“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 …
“Real generosity is doing something for others even when you’re certain you will get nothing back, even a thank you.” – Michael Josephson
“Real generosity is doing something for others even when you’re certain you will get nothing back, even a thank you.” – Michael Josephson
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 …
There is always, always something to be thankful for. Enrich your life and the lives of others by experiencing and expressing gratitude.
There is always, always something to be thankful for. Enrich your life and the lives of others by experiencing and expressing gratitude.
“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.” – Elizabeth Bibesco; English Writer (1897-1945)
“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.” – Elizabeth Bibesco English Writer (1897-1945)
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
“Be curious; not judgmental.” – Walt Whitman
“Be curious; not judgmental.” – Walt Whitman
“Work for cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.” – Unknown
“Work for cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don’t strive to make your presence noticed, just make your absence felt.” – Unknown
Be Yourself!
It’s one thing to try to be better for someone who loves you and quite another
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!'” – Audrey Hepburn
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’” – Audrey Hepburn
“The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone, is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.” – Albert Einstein
“The one who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The one who walks alone, is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.” – Albert Einstein
We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive.
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Loving …
“What you allow, you encourage.” – Michael Josephson
“What you allow, you encourage.” – Michael Josephson
COMMENTARY 953.4: Money Is the Icing, Not the Cake
Despite the advice of preachers and philosophers warning us of the shortcomings of money, it’s hard to argue with Gertrude Stein’s observation: “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor. Rich is better.” Although money is better at reducing suffering caused by poverty and relieving anxiety caused by debt than it is at making us happy, it can buy lots of things that make …
“In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back.” – Charlie Brown
“In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back.” – Charlie Brown
“If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” – H.G. Wells
“If you fell down yesterday, stand up today.” – H.G. Wells
“Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.” – Horace Mann
“Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.” – Horace Mann
COMMENTARY: The Failure of Leadership and the Betrayal of Democratic Principles
I wrote this commentary in 2013 about how blind partisanship is a failure in leadership. I think it is applicable today as well, though the obstructionists have a different political color.
A LEADER MUST LEAD
When others count on you to lead, failure to decide is a choice – and it’s usually a bad one. “Both action and inaction have consequences, but indecisiveness has the added
You cannot strive without risk and you cannot achieve without striving. The courage to accept risk is the courage to accept life. – Michael Josephson
RISK To laugh is to risk being a fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out to another is to risk involvement. To express feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To …
FATHERS & SONS: One of the greatest tragedies in life is that fathers and sons can love each deeply without ever getting to know each other.
A father’s need to be right. A son’s need to be independent. A father’s acceptance of his son as a man can be as difficult as a son’s acceptance that his father is just a man.
RELATIONSHIPS: Fight for the relationships that are important to you.
If you can talk it out, you can work it out. Fight for the relationships that are important to you. The best relationships are never easy, at least not all the time.
It’s not what you think; IT’S WHAT YOU DO.
It’s not what you think; IT’S WHAT YOU DO. It’s not who you know, IT’S WHAT YOU KNOW. It’s not who you were; IT’S WHO YOU ARE. It’s not where you’re from; IT’S WHERE YOU’RE GOING. It’s not what you want, IT’S WHAT YOU WORK FOR. –Michael Josephson
OUTBREAK OF RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP. “All that is necessary to defeat evil is for good people to do something.”
Long ago Edmund Burke observed that “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” Passive acceptance of evil is a serious social disease but there is an antidote called “doing something” and a glimmer of hope that this anti-toxin is spreading, leading to a new aphorism: “All that is necessary to defeat evil …
3 Young Americans Prove That Character Counts Everywhere, All the Time. They are not just heroes, they are ambassadors of America and the power of character.
The solid instincts and courage of the three Americans who disarmed the gunman on the train from Amsterdam to Paris a few days ago is worthy of admiration and appreciation but the way they handled the interviews, their true humility, honesty, generosity and candor was a truly magnificent ac act of diplomacy. They showed what is best about the American …
CHARACTER: You Can Always Get Better
Everyone is ethical in their own eyes. Beware of self delusion when assessing your own character or the ethics of your organization. It’s a dangerous form of hubris to be certain that “I would never do that” or “It can’t happen here.” It’s easier to make a good organization better than a bad organization good. – Michael Josephson
CHARACTER: When it comes to character, why can’t everyone be more like me?
Everyone I talk to agrees: this country (company, agency or school) needs more people with good old-fashioned character. You know, the kind of people who place ethics above expediency and integrity over personal advantage, people you can count on to do the right thing even if it may cost them more than they want to pay. The problem is it’s …
Accountability in the Workplace (943.2)
Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time consulting with large companies concerned with strengthening their ethical culture. Although I’m sure the leaders I work with care about ethics and virtue for their own sake, I know the driving force to seek outside assistance is self-interest. The risk of reputation-damaging and resource-draining charges resulting from improper conduct is so high …