Personal Note: I just learned that a very dear friend, Ron Kinnamon, one of the original board members of the Josephson Institute and a founding father of CHARACTER COUNTS! passed away on July 30. Ron was not only a tremendous personal friend and friend of the Institute he was also one of the finest men I’ve had the fortune to …
SUCCESS AND FAILURE MADE SIMPLE by Michael Josephson
SUCCESS AND FAILURE MADE SIMPLE What is Success? Few questions have been asked more often by more people. The concept of success and the concept often thought to be its opposite, failure are central to the human quest for meaning and for happiness. Most of us very much want to be successful in our professions, successful in our …
Greatest Quotations Ever on Success and Failure
Compiled by Michael Josephson. — The Nature of Success — Failure is an event, never a person. – William D. Brown The only real failure in life is not to be true
A Right To Do
How often do we hear someone defend against an action of wrongdoing by the claim that what they did was within the law? This defense may work n court but not at the gates of heaven. One has a right to do what is legal, that does not mean it is right to do it. The domain of ethics is …
OBSERVATION: Our U.S. negotiators probably got the best deal they could but given the stakes in the currently proposed Iran agreement, no deal is better than a bad deal.
I don’t usually state political opinions on this blog but I have and will when i think an issue is particularly important and there seems to be an interest in my opinion. Thus, I am “coming out” on my view of the current Iran agreement proposal knowing it will anger or disappoint some of you. I hope that doesn’t destroy …
Life is Like A Coin
Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish. But you can only spend it once.
Greatest Quotations on Perseverance and Persistence
— compiled by Michael Josephson You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it. ~ Maya Angelou It’s always too soon to quit. Norman Vincent Peale If at first …
COMMENTARY: The Ethics of Gay Rights and Same-Sex Marriage
Over the years, my views on the issue of gay rights and the legalization of same-sex marriage have evolved considerably. I’ve moved from benign tolerance and acceptance to
WORTH SEEING: Amazing Vintage Patriotic Photos. Take a close look at these amazing photos of patriotic images consisting of nine to thirty thousands of soldiers taken in 1917 during WWI by Arthur Mole. Setting the photos up, dressing the men in the right colors and organizing them to stay put was incredible. But how did he get high enough to take the picture? There’s no Photoshop here.!
Click to see more images and click on images to see detail
12 TRUTHS ABOUT LYING
1. Honesty may not always pay, but lying always costs. 2. Trust is a tower, built stone by stone, lies take stones from the bottom. 3. There is no security in secrecy; every undiscovered lie is a live landmine.
When credibility is important (and it always is), there are no little lies
No one should take any joy in seeing the undoing of a man’s life by the bad judgment of telling what seems to be little lies. Most people, even good people, lie at least occasionally. Sometimes, as in Brian Williams case, it is a seemingly harmless embellishment or exaggeration of a story (“I caught a fish THIS BIG”). Sometimes it’s …
How Six Years as President Changed Abraham Lincoln (physically)
(1) 1859 (the year of campaigning) (2) 1863 (3) 1865 – last portrait
Best Ever Favorite Quotes by Abraham Lincoln
Whatever you are, be a good one. – Let’s have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it. – Most folks are
Dartmouth accuses 64 of cheating in sports ethics class
The cheating involved some students using a handheld device known as a clicker to answer questions for classmates who were absent. Many of the students were athletes and have been suspended for a semester, according to the newspaper. The incident is the latest in a string of academic scandals to hit selective colleges. Harvard University investigated 125 students in 2012 for …
3 Things I Hated About Superbowl XLIX
1. I did not see a second of it as I was en route from L.A to Des Moines thru Dallas. But I read the entire play by play when I got to my room allowing me the second thing to hate: self-righteous, after the fact, critics of a play call. 2. Yes, I hate the parade of second-guessers labeling …
The Glory of Sports and the Taint of Over-Competitive Coaches Who Cheat
Here is an excerpt from a commentary by Michael Arace, a sports columnist in the The Columbus Dispatch • Sunday February 1, 2015: “Meet Michael Josephson, former law professor, whose odd work it is to lecture government bureaucracies, corporations, military leaders and nonprofit organizations about building a sustainable ethical culture. He also has dedicated the past 20 years building up …
COMMENTARY .2: How Much Are You Willing to Pay for Money?
Disdain for money is a common theme among moralists and philosophers. But money’s not the problem. It’s what people do to get it and what they do with it when they get it. In Fiddler on the Roof, a poor man sings of his daydreams of the wonderful life he’d have if he were a rich man. And surely it …
COMMENTARY 916.1: INFLATEGATE – Cheating in the NFL – to care or not to care, that is the question.
So, are you worked up about the boiling controversy over under-inflated footballs? Do you care that there seems to be cheating in the NFL. Big deal or trivial? It’s all is a matter of perspective. For example, several months ago ago, it was confirmed that the U.S., in the pursuit of terrorist information, has and probably still does engage in what …
POSTER & QUOTE: Gandhi’s 7 Social Sins (English and Spanish)
The Seven Social Sins (Aqui esta en castellano) Wealth without work – Riqueza sin trabajo Pleasure without conscience – Placer sin conciencia. Knowledge without character – Conocimientos sin carácter Commerce without morality – Negocios sin moral Science without humanity – Ciencia sin amor a la humanidad Worship without sacrifice – Religiosidad sin sacrificio Politics without principle – Política sin principios …
Twelve Vital Questions That Must Be Asked About the Use of Brutal interrogation Techniques
Though the issue of the efficacy (effectiveness) of the brutal interrogation techniques is a pertinent factor, it is not the most critical or controlling factor in determining whether such methods should have been used and whether they should be used in the future. 1. Does our position reveal anything about our personal and our nation’s fundamental character and values? 2.If it …
POSTER & QUOTE: Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was …
Does the Public Have a Right to Know?
WHAT DO YOU THINK? The Senate Committee Report on interrogation techniques used by the CIA raises huge questions about our values not only about the methods and whether they were effective and ethical but about generating such a report in the first place and making it public. Many people argue that publishing the report, like the Abu Graib photos of …
The Efficacy and Morality of Brutal Interrogations and Use of Deadly Force
PAY ATTENTION! TAKE A POSITION! SPEAK UP! I believe we are at a moral crossroad. And we must think carefully before we decide which road to take. Since out founding the values of America were embodies in grand and lofty documents including the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, especially the Preamble and the Bill of Rights.All of us who …
Three Perspectives on Maturity
Maturity is the ability to stick with a job until it’s finished; to do a job without being supervised; to carry money without spending it. – Ann Landers Everyone Grows Older. Some Attain Maturity. A Few Become Wise. It’s what you do with the experiences that come with growing older that makes all the difference. Michael Josephson Maturity is being able to …
THERE IS NO SUCCESS WITHOUT ACTION
If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place. – Nora Roberts THERE IS NO SUCCESS WITHOUT ACTION.
How to live your life
See commentary at https://whatwillmatter.com/2013/11/commentary-798-1-live-backwards/
The road you take matters.
Where you go in life and whether you enjoy the trip will be determined by your choices, not your circumstances. In your work life and your personal life you will face choices not merely on what to do but on how you will react or respond to things other did. Life’s turning points are not marked and they are not …
Don’t Look So Hard at my Past
Some people will always see us as we were rather than who we are and more importantly who we are becoming. Some people see themselves as they were, not who they are, and more importantly, who they are becoming and who they can become. Some people live in their past, others are content to learn from it. Aging is inevitable; …