Making Resolutions of Principle

The tradition of making New Year’s Resolutions reflects one the very best qualities of human nature – the ability to reflect on and assess our lives in terms of the goals we set for ourselves and the principles we believe in. It’s still not too late to formulate a self-improvement plan to make our outer lives and inner selves better …

Those We Love The Best

THOSE WE LOVE THE BEST “There’s one sad truth in life I’ve found While journeying east and west – The only folks we really wound Are those we love the best. We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest, And deal full many a thoughtless blow To those who love us best.” ― Ella Wheeler Wilcox

CHRISTMAS & CHRISTMAS SPIRIT: Greatest Quotations on Christmas and the Christmas Spirit – compiled by Michael Josephson

We are glad you visited us to find this selection quotes on mothers and motherhood. The Josephson Institute is a nonprofit organization devoted to increasing the ethical quality of individual and personal decision making.   CHRISTMAS GIFT SUGGESTIONS: To your children: patience and a good example. To your parents: respect and gratitude. To your spouse:  understanding and a commitment to have more fun. To …

Do The Right Thing

People of character do the right thing even if no one else does, not because they think it will change the world but because they refuse to be changed by the world. – Michael Josephson

POSTER: BE A PERSON OF CHARACTER .

BE A PERSON OF CHARACTER BE HONEST even if it costs more than you want to pay. TREAT PEOPLE WITH RESPECT even if they don’t seem to deserve it . FULFILL YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES even when you could dodge them. CARE ABOUT PEOPLE even if you don’t know them. BE FAIR even when you could take more than your share. PLAY …

SCHOOL’S OUT…AND WE HAVE NO IDEA WHEN THEY WILL OPEN AGAIN.

SCHOOL’S OUT… …AND WE HAVE NO IDEA WHEN THEY WILL OPEN AGAIN.    Sadly, I think the LA superintendent gave terrorists their greatest victory since 9/11. It’s likely terrorists had nothing to do with the threat that caused the superintendent to instill a new level of fear in more than a half million students and the millions of adults who love them. The …

7 Truths About Effective Communication by Michael Josephson

Earn Trust – be honest; don’t exaggerate, distort or deceive. Really Listen – you can’t change another’s opinion until you truly understand it. Be Open – if you want to change another’s mind, show yours is open; be willing to make the first concession. Show Respect for the opinion you want to change and the person who owns it – …

A Personal Note from Michael

As I celebrate my 73rd revolution around the sun (December 10) I am immensely grateful, not only to still be alive, but because the Josephson Institute and its CHARACTER COUNTS!  program have emerged from our most challenging year ever poised to reach new levels of impact on the character of our kids and the ethical quality of the country. There …

Would Be leaders Duped Into Advancing the Terrorist Agenda.

It seems that the same propaganda and terror strategies used by ISIS to induce thousands of men and woman to join their cause has duped a handful of scared and shallow-thinking would-be American leaders to unwittingly join their jihad against western civilization. Provoked into broad anti-Muslim rhetoric, these new recruits advance the terrorists’ agenda by stoking fears (based on grossly …

Terrorists Do Us Harm by Killing People But They Win Only If They Kill Our Ideals. – by  Michael Josephson 

“America is great because America is good. If America ever stops being good she will stop being great.” – Alexis De Tocqueville ————– Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal, if you are following the news I hope you share my dismay and concern about fear-mongering demagogic rhetoric which has been embraced by millions of Americans desperately seeking to feel safe. …

“I asked for strength and I got wind and rain to make me strong. I asked for calm seas and I got storms to give me confidence. I asked for security and I got fears to face to give me courage. I asked to be taken care of and I got challenges to make me self-reliant. I asked for success and I was given opportunities for significance. I asked for wealth and I got the rewards of service. I received nothing I wanted but everything I needed.” – Michael Josephson (adopted)

“I asked for strength and I got wind and rain to make me strong. I asked for calm seas and I got storms to give me confidence. I asked for security and I got fears to face to give me courage. I asked to be taken care of and I got challenges to make me self-reliant. I asked for success …

Gratitude Unlocks the Fullness of Life

  “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of your past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for …

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.” – Stephen Grellet Quaker clergyman (1773-1855)

I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer it, for I shall not pass this way again.” – Stephen Grellet Quaker clergyman (1773-1855)

“Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner

“Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it.” – Rabbi Harold Kushner