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What Will Matter - poem by Michael Josephson
This blog gets its name from Michael's inspirational poem.
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WORTH SEEING: Poster – The end for the caterpillar is the beginning of a butterfly. With or without your consent, everything changes. Go with it! Make the best of it! And always remember, the best is yet to come. -Michael Josephson

by Michael Josephson on February 3, 2012

in Quotes, Observations, Worth Your Time

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OBSERVATION: Some people brighten a room when they enter it; others when they leave. Which are you?

February 3, 2012 Quotes, Observations

Attitudes are contagious. Are yours worth catching? Attitudes have a sort of gravity — cheerful people tend to bring out good thoughts and good feelings in people; they bring warmth and light with them. They light candles of enthusiasm. Sad, morose and cynical people do the opposite. They bring out the negative feelings in us; [...]

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WORTH SEEING: Poster – There are always obstacles and hazards on the road to achievement and fulfillment . They might make us fearful and slow us down, but fear and adversity can stop us only if we surrender to them. Michael Josephson

February 3, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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QUOTE: People who don’t believe in you are right only if you believe them.- Michael Josephson

February 3, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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The Illusion of Success 761.1

February 3, 2012 Commentaries
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A common management strategy to spur achievement is to set aggressive performance objectives that, like the mechanical rabbits that pace racing greyhounds, push employees to maximum effort. Using “stretch goals” can be successful, but unreasonably high performance goals often spawn dishonesty and irresponsibility. Believing that “it’s a matter of survival,” a disturbing number of employees conclude [...]

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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – 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. — Michael Josephson

WORTH SEEING: Poster – 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. — Michael Josephson

February 2, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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COMMENTARY 760.5: There’s No Such Thing As Business Ethics

February 2, 2012 Commentaries
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Some years ago, a senior executive at a Fortune 100 company objected when I asserted that corporations have an ethical, as well as a legal obligation to keep promises and honor their contracts. He said that the decision to live up to or ignore contractual commitments is a business decision, not an ethical one. The [...]

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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 760.4 Surviving Grief and Tragedy – The Spark Within

COMMENTARY 760.4 Surviving Grief and Tragedy – The Spark Within

February 1, 2012 Commentaries
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Here’s the bad news: Virtue isn’t a golden ticket to a pain-free life. Bad things happen to good people as often as they happen to bad people. It seems unfair, but in the natural order of the world, suffering is random. To expect otherwise is to sentence oneself to despondency, disillusionment, bitterness, and anger. Here’s the good [...]

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QUOTE: Ralph Waldo Emerson urged us to find the spark within: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

February 1, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – If you are not loved for who you truly are, you are not truly loved. — Michael Josephson

WORTH SEEING: Poster – If you are not loved for who you truly are, you are not truly loved. — Michael Josephson

February 1, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – It’s one thing to try to be better for someone who loves you and quite another to try to be something different so someone will love you. — Michael Josephson

WORTH SEEING: Poster – It’s one thing to try to be better for someone who loves you and quite another to try to be something different so someone will love you. — Michael Josephson

February 1, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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COMMENTARY 760.3 Do Bad People Think They’re Good?

January 31, 2012 Commentaries
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When she was six, my daughter Carissa asked, “Do dumb people think they’re smart?” Answering her own question, she added, “They probably do because they’re dumb.” This made me think: “Do bad people think they’re good?” I wouldn’t be surprised if most do. In fact, I think all of us are ethical in our own eyes. The [...]

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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – Do more than belong: participate. / Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. / Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. / Do more than dream: work. — William Arthur Ward

WORTH SEEING: Poster – Do more than belong: participate. / Do more than care: help. Do more than believe: practice. / Do more than be fair: be kind. Do more than forgive: forget. / Do more than dream: work. — William Arthur Ward

January 31, 2012 Odds & Ends
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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – Before you speak, listen. / Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. / Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. / Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. / Before you retire, save. Before you die, give. / — William Arthur Ward

WORTH SEEING: Poster – Before you speak, listen. / Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. / Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. / Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. / Before you retire, save. Before you die, give. / — William Arthur Ward

January 31, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 760.2 Business Ethics: Can Corporate Ethics Programs Do Any Good?

COMMENTARY 760.2 Business Ethics: Can Corporate Ethics Programs Do Any Good?

January 30, 2012 Commentaries
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Lots of companies are focusing serious attention on the issues of ethics and values – and lots of people think that’s a waste of time.  The skeptics argue that you can’t teach ethics to adults. By the time they’re in the workplace, they’re either ethical or not. It’s a plausible argument, but it misses the [...]

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Thumbnail image for QUOTE: There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

QUOTE: There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

January 28, 2012 Quotes, Observations

REMINDER:  If you want to feel good, watch: This TED presentation by Louie Schwartzberg The gratitude dance The follow-up to the gratitude dance I think you will be glad you did.

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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” — Tom Robbins.

WORTH SEEING: Poster – “It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” — Tom Robbins.

January 27, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY 760.1: Understanding Gratitude: Gifts from the Heart are Gifts of the Heart

COMMENTARY 760.1: Understanding Gratitude: Gifts from the Heart are Gifts of the Heart

January 27, 2012 Commentaries
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According to legend, a young man roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher. After a four-day journey, he presented the water to the old man, who took [...]

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WORTH WATCHING: Gratitude Dance — It will make you smile.

January 27, 2012 Quotes, Observations

I posted this back in November, but it’s so relevant I’m posting it again.

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WORTH WATCHING: This is a video you should watch once a week — really! It introduces a perspective on gratitude that can enrich your life. TED presentation by Louie Schwartzberg – Gratitude and Beauty

January 27, 2012 Odds & Ends
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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. — William Arthur Ward

WORTH SEEING: Poster – Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. — William Arthur Ward

January 27, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster- Notes to the Boss

WORTH SEEING: Poster- Notes to the Boss

January 26, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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COMMENTARY: Notes to the Boss: Ten Truths for the Person in Charge 759.5

January 26, 2012 Commentaries
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Based on years of managing several organizations including the Josephson Institute of Ethics and extensive consultation with large and small organizations I’ve distilled much of what I believe and advocate into “Ten Truths.” i hope you find it helpful and that you share it liberally. (A poster version can be found at http://whatwillmatter.com/2012/01/worth-seeing-poster-notes-to-the-boss/). Everyone rationalizes; including you. (We’re [...]

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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – For most of my life, my disposition toward logic and rational thinking led me to guard against and discount emotions, my own and others. I believed that feelings obstruct good decision making. I’ve come to realize this was not wise. Sometimes our hearts know what our minds haven’t discovered and sometimes following our feelings is a smarter strategy than trying to figure everything out. Non-rationally motivated decisions are not necessarily irrational or unwise. — Michael Josephson

WORTH SEEING: Poster – For most of my life, my disposition toward logic and rational thinking led me to guard against and discount emotions, my own and others. I believed that feelings obstruct good decision making. I’ve come to realize this was not wise. Sometimes our hearts know what our minds haven’t discovered and sometimes following our feelings is a smarter strategy than trying to figure everything out. Non-rationally motivated decisions are not necessarily irrational or unwise. — Michael Josephson

January 25, 2012 Quotes, Observations

   

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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY: How an Elephant Chose My Daughter’s College: Emotions are Stronger Than Logic 759.4

COMMENTARY: How an Elephant Chose My Daughter’s College: Emotions are Stronger Than Logic 759.4

January 25, 2012 Commentaries
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I’ve already introduced you to Jonathan Haidt’s metaphor of our rational self as a Rider sitting atop an Elephant, the larger, more powerful emotional self.  Sometimes the Rider is the pilot directing the Elephant, but often the Elephant is in control, making the Rider a passenger. The metaphor reveals important truths about human nature. First, [...]

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QUOTE: When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. — Victor Frankl

January 25, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for WORTH SEEING: Poster – “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” The loving words of encouragement by a maid/nanny to the little girl constantly berated by her mother in the movie “The Help.”

WORTH SEEING: Poster – “You is kind. You is smart. You is important.” The loving words of encouragement by a maid/nanny to the little girl constantly berated by her mother in the movie “The Help.”

January 24, 2012 Quotes, Observations
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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY: Hurrah for Hollywood! This Year’s Crop is Rich in Films that Inform, Move and Inspire 759.3

COMMENTARY: Hurrah for Hollywood! This Year’s Crop is Rich in Films that Inform, Move and Inspire 759.3

January 24, 2012 Caring, Compassion
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I know I’m out of my depth as a movie critic, but I am venturing into this new territory because there’s so much criticism about Hollywood that we don’t always give ample credit for the substantial number of truly wonderful movies that teach, move, and inspire, as well as entertain. And from my narrow perspective as [...]

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Thumbnail image for COMMENTARY: Good Ethics is More Than Good Business 759.2

COMMENTARY: Good Ethics is More Than Good Business 759.2

January 23, 2012 Commentaries
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Ethics is a popular topic at corporate meetings today because managers correctly see the benefits. Good things tend to happen to companies that consistently do the right thing, and bad things tend to happen to those that even occasionally do the wrong thing. Being ethical is playing the odds. Ethical companies have a competitive edge [...]

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QUOTE: Good decisions are good decisions. — Michael Josephson

January 23, 2012 Quotes, Observations

They are good in a practical sense — that is, effective — and they are good in a moral sense — that is, ethical.

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