COMMENTARY 899.2: Are You the Father Your Child Deserves?
Listening to 9/11 survivors re-live the horrendous event that shattered their lives should remind us all to treat every day as a gift, and to treasure every opportunity to give or receive love. This is especially true for parents. A favorite story is about a 10-year-old boy who was told by his father not to expect him to go to …
COMMENTARY 899.1: Let the Butterfly Struggle
A young mother was fascinated but concerned as she watched a butterfly struggling mightily to escape through the small opening at the top of its cocoon. And when the creature seemed to give up overwhelmed by the task, she felt sure that it wouldn’t make it without help. So she enlarged the hole. The grateful butterfly wriggled out. Unfortunately, its …
COMMENTARY 893.5: Moving From Success to Significance
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 …
COMMENTARY 893.3: The Garden
A listener once sent me a poem with an unknown source called “The Garden.” I liked the idea so I rewrote it. Here’s my version of a lifetime garden to nourish your life: First, plant six rows of squash: 1. Squash dishonesty in all its forms. 2. Squash prejudice. 3. Squash fear.
COMMENTARY 893.2: Tyranny of the Minority
According to a survey of parents, 93 percent want schools to teach basic values like honesty and respect. The problem is, schools are left to contend with the 7 percent who disagree. In any enterprise that seeks to avoid conflict and find consensus, that small minority may often dictate policy. Too often, aggressive objectors bully administrators into quick surrender with …
COMMENTARY 893.1: A Parable About Leadership
Listening to politicians’ nasty rhetoric, one might think that leadership has to be aggressive and confrontational, but consider this parable about leadership. A student assigned to write an essay about an effective leader wrote this story: “I’ve been taking a bus to school for years. Most passengers keep to themselves and no one ever talks to anyone else.
COMMENTARY 892.5: Worth More Than a Million Dollars
If you had the choice of winning $1 million in the lottery or saving a stranger’s life, which would you choose? I suspect many of you think you should say, “saving a life,” but what you are really thinking is how much better your life would be if you were rich. If the test was which act improves the world …
BUT IT LOOKED LIKE HE WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN. Don’t be sad that the world lost such a great talent, be sad that this incredibly gifted man, who so easily won the admiration and affection of so many, was so terribly unhappy.
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 …
You Can’t Lose by Relentlessly Pursuing Excellence
As I embark on a pilgrimage with my 65-year-old little brother to see the Baseball Hall of Fame, I am also frantically trying to complete a book on “The Exemplary Policing Organization.” As my two worlds collided, I got to thinking about what it means to be exemplary, to be one of the best ever at something — to be worthy of …
COMMENTARY 890.5: The Dangers of Absolutism
The world of ethics spreads from the borders of the absolutists, who think every moral question has a clear and single answer, to the coast of the relativists, who believe ethics is a matter of personal opinion or regional custom. In distinguishing right from wrong, absolutists don’t see much of a difference between mathematical calculation and moral reasoning. They’re extraordinarily …
COMMENTARY 887.1: Democracy and Respectful Discourse
On this Fourth of July, I hope you will take time to experience pride in and appreciation for the great qualities of our country. One quality of our democracy is that every citizen is a public official. Thus, the passionate advocacy of political convictions is not only a right, it’s a patriotic obligation. What worries me, however, is the tendency of many …
Memo From Michael: How do you do the right thing when you’re not sure what the right thing is? (Even ethicists face dilemmas).
[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 …
COMMENTARY 886.2: The Paradoxical Commandments
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 …
QUOTE & OBSERVATION: All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. — Edmund Burke
Irish and English statesman Edmund Burke said, “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” This is true of major evils like the unabated rise of Nazism in the 30s and 40s and the toleration of, or indifference to, the outrageous ideas and actions of the KKK in the 50s and 60s. But it …
COMMENTARY 872.5: Clichés and Milestones
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 …
COMMENTARY: Advice for Parents of Middle Schoolers
First, remember, with emerging demands for independence, worries about peer acceptance, pressures of school and extracurricular activities, and a continuous search for self-identity, adolescents are on a physical and emotional roller coaster.
Time Flies
“The bad news is that TIME FLIES. The good news is that YOU ARE THE PILOT.” – Michael Althsuler
Michael Josephson Named One of 100 Top Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business
Trust Across America-Trust Around the World (TAA-TWA), global leaders in organizational trust, has recognized Josephson Institute founder Michael Josephson as one of 2014’s Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business. This year’s recipients hail from around the globe and include leaders from the public and private sectors as well as authors, consultants, researchers and academics. Each honoree, according to TAA-TWA, …
QUOTATION & POSTER: If you want to be happy, learn to be alone without being lonely …
If you want to be happy, learn to be alone without being lonely. Learn that being alone does not mean being unhappy. The world is full of plenty of interesting and enjoyable things to learn, things to do and people who can enrich your life. — Michael Josephson
VIDEO: Teen knows what he wants to be when he grows up. He wants to be happy.
Everyone knows that young people need role models. But what is amazing and uplifting is how many incredible kid role models there are. This video is a must-see, especially for educators — not only because the topic of this 13-year-old boy’s message is about education, but because of his message about happiness. What a great reminder to never underestimate young …
To Try or Not to Try, That Is the Question: Wayne Gretzky and Michael Josephson or Homer Simpson – You choose
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.”
When did you choose to be straight?
Can a single question influence the way you think about things? I found it very powerful.
QUOTATION & POSTER: Don’t underestimate yourself! You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
Don’t underestimate yourself! You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
COMMENTARY 860.2: Deeply Personal Reflections
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, …
QUOTATION & POSTER: Don’t waste your time or sap your energy on worry.
Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere. ~Glenn Turner