Michael Josephson Quotations

Its a sign of troubled times when the concept of pressure becomes an acceptable excuse for ethical shortcuts and moral shortcomings. Pressures are just temptations in disguise and its never been acceptable to give in to temptation. Ethics is about the way things ought to be, not about the way things are. When it comes to ethics, motive is very important. A person of character does the right thing for the right reason. Compliance is about what we must do; ethics is about what we should do. Ethical people often do more than the law requires and less than it allows. The area of discretion between the legal must and the moral should tests our character. Noble talk and framed ethics statements are no substitute for principled conduct. The test is doing the right thing.

I'm happy that they approved it. It's great for those employees and former employees that participated in the lawsuit.

Success or failure can only be measured in terms of a particular objective. The success of a person whose life objective is money or status will look very different than the success of one who sets out to make a positive difference in the world.

Don't confuse fun with fulfillment, or pleasure with happiness.

A caring heart that listens is often more valued than an intelligent mind that talks.

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.

A good coach improves your game. A great coach improves your life.

Success comes in cans. Failures comes in can'ts.

To separate the purpose of a business from the purpose of people who are in the business is, I think, not a good thing.

Surround our children with a message of honor

Good character is the single most important attribute of a successful and worthy life.

If you pay too much attention to your reputation, you could lose your character.

Hire for character, train for skills.

Gratitude is not a payment for a kindness but another form of gift.

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.

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.

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.

Sometimes the dues we pay to maintain integrity are pretty high, but the ultimate cost of moral compromise is so much higher.

A person of character knows the difference between right and wrong and always tries to do the right thing for the right reason.

Beware of people who constantly assert their integrity and honor. People of character don't have to point it out.

There is no adversity that cannot be overcome by good character.

Gratefulness is a payment everyone can afford.

Discipline yourself to start each day identifying something to be grateful about. The world opens to those who approach it with a grateful heart.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Integrity, respect, compassion, and fairness become obstacles to people who think winning is everything

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.

How many times do you get to lie before you are a liar?

When it comes to building character, wealth, good looks, athletic ability and even a high IQ are more likely to be impediments than advantages.

A person is said to have good character when their habits, dispositions and conduct reflect a deep commitment to ethical virtues and moral principles.

It's easier to make a good person better than to make a bad person good.

It's actually easier to truly become a person of good character than to persuade others we are what we are not.

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.

People who don't believe in you are right only if you believe they are.

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.

America is a song that sounds the best when we all sing together - at least for a while.

Leadership is not a matter of authority, it is a matter of influence. A true leader teaches others to understand more, motivates them to be more and inspires them to become more.

One key to success is demanding more than adequacy, never settling for good enough and always doing a little bit more.

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.

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.

Our character is revealed by how we treat people who cannot help us or hurt us.

Ethics is doing more than the law requires and less than the law allows.

Your life is your ship and you are the captain. Choose your course, take the wheel firmly and get on your way.

There is no objective criteria for either success or failure. People who achieve their goals are successful, those who don't are not.

It is better to be unsuccessful pursuing a significant goal that being successful attaining an insignificant one.

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.

We judge our own character by our best intentions and most noble acts, but we will be judged by our last worst act.

There's a hole in the moral ozone and it's getting bigger.

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.

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.

Failure is much easier to handle if you just think of it as feedback to guide your next effort.

An ounce of action is worth a ton of good intentions.

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.

There are two sure ways to fail: never get started and quit before you succeed. Many companies promote the language of risk-taking and innovation but are so concerned with short term profit goals that their culture discourages innovation (trying new things) and abandons promising projects too soon. It shouldn't require exceptional moral courage to try new things and stick with them.

Character is ethics in action.

Necessity is not merely the father of invention; it is the father of courage.

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.

Successful or not, acts of physical courage always bring honor. It is the smaller forms of valor - standing up for principle at the risk of social disapproval, economic loss or injury to career - that require the greatest moral will power. Since there is usually little upside to winning and a significant and often lasting downside to losing, moral courage often requires as much character as physical bravery.

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.

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.

Character is the moral strength to do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.

Don't sacrifice a good life for a good time.

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.

Not everything that is good for you is fun and not everything that is fun is good for you.

Neither the intensity of your feelings nor the certainty of your convictions is any assurance that you are right.

What will matter in the end is not what you bought but what you built; not what you got but what you gave; not what you learned by what you taught. What will matter is not your competence but your character.

You are the captain of your own ship; don't let anyone else take the wheel.

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.

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.

Many things in life are not fair but all things should be.

It is easier to be grateful for the things we have than to the people who have helped us get them.

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.

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.

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.

Character refers to dispositions and habits that determine the way that person normally responds to desires, fears, challenges, opportunities, failures and successes.

The best way to show true gratitude for all our blessings is to be genuinely happy.

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on the many things we have to be thankful for, not so we feel guilty about what we have that others don't, but to be genuinely grateful for our blessings.

Gratitude should be felt and experienced sincerely, expressed generously and received graciously.

Experimenting with drugs is like target practice where your head is the bull's-eye.

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.

Good character is more important than wealth, good looks, popularity and even education. These things do not guarantee happiness and often they become obstacles to developing good character.

Character is both formed and revealed by how one deals with everyday situations as well as extraordinary pressures and temptations. Like a well-made tower, character is built stone by stone, decision by decision.

It is much more difficult to know what is fair than what is unfair

What you allow you encourage.

Yes and no are very powerful words. Mean them when you say them. Respect them when you hear them.

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.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

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.

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.

Gratitude is a feeling not statement. It is so easy to say we are grateful that I often don't stop to really, really take the time to experience gratitude. Saying the words doesn't mean a thing without the feeling and it takes a moment of genuine reflection to summon that feeling. This Thanksgiving don't shortchange yourself with hollow words.

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.

If we keep treating our most important values as meaningless relics, that's exactly what they'll become.

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.

At home, be grateful. At work, be appreciative. Gratitude is a gift we give ourselves. Appreciation is a gift we give to others.

If we don't invest now in building character into children we will surely invest more tomorrow in trying to repair adults.

I think Samuel Johnson had it right when he observed that hope is itself a species of happiness. So if we want to be happy it only makes sense to discipline ourselves to choose our attitudes, to think positively and to be hopeful.

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.

We all have three characters: the one we really have, the one we try to convince the world we have, and the one we think we have.