Michael Josephson Quotes

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New year will bring new opportunities.

What will matter is not your success but your significance.

When someone is nasty or treats you poorly, don't take it personally. It says nothing about you, but a lot about them.

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

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

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

Whatever you do, make a difference. Earn the right to look back at something and say, 'I did that.'

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

The choices you make in your life will make your life. Choose wisely.

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

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

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.

Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.

Everything you do sends a message about who you are and what you value.

You can't escape moral judgment through a legal loop hole.

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.

Don't ask whether it is going to be easy. Ask whether it is worth it.

Ethics is not about the way things are, it is about the way things ought to be.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

No word makes me happier than the word "daddy" when it's directed to me.

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

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.

Values are good things only if they are good values.

Be thankful for quality competitors who push you to your limit.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.