Charisma gets people to like you in five minutes. Character is what’s left after five years.

Being likeable quickly is a genuine skill, and it is not the same as being someone people can count on. Charm works on strangers because strangers only have five minutes of evidence. Time is the thing that separates the two, which is why the most impressive person in the room is not always the one you would want beside you in a bad month. Both are useful, though only one of them holds.

Watch the people who have known someone for years rather than weeks, and take their read seriously. Put your own effort into the slow half. That is the half that decides who is still around later.