Developing Values that Shape Our Lives and Relationships

Reflecting on his own book, Awakening the Quieter Virtues, and on The Road to Character by David Brooks, Spencer discusses the importance of developing values that shape our lives and relationships. Brooks, a New York Times columnist, best-selling author and commentator, spoke at Westmont’s President’s Breakfast Friday, March 4, 2016.

In preparation for that talk, Spencer considers Brooks’ distinction between “resume virtues,” achieving wealth, fame and status, and “eulogy virtues,” which include qualities such as kindness, bravery, honesty and faithfulness.

In Awakening the Quieter Virtues, Spencer devotes chapters to overlooked qualities such as innocence, authenticity, contentment and generosity. He believes these quieter virtues get shouted down by our noisy, media-saturated culture.