--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Character is a mark cut upon something…" description: "\"Character is a mark cut upon something, and this indelible mark determines the only true value of all people and all their work.\" — Orison Swett Marden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-a_2957158.png" --- # Character is a mark cut upon something, and this indelible… ![“Character is a mark cut upon something, and this indelible mark determines the only true value of all people and all their work.” quote by Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-a_2957158.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-a_2957158.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-a_2957158.png) > “Character is a mark cut upon something, and this indelible mark determines the only true value of all people and all their work.” [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Character is an enduring imprint that defines a person's true worth and the value of their work. **In simple terms:** Character determines true worth. Key Takeaway Cultivate strong character. Themes integrity self-worth legacy Mood reflective serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - leadership - career development - relationships - artistic creation Key Concepts moral philosophy personal value Questions to Reflect On - How does character influence outcomes? - Can character be measured? A Different Perspective Character alone may not guarantee success without skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-mark-4485835/) [Determine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine/) [Indelible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indelible/) [Indelible Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indelible-mark-1359928/) [Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark/) [Mark Determines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mark-determines-4485836/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [True value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-value/) [Value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Character is the indelible mark that determines the only true value of all people and all their work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-is-the-indelible-mark-that-determines-the-only-true-value/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“At the risk of sounding sentimental, I’ve always felt there are people who can leave an indelible mark on your soul, an imprint that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agent-broyles/at-the-risk-of-sounding-sentimental-i-ve-always-felt-there-are-people/) [Agent Broyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agent-broyles/) > [Witnessing injustice, in person, leaves an indelible mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/witnessing-injustice-in-person-leaves-an-indelible-mark/) [Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/) > [I want my music to leave an indelible mark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-miller/i-want-my-music-to-leave-an-indelible-mark/) [Roger Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-miller/) > [“Whether you realize it or not, you have lived many lives, and each one has left an indelible mark on your soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/whether-you-realize-it-or-not-you-have-lived-many-lives-and-each-one/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [“Like a handprint in cement An indelible mark has been left My identity has been bent At the point where your fingers pressed. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-wetch/like-a-handprint-in-cement-an-indelible-mark-has-been-left-my/) [Justin Wetch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-wetch/) > [“A true winner is not someone who has won an award, but someone who has left an indelible mark on the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/a-true-winner-is-not-someone-who-has-won-an-award-but-someone-who-has/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [Oldboy makes us feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. It's a grand, gritty, indelible experience, the sort of picture that mimics great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-zacharek/oldboy-makes-us-feel-a-part-of-something-bigger-than-ourselves-it-s-a/) [Stephanie Zacharek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-zacharek/) > [Feminist theory has left an indelible mark on my own critical—and creative—thinking . . . For me, everything I questioned about what it meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-haynes/feminist-theory-has-left-an-indelible-mark-on-my-own-critical-and/) [Todd Haynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-haynes/) > [“To recklessly excuse a failure is to believe that I’ve effectively erased it from the story of my life, when I’ve actually imprinted it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-recklessly-excuse-a-failure-is-to-believe-that-i-ve-effectively/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The shock of any trauma, I think changes your life. It's more acute in the beginning and after a little time you settle back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/the-shock-of-any-trauma-i-think-changes-your-life-it-s-more-acute-in/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [With iron and blood, it seems, and from the rich depths of the earth, John Griswold has fashioned a classic American novel, its dignified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-shacochis/with-iron-and-blood-it-seems-and-from-the-rich-depths-of-the-earth/) [Bob Shacochis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-shacochis/) > [“Do you trust me?" She could still hear him, through flesh and noise. "I love you!" she shouted. It wasn't the answer he'd expected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-metcalf/do-you-trust-me-she-could-still-hear-him-through-flesh-and-noise-i/) [Dawn Metcalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-metcalf/) > [The professionals resemble and recognize each other by virtue of the stigmata that their trade has left upon them. They are like the dog…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-professionals-resemble-and-recognize-each-other-by-virtue-of-the/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [The sky is now indelible ink, The branches reft asunder; But you and I we do not shrink; We love the lovely thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-sky-is-now-indelible-ink-the-branches-reft-asunder-but-you-and-i/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) ## More by Orison Swett Marden > [“We can so educate the will power that it will focus the thoughts upon the bright side of things, and upon objects which elevate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-can-so-educate-the-will-power-that-it-will-focus-the-thoughts-upon/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“Gulliver was a giant whom the dwarfs captured while he was napping by binding him with tiny threads. Each thread was a trifle which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/gulliver-was-a-giant-whom-the-dwarfs-captured-while-he-was-napping-by/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The hatred thought cannot live an instant in the presence of the love thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-hatred-thought-cannot-live-an-instant-in-the-presence-of-the-love/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“About as poor business as one can engage in is that of going through life with one's eyes so fixed upon what others have,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/about-as-poor-business-as-one-can-engage-in-is-that-of-going-through/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“We tend to get what we expect, and if we expect nothing we get nothing. The stream cannot rise higher than its fountainhead;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/we-tend-to-get-what-we-expect-and-if-we-expect-nothing-we-get-nothing/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There never will be a trust in excellence or a combination in superiority. As long as you can do a thing a little better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-never-will-be-a-trust-in-excellence-or-a-combination-in/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [There are powers inside of you which, if you could discover and use, would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagined you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-are-powers-inside-of-you-which-if-you-could-discover-and-use/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Most men fail, not through lack of education or agreeable personal qualities, but from lack of dogged determination, from lack of dauntless will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/most-men-fail-not-through-lack-of-education-or-agreeable-personal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Something greater than wealth, grander even than fame — that manhood, character, stand for success, and that nothing else really does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/something-greater-than-wealth-grander-even-than-fame-that-manhood/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“The universe is one great kindergarten. Everything that exists has brought with it its own peculiar lesson. The mountain teaches stability and grandeur; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-universe-is-one-great-kindergarten-everything-that-exists-has/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/if-you-want-to-enlarge-your-life-you-must-first-enlarge-your-thought/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [The moment man cuts himself off from living connection with the human race and its needs, he begins to die from poor circulation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/the-moment-man-cuts-himself-off-from-living-connection-with-the-human/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [“There is something inside of a man which protests against doing that which tends to injure another, that which does not square with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/there-is-something-inside-of-a-man-which-protests-against-doing-that/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [A good system shortens the road to the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/a-good-system-shortens-the-road-to-the-goal/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) > [Keep fear out of your child's mind, as you would keep poison out of his body; for fear is the deadliest of mental poisons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/keep-fear-out-of-your-child-s-mind-as-you-would-keep-poison-out-of/) [Orison Swett Marden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) [Explore all 396 Orison Swett Marden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Character is a mark cut upon something, and this indelible mark determines the only true value of all people and all their work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orison Swett Marden" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-and-this-indelible-mark/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-and-this-indelible-mark/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-a_2957158.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-a_2957158.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/orison-swett-marden-711_character_character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-a_2957158.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Character is a mark cut upon something, and this indelible mark determines the only true value of all people…” — Orison Swett Marden", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Orison Swett Marden", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orison-swett-marden/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Character is a mark cut upon...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-and-this-indelible-mark/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orison-swett-marden/character-is-a-mark-cut-upon-something-and-this-indelible-mark/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```