Top 100 Michael Josephson Quotes
#1. Necessity is not merely the father of invention; it is the father of courage.
Michael Josephson
#2. It is not enough that we express our gratitude, we must experience it. We truly honor the must think about our blessings, separately and cumulatively It is not enough to count our blessings and express our gratitude if we don't truly feel grateful.
Michael Josephson
#3. It isn't the absence of conscience or values that prevents us from being all we should be, it is simply the lack of moral courage.
Michael Josephson
#4. The opposite of success is not failure. Unsuccessful efforts are not failures unless they so discourage you that you abandon further efforts to achieve your goal. Even then, the venture or effort may be a failure but you are not. Failure is an event not a character trait.
Michael Josephson
#5. There is within you, waiting to be called, a great source of power called courage. Call its name and it will give you the strength to confront challenges despite fear and to continue and the heart to continue with bold confidence despite the pain of caused by tragedy.
Michael Josephson
#6. Lincoln described character is a tree and reputation as its shadow. The tree will always be what it is but the shadow we see depends on where we stand and the angle of the light.
Michael Josephson
#7. America is a song that sounds the best when we all sing together - at least for a while.
Michael Josephson
#8. Character - We describe the character of a person in reference to moral judgments about the worthiness of a person. Thus, to have a strong, great or honorable character is to be a person of merit, worthy of admiration and honor.
Michael Josephson
#10. A person of character knows the difference between right and wrong and always tries to do the right thing for the right reason.
Michael Josephson
#11. One problem with gratitude is that it competes with the sense of pride, self-reliance and accomplishment we have. We want to think what we have is the result of our efforts rather than the gifts, good turns and opportunities provided us by others.
Michael Josephson
#12. Be thankful for quality competitors who push you to your limit.
Michael Josephson
#13. Ordinary people, even weak people, can do extraordinary things through temporary courage generated by a situation. But the person of character does not need the situation to generate his courage. It is a part of his being and a standard approach to all life's challenges.
Michael Josephson
#14. It is easier to be grateful for the things we have than to the people who have helped us get them.
Michael Josephson
#15. A person is said to have good character when their habits, dispositions and conduct reflect a deep commitment to ethical virtues and moral principles.
Michael Josephson
#16. I am not and never will be perfect. I am not always as honest, respectful, responsible, fair or as kind as I should be. All I can do is what I should do: strive every day, with every decision to be the best person I can be. I don't expect to be perfect but I know I can be better.
Michael Josephson
#17. Expressed gratitude encourages further giving; ingratitude drains vitality out of the spirit of generosity.
Michael Josephson
#18. Neither heredity nor environment determine character. But whether we give in to or overcome the negative messages we are exposed to as we wend our way through life is often determined by whether our parents, teachers, mentors and friends exposed us to good examples and morally inspiring ideas.
Michael Josephson
#19. Don't ask whether it's going to be easy. Ask whether it's going to be worth it.
Michael Josephson
#20. If you pay too much attention to your reputation, you could lose your character.
Michael Josephson
#21. Ethics is not about the way things are, it is about the way things ought to be.
Michael Josephson
#22. Ethics is not for wimps. It's not easy being a good person. That's why it's such a lofty goal and an admirable achievement
Michael Josephson
#23. The surest way to escape anxiety and defeat despair is action. Do, don't dwell.
Michael Josephson
#25. It's actually easier to truly become a person of good character than to persuade others we are what we are not.
Michael Josephson
#26. Your life is your ship and you are the captain. Choose your course, take the wheel firmly and get on your way.
Michael Josephson
#27. It's easier to make a good person better than to make a bad person good.
Michael Josephson
#28. The key to a better life: Complain less, appreciate more. Whine less, laugh more. Talk less, listen more. Want less, give more. Hate less, love more. Scold less, praise more. Fear less, hope more.
Michael Josephson
#29. We judge our own character by our best intentions and most noble acts, but we will be judged by our last worst act.
Michael Josephson
#31. The real test of character is whether you will do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.
Michael Josephson
#32. A caring heart that listens is often more valued than an intelligent mind that talks.
Michael Josephson
#34. The kind of courage that is strengthened or created by concern about what others will think is really a form of fear. Fear of disapproval or dishonor becoming stronger than fear of injury or even death.
Michael Josephson
#35. There is no objective criteria for either success or failure. People who achieve their goals are successful, those who don't are not.
Michael Josephson
#36. Personal integrity is important, not because it gets us what we want, but because it helps us be what we want.
Michael Josephson
#37. It's a great joy but no test of love or commitment to take your son to a ball game. You really prove your credentials as a good dad when you are willing to take your daughter shopping - more than once.
Michael Josephson
#38. On a practical level, there are two vital steps to ethical behavior:
knowing what is right and doing it.
Michael Josephson
#39. Character is made up of core moral principles called the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring, fairness and citizenship. Each of these virtues are independently important but together they provide the foundation for a worthy life.
Michael Josephson
#40. Integrity, respect, compassion, and fairness become obstacles to people who think winning is everything
Michael Josephson
#41. Good intentions are simply not enough. Our character is defined and our lives are determined not by what we want, say or think, but by what we do.
Michael Josephson
#42. Our obligation to others and a gift to ourselves is to acknowledge and authentically express genuine appreciation for courtesies, caring and concern others have given us.
Michael Josephson
#43. What will matter is not your success but your significance ...
Michael Josephson
#45. People of character do the right thing, not because they think it will change the world but because they refuse to be changed by the world.
Michael Josephson
#46. The key to success is effort. The bigger the goal, the greater the effort.
Michael Josephson
#47. Happiness is the peace of mind that comes from feeling that I am living a worthy life in the company of people I love and in the service of something bigger than myself.
Michael Josephson
#48. What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew but how many will feel a lasting loss when you are gone. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by who and for what?
Michael Josephson
#49. Neither the intensity of your feelings nor the certainty of your convictions is any assurance that you are right.
Michael Josephson
#50. There's no such thing as business ethics; there's just ethics. And ethics makes no concessions for the real or imagined necessities of making a profit.
Michael Josephson
#51. Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters.
Michael Josephson
#52. No word makes me happier than the word "daddy" when it's directed to me.
Michael Josephson
#53. Success in anything important rarely comes without the Five Horsemen of Success: planning, effort, positivity, perseverance and resilience.
Michael Josephson
#54. Beware of people who constantly assert their integrity and honor. People of character don't have to point it out.
Michael Josephson
#55. Character is doing the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay. When it comes to character, you dont have to be sick to get better. Its easier for a good person to get better than for a bad person to get good.
Michael Josephson
#56. You are the captain of your own ship; don't let anyone else take the wheel.
Michael Josephson
#58. When was the last time you wrote a thank you note? When was the last time you went beyond a mechanical "thank you" to express authentic gratitude? We can enrich the lives of others and ourselves by making it a habit to express genuine appreciation for what others have done for us.
Michael Josephson
#61. Yes and no are very powerful words. Mean them when you say them. Respect them when you hear them.
Michael Josephson
#62. Our character is revealed by how we treat people who cannot help us or hurt us.
Michael Josephson
#63. I am grateful for all those people who said no. It is because of them that I did it myself. Practice an attitude of gratitude. You can either be miserable dwelling on the troubles you have or grateful for the ones you don't have. Your troubles don't care but it makes a huge difference in your life.
Michael Josephson
#64. The only force that can sustain true and consistent courage is some form of spiritual belief that values like honor, duty, loyalty and integrity above the status, power, money and even security.
Michael Josephson
#65. Gratitude is most treasured when it is unexpected. When we expect, even demand gratitude, we treat it simply as payment due for some service we rendered and we squeeze any good feeling out of it.
Michael Josephson
#66. Ethics doesn't require us to ignore our self-interests or demand a life of self-sacrifice. It requires that we know the difference between what we want and what we should do
Michael Josephson
#67. Character refers to dispositions and habits that determine the way that person normally responds to desires, fears, challenges, opportunities, failures and successes.
Michael Josephson
#69. Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.
Michael Josephson
#71. It is much more difficult to know what is fair than what is unfair
Michael Josephson
#72. Whatever you do, make a difference. Earn the right to look back at something and say, 'I did that.'
Michael Josephson
#73. Creating a child takes no love or skill; being a parent requires lots of both.
Michael Josephson
#74. Don't ask whether it is going to be easy. Ask whether it is worth it.
Michael Josephson
#75. No leader or organization can achieve breakout growth until it treats, "we've always done it this way" as an opportunity to think anew rather than as a reason to stop thinking. Keep in mind, tradition should be a guide, not a jailer.
Michael Josephson
#76. Nothing about character is hereditary. Everyone, regardless of social background, financial status, race, or sex, enters the world with an equal opportunity to become a person of great or petty character.
Michael Josephson
#77. When you compete with someone as good or better than you, you may not always win, but you never lose.
Michael Josephson
#78. A certain formula for an unhappy life is pursue someone else's definition of success. Until you define your own goals and purposes your life is not your own and there can be no sense of fulfillment no matter how much you achieve.
Michael Josephson
#79. Don't let others define you. Don't let the past confine you. Take charge of your life with confidence and determination and there are no limits on what you can do or be.
Michael Josephson
#80. Not everything that is good for you is fun and not everything that is fun is good for you.
Michael Josephson
#82. The choices you make in your life will make your life. Choose wisely.
Michael Josephson
#83. Sometimes the dues we pay to maintain integrity are pretty high, but the ultimate cost of moral compromise is so much higher.
Michael Josephson
#85. Experimenting with drugs is like target practice where your head is the bull's-eye.
Michael Josephson
#86. Pretty isn't beauty. Pretty is how you look; Beauty is who you are. Pretty is in the face and body; Beauty is in the heart, mind and soul. Pretty fades; Beauty grows.
Michael Josephson
#87. Character determines how we lead our lives, how we deal with life's unearned fortunes and misfortunes and how we make choices that determine how those fortunes and misfortunes work to make us what we become.
Michael Josephson
#88. Our expectation of the gratitude of others for what we've done for them is sometimes exaggerated because of our deep desire for appreciation and approval. When our good work or good deeds go unrewarded by hoped for praise, we feel like failures so we treat those who denied us our due as betrayers.
Michael Josephson
#89. Go out there and do your part to change the world. You may not change all you had hoped but the world will be better for the caring demonstrated by your effort.
Michael Josephson
#90. Failure is much easier to handle if you just think of it as feedback to guide your next effort.
Michael Josephson
#91. Christmas has a certain universal appeal that gives it meaning well beyond a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but Christians have a special duty to experience its sacred and profound spiritual significance and non-Christians have a duty to treat the day with special respect.
Michael Josephson
#93. Gratitude should be felt and experienced sincerely, expressed generously and received graciously.
Michael Josephson
#94. The best way to show true gratitude for all our blessings is to be genuinely happy.
Michael Josephson
#95. To the barefoot man, happiness is a pair of shoes. To the man with old shoes, it's a pair of new shoes. To the man with new shoes, it's stylish shoes. And of course, the fellow with no feet would be happy to be barefoot. Measure your life by what you have not by what you don't.
Michael Josephson
#96. Discipline yourself to start each day identifying something to be grateful about. The world opens to those who approach it with a grateful heart.
Michael Josephson
#97. Gratitude is not a payment for a kindness but another form of gift.
Michael Josephson
#98. Character is just another term for "good person." A person of character lives a worthy life guided by moral principles. A person of character is a good parent, a good friend, a good employee and a good citizen.
Michael Josephson
#99. Someone who lies for you will also lie to you. The occasional benefit your business may gain from a successful deception or concealment is always outweighed by the encouragement it provides to those willing to risk trust for success.
Michael Josephson
#100. Physical courage to a person of honour is easier and less risky than acts that could subject him to embarrassment or humiliation or a diminished career or reputation. These things he must live with. To die for honor is an easier thought to bear.
Michael Josephson
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