Michael Josephson
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.Collection: Character
Character is ethics in action.Collection: Character
Character is ethical and moral strength. People of good character have the moral awareness and strength to know the good, love the good and do the good.Collection: Good Love
In life, we all get scored on every day. The wonderful thing is, if we do our best with courage and tenacity, we might be outscored but we can never be beaten.Collection: Courage
Necessity is not merely the father of invention; it is the father of courage.Collection: Father
There's some wisdom and no moral deficiency to one who holds courage in reserve and uses it as a last resort. Before we take the kind of risks that require courage, we ought to exhaust other less risky alternatives.Collection: Risk
Expressed gratitude encourages further giving; ingratitude drains vitality out of the spirit of generosity.Collection: Gratitude
Values are good things only if they are good values.Collection: Integrity
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.Collection: Courage
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.Collection: Teacher
Creating a child takes no love or skill; being a parent requires lots of both.Collection: Children
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.Collection: Happy Life
Some jobs require a more consistent challenge to moral courage than others. Politics is one. In such a setting terrifically good men and women will still be found wanting occasionally. No one does the right thing all the time. It would be more generous and fair to consider their batting average than to judge them only by their last worst act.Collection: Jobs
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 doCollection: Sacrifice
Never underestimate the power of temptation to disarm your better senses. Throughout the ages good people surrendered their honor for the empty promise that wealth or power would bring fulfillment and their dignity, good name and self-esteem for the passing pleasures of sex and drugs.Collection: Sex
When it comes to building character, wealth, good looks, athletic ability and even a high IQ are more likely to be impediments than advantages.Collection: Character
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.Collection: Character
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.Collection: Character
Experimenting with drugs is like target practice where your head is the bull's-eye.Collection: Humor
If you pay too much attention to your reputation, you could lose your character.Collection: Character
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.Collection: Gratitude
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.Collection: Loyalty
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?Collection: Character
It can be frustrating and even frightening to observe the success which sometimes comes to outlaws and rogues who seem to refute notions of universal justice. Every time we see a villain enjoying the fruits of dishonorable acts we find ourselves doubting the value of character and the validity of the virtues we have been taught. Thus, it takes character to believe in character, but that belief is always rewarded, often by material success, but always by the esteem it earns from those who matter.Collection: Believe
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.Collection: Pain
A person of character knows the difference between right and wrong and always tries to do the right thing for the right reason.Collection: Character
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.Collection: Opportunity
You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter.Collection: Kindness
It is much more difficult to know what is fair than what is unfairCollection: Justice
You can't escape moral judgment through a legal loop hole.Collection: Moral
If one insists on calling all unsuccessful efforts failures the meaning of failure is really quite benign. When trying anything new or taking on any challenge, unsuccessful efforts are an essential aspect of skill building.Collection: Skills
No one is born with good character; it's not a hereditary trait. And it isn't determined by a single noble act. Character is established by conscientious adherence to moral values, not by lofty rhetoric or good intentions.Collection: Character
It is better to be unsuccessful pursuing a significant goal that being successful attaining an insignificant one.Collection: Successful
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.Collection: Inspirational
One of the greatest things about daughters is how they adored you when they were little; how they rushed into your arms with electric delight and demanded that you watch everything they do and listen to everything they say. Those memories will help you through less joyous times when their adoration is replaced by embarrassment or annoyance and they don't want you to see what they are doing or hear what they are saying. And yet, you will adore your daughter every day of her life, hoping to be valued again, but realizing how fortunate you were even if you only get what you already got.Collection: Daughter
At home, be grateful. At work, be appreciative. Gratitude is a gift we give ourselves. Appreciation is a gift we give to others.Collection: Gratitude
No word makes me happier than the word "daddy" when it's directed to me.Collection: Dad
Using the phrase business ethics might imply that the ethical rules and expectations are somehow different in business than in other contexts. There really is no such thing as business ethics. There is just ethics and the challenge for people in business and every other walk in life to acknowledge and live up to basic moral principles like honesty, respect, responsibility, fairness and caring.Collection: Honesty
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.Collection: Character
Never do anything for another with the expectation of gratitude. The expectation itself turns the gift into an exchange and suggests a debt is owed you.Collection: Gratitude
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.Collection: Daughter
What you allow you encourage.Collection: Leadership
Yes and no are very powerful words. Mean them when you say them. Respect them when you hear them.Collection: Powerful
Authentic gratitude is much more rare and precious than expressions of gratitude which are often empty courtesies or simply tactical ploys to encourage further gifts or kindnesses.Collection: Gratitude
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.Collection: Sex
Don't confuse fun with fulfillment, or pleasure with happiness.Collection: Fun
How many times do you get to lie before you are a liar?Collection: Trust
What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.Collection: Matter
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.Collection: Gratitude