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

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

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.

Personal integrity is important, not because it gets us what we want, but because it helps us be what we want.

Character is ethics in action.

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.

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.