Michael Josephson Quotes

What a person says and does in ordinary moments when when no one is looking reveals more about true character than grand actions taken while in the spotlight. Our true character is revealed by normal, consistent, everyday attitudes and behavior, not by self-conscious words or deeds or rare acts of moral courage.

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

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

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.

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.

Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don't forget to enjoy the journey.

Honesty doesn't always pay, but dishonesty always costs.

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

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.

When you compete with someone as good or better than you, you may not always win, but you never lose.

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.

Success in anything important rarely comes without the Five Horsemen of Success: planning, effort, positivity, perseverance and resilience.

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.

A person of character seeks true happiness in living a life of purpose and meaning, placing a higher value on significance than success.

Hire for character, train for skills.

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.

You don't have to be sick to get better.

The way we treat people we think can't help or hurt us - like housekeepers, waiters, and secretaries - tells more about our character than how we treat people we think are important. How we behave when we think no one is looking or when we don't think we will get caught more accurately portrays our character than what we say or do in service of our reputations.

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.

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

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.

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.

The surest way to escape anxiety and defeat despair is action. Do, don't dwell.

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

If you are the boss it's wise to remember that there are lots of things you don't know and lots of people who hope you won't find out.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Character is ethics in action.

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

People who fight fire with fire end up with only the ashes of their own integrity.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Being a father is the most important role I will ever play and if I don't do this well, no other thing I do really matters.

The key to success is effort. The bigger the goal, the greater the effort.

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.

Creating a child takes no love or skill; being a parent requires lots of both.

The ethical person should do more then he is required to do, and less than he is allowed to.