Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Success”
“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 …
BUILD TRUST. Success will follow.
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 consequence of eroding trust. – Michael Josephson. Of course it is wise to get as much information as you can before you make an impactful …
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
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 …
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 various family roles and, of course, we would like to …
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 …
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
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 This is a variation of the Wayne Gretzky comment: “I miss 100% of the shots I don’t take.” Whether it is fear of failure, procrastination, …
— 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 …
— compiled by Michael Josephson — All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. ~ Abraham Lincoln The formative period for building character for eternity is in the nursery. The mother is queen of that realm and sways a scepter more potent than that of kings or priests. ~ Author Unknown An ounce …
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
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 …
I haven’t posted in a while, as I have been focused on some important personal matters, including a sad and ugly lawsuit my family filed against the Archer School for Girls and its head of school, Elizabeth English. (Those interested in status see JosephsonvsArcher.com. My hope to reform the law and assure that private school administrators can be held publicly accountable …
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.
The summers of 1964-1967 were marked by civil disorders, rioting and looting in African-American neighborhoods of major cities including Los Angeles (Watts Riot of 1965), Chicago (Division Street Riots of 1966), Newark (1967 Newark riots) and Detroit (1967 Detroit Riots) In all, these disorders resulted in millions of dollars of damage[1] and the loss of 83 lives. In response, President Lyndon Johnson …
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 …
— compiled by Michael Josephson — If you want to be on speaking terms with happiness, learn the language of gratitude. – Unknown Gratitude unlocks
I frequently address people who are highly successful. They’re at the top of their field and often have all the comforts that wealth can afford. Most seem to enjoy their success. So, in a way, it surprises me how deeply many of them respond when I talk about the difference between success and significance. Invariably, I see knowing nods when …
ROBBIN WILLIAMS. Whatever it takes to have a true sense of inner peace is obviously illusive. If it were talent, fame, money or the adoration of the masses, Robbin Williams would have been happy. Lincoln said, “folks are generally about as happy as they are willing to be.” Why is it so hard to be willing to be happy? The key to …
[Revised July 4, 2014] (What follows are lengthy musings of an ethicist struggling to live his values in the real world.) Have you ever found yourself in a place (I don’t mean a physical location) you really don’t want to be in and wondered how you got there and how you can get out of the bad place and get …
In 1968, when Kent M. Keith was a 19-year-old sophomore at Harvard, he wrote the Paradoxical Commandments as part of a booklet for student leaders. He describes the Commandments as guidelines for finding personal meaning in the face of adversity: 1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway. 2. If you do good, people will accuse you of …
One of the things I hate most about clichés is that whenever I experience milestone experiences, I have to admit they are true. There’s nothing unique or original about my feelings except that they are mine. So, when I witnessed my daughter Samara turn 18, my mind and heart flooded with trite and corny thoughts and emotions: “Where did the …
Wayne Gretzky said, “I miss 100% of the shots I don’t take.” Michael Josephson adds, “Take more shots. The only time failure is certain is when you don’t try.” Homer Simpson’s rebuttal: “Trying is the first step toward failure.”
As I ponder quietly observing another New Year push the past year into history, I find myself more deeply aware of the profound truths buried in all the clichés about the fleeting quality of time and the transitory nature of youth. It staggers my mind to realize I’m over 70, that none of my children are children anymore, and that, …
My Dear Readers: In this note I get to do two things — one I love to do, and another I’m not so crazy about. The part I love is to provide you with a brief summary of the Josephson Institute’s achievements in 2013. Some of you may not be aware of the Institute’s range of activities and achievements, and …
(updated December 12, 2013) Where did the time go? I hate clichés like this, but among the things I’ve learned in my 71 years of lurching around life is that these pithy statements became clichés precisely because they are true. Often profoundly so. Looking through the rear view mirror of my life the past feels like a movie played a …
I asked for STRENGTH – and I got difficulties to make me tough. I asked for COURAGE – and I got risks and hazards to make me brave. I asked for LOVE – and I discovered the pleasure of service. I asked for FAVORS – and I found opportunities to earn my own way. I asked for WEALTH – and …
There is always, always something to be thankful about. Gratitude should be felt and experienced sincerely, expressed generously and received graciously. If you want to be on speaking terms with happiness, learn the language of gratitude.
