to use this quote - networking - career development - personal growth - leadership - mentorship Key Concepts social psychology role modeling values Questions to Reflect On - Who in your circle lifts you higher? - How can you maintain your values among ambitious peers? A Different Perspective Not all high‑aspiring individuals are trustworthy or supportive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-ideals-1734058/) [Greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) [Men Aspire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-aspire-1734060/) [Men Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-great-424882/) [Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities/) [Qualities Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities-make-538983/) ## Related quotes > [“In God ’tis glory: And when men aspire, ’Tis but a spark too much of heavenly fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/in-god-tis-glory-and-when-men-aspire-tis-but-a-spark-too-much-of/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [One of our greatest assets is that all men aspire to be equal and free. This fact haunts the rulers of the Kremlin today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-dulles/one-of-our-greatest-assets-is-that-all-men-aspire-to-be-equal-and/) [Allen Dulles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-dulles/) > [“Feelings, rationale and values are the top qualities that make a person exceedingly human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/feelings-rationale-and-values-are-the-top-qualities-that-make-a/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [What are the most important qualities that make a successful entrepreneur? The ability to communicate. The ability to express your idea with certainty. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-leary/what-are-the-most-important-qualities-that-make-a-successful/) [Kevin O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-leary/) > [Sometimes you may meet people in your life that possess qualities that could make them oh so Mr. Right… but you might look for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-nathaniel-butler/sometimes-you-may-meet-people-in-your-life-that-possess-qualities/) [Eugene Nathaniel Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-nathaniel-butler/) > [“You have many qualities that make you as great a man as any other here at the Althing. In the first place, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-have-many-qualities-that-make-you-as-great-a-man-as-any-other/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The very qualities that make one a writer in the first place contribute to the block: hypersensitivity, stubbornness, insatiability, and so on. Given the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-very-qualities-that-make-one-a-writer-in-the-first-place/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“There are so many qualities that make up a human being... by the time I get through with all the things that I really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/there-are-so-many-qualities-that-make-up-a-human-being-by-the-time-i/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [The qualities we have do not make us so ridiculous as those which we affect to have. \[Fr., On n'est jamais si ridicule par…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-qualities-we-have-do-not-make-us-so-ridiculous-as-those-which-we/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [I think we need the feminine qualities of leadership, which include attention to aesthetics and the environment, nurturing, affection, intuition and the qualities that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/i-think-we-need-the-feminine-qualities-of-leadership-which-include/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [An individual is as superb as a nation when he has the qualities which make a superb nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/an-individual-is-as-superb-as-a-nation-when-he-has-the-qualities/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [We know but a few men, a great many coats and breeches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/we-know-but-a-few-men-a-great-many-coats-and-breeches/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Men are not great or small because of their material possessions. They are great or small because of what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cash-penney/men-are-not-great-or-small-because-of-their-material-possessions-they/) [James Cash Penney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cash-penney/) > [Great crises produce great men, and great deeds of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/great-crises-produce-great-men-and-great-deeds-of-courage/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Even if your company continues to thrive, your ability to survive in it depends on your capacity and willingness to innovate. Job security these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-rottenberg/even-if-your-company-continues-to-thrive-your-ability-to-survive-in/) [Linda Rottenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-rottenberg/) ## More by Carolyn Coats > [“It is not the man of great native talent who wins, but he who pushes his talent however small to its utmost capacity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-coats/it-is-not-the-man-of-great-native-talent-who-wins-but-he-who-pushes/) [Carolyn Coats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-coats/) [Explore all 2 Carolyn Coats quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-coats/) ## More Greatness quotes > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Every man who is high up likes to think that he has done it all himself, and the wife smiles and lets it go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-man-who-is-high-up-likes-to-think-that-he-has-done-it-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straghtforward men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/what-we-shall-need-is-not-geniuses-or-cynics-or-misanthropes-or/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“You are destiny for greatness. Your future is in the hands of the Lord.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/you-are-destiny-for-greatness-your-future-is-in-the-hands-of-the-lord/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office-seeking. Men of good character and impulses are betrayed by it into all sorts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/nothing-brings-out-the-lower-traits-of-human-nature-like-office/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Every man remembers his childhood as a kind of mythical age, just as every nation's childhood is its mythical age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-leopardi/every-man-remembers-his-childhood-as-a-kind-of-mythical-age-just-as/) [Giacomo Leopardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-leopardi/) > [Greatness is not guarding yourself from people. Greatness is being accepted by the people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/greatness-is-not-guarding-yourself-from-people-greatness-is-being/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [The superior man is distressed by his want (lack) of ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-man-is-distressed-by-his-want-lack-of-ability/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Great men don't 'move to the center' - great men move the center!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/great-men-don-t-move-to-the-center-great-men-move-the-center/) [L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Men want a challenge, but they want a challenge they can win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-gaskell/men-want-a-challenge-but-they-want-a-challenge-they-can-win/) [Whitney Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-gaskell/) [Browse all 7,631 Greatness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greatness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Character and ideals are catching. 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