110+ Michael Josephson Quotes And Sayings

Following is our list of the best Michael Josephson quotes and sayings.

Top 10 Michael Josephson Quotes

1. Don't let others define you. Don't let the past confine you. Take charge of your life with confidence and determination and there are no limits on what you can do or be.
2. Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don't forget to enjoy the journey.
3. Pretty isn't beauty. Pretty is how you look; Beauty is who you are. Pretty is in the face and body; Beauty is in the heart, mind and soul. Pretty fades; Beauty grows.
4. Whether we want them or not, the New Year will bring new challenges; whether we seize them or not, the New year will bring new opportunities.
5. When someone is nasty or treats you poorly, don't take it personally. It says nothing about you, but a lot about them.
6. Success in anything important rarely comes without the Five Horsemen of Success: planning, effort, positivity, perseverance and resilience.
7. The surest way to escape anxiety and defeat despair is action. Do, don't dwell.
8. Yes and no are very powerful words. Mean them when you say them. Respect them when you hear them.
9. Personal integrity is important, not because it gets us what we want, but because it helps us be what we want.
10. A person of character seeks true happiness in living a life of purpose and meaning, placing a higher value on significance than success.

Michael Josephson Short Quotes

• The choices you make in your life will make your life. Choose wisely.
• You can't escape moral judgment through a legal loop hole.
• Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.
• Don't ask whether it is going to be easy. Ask whether it is worth it.
• A good coach improves your game. A great coach improves your life.
• Character is the moral strength to do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.
• An ounce of action is worth a ton of good intentions.
• Gratitude should be felt and experienced sincerely, expressed generously and received graciously.
• Failure is much easier to handle if you just think of it as feedback to guide your next effort.
• No word makes me happier than the word "daddy" when it's directed to me.

Michael Josephson Famous Quotes And Sayings

To the barefoot man, happiness is a pair of shoes. To the man with old shoes, it's a pair of new shoes. To the man with new shoes, it's stylish shoes. And of course, the fellow with no feet would be happy to be barefoot. Measure your life by what you have not by what you don't. — Michael Josephson

The world has enough beautiful mountains and meadows, spectacular skies and serene lakes. It has enough lush forests, flowered fields, and sandy beaches. It has plenty of stars and the promise of a new sunrise and sunset every day. What the world needs more of is people to appreciate and enjoy it. — Michael Josephson

Ordinary people, even weak people, can do extraordinary things through temporary courage generated by a situation. But the person of character does not need the situation to generate his courage. It is a part of his being and a standard approach to all life's challenges. — Michael Josephson

The difference between stepping stones and stumbling blocks is not in the event itself but how you think about it and what you do after it. Every failure and setback can become part of your success or an excuse for quitting or failing. People who develop the discipline of positivity are both happier and more successful. — Michael Josephson

I am not and never will be perfect. I am not always as honest, respectful, responsible, fair or as kind as I should be. All I can do is what I should do: strive every day, with every decision to be the best person I can be. I don’t expect to be perfect but I know I can be better. — Michael Josephson

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 do and people who can enrich your life. — Michael Josephson

Character is not only doing the right thing when no one is looking, it's doing the right thing when everyone is looking. It's being willing to do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay. — Michael Josephson

Character is made up of core moral principles called the Six Pillars of Character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, caring, fairness and citizenship. Each of these virtues are independently important but together they provide the foundation for a worthy life. — Michael Josephson

We judge our own character by our best intentions and most noble acts, but we will be judged by our last worst act. — Michael Josephson

Being a father is the most important role I will ever play and if I don't do this well, no other thing I do really matters. — Michael Josephson

What a person says and does in ordinary moments when when no one is looking reveals more about true character than grand actions taken while in the spotlight. Our true character is revealed by normal, consistent, everyday attitudes and behavior, not by self-conscious words or deeds or rare acts of moral courage. — Michael Josephson

There's no such thing as business ethics; there's just ethics. And ethics makes no concessions for the real or imagined necessities of making a profit. — Michael Josephson

If you are the boss it's wise to remember that there are lots of things you don't know and lots of people who hope you won't find out. — Michael Josephson

Leadership is not a matter of authority, it is a matter of influence. A true leader teaches others to understand more, motivates them to be more and inspires them to become more. — Michael Josephson

Discipline yourself to start each day identifying something to be grateful about. The world opens to those who approach it with a grateful heart. — Michael Josephson

The only force that can sustain true and consistent courage is some form of spiritual belief that values like honor, duty, loyalty and integrity above the status, power, money and even security. — Michael Josephson

Ethics is not for wimps. It's not easy being a good person. That's why it's such a lofty goal and an admirable achievement — Michael Josephson

No one is born with good character; it's not a hereditary trait. And it isn't determined by a single noble act. Character is established by conscientious adherence to moral values, not by lofty rhetoric or good intentions. — Michael Josephson

No leader or organization can achieve breakout growth until it treats, "we've always done it this way" as an opportunity to think anew rather than as a reason to stop thinking. Keep in mind, tradition should be a guide, not a jailer. — Michael Josephson

It's a great joy but no test of love or commitment to take your son to a ball game. You really prove your credentials as a good dad when you are willing to take your daughter shopping - more than once. — Michael Josephson

Character is both formed and revealed by how one deals with everyday situations as well as extraordinary pressures and temptations. Like a well-made tower, character is built stone by stone, decision by decision. — Michael Josephson

What will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you knew but how many will feel a lasting loss when you are gone. What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by who and for what? — Michael Josephson

A certain formula for an unhappy life is pursue someone else's definition of success. Until you define your own goals and purposes your life is not your own and there can be no sense of fulfillment no matter how much you achieve. — Michael Josephson

Values are good things only if they are good values. — Michael Josephson

Be thankful for quality competitors who push you to your limit. — Michael Josephson

It's easier to make a good person better than to make a bad person good. — Michael Josephson

There is no adversity that cannot be overcome by good character. — Michael Josephson

Ethics doesn't require us to ignore our self-interests or demand a life of self-sacrifice. It requires that we know the difference between what we want and what we should do — Michael Josephson

One key to success is demanding more than adequacy, never settling for good enough and always doing a little bit more. — Michael Josephson

Good character is more important than wealth, good looks, popularity and even education. These things do not guarantee happiness and often they become obstacles to developing good character. — Michael Josephson

Neither heredity nor environment determine character. But whether we give in to or overcome the negative messages we are exposed to as we wend our way through life is often determined by whether our parents, teachers, mentors and friends exposed us to good examples and morally inspiring ideas. — Michael Josephson

Physical courage to a person of honour is easier and less risky than acts that could subject him to embarrassment or humiliation or a diminished career or reputation. These things he must live with. To die for honor is an easier thought to bear. — Michael Josephson

It's actually easier to truly become a person of good character than to persuade others we are what we are not. — Michael Josephson

It isn't the absence of conscience or values that prevents us from being all we should be, it is simply the lack of moral courage. — Michael Josephson

Someone who lies for you will also lie to you. The occasional benefit your business may gain from a successful deception or concealment is always outweighed by the encouragement it provides to those willing to risk trust for success. — Michael Josephson

Some jobs require a more consistent challenge to moral courage than others. Politics is one. In such a setting terrifically good men and women will still be found wanting occasionally. No one does the right thing all the time. It would be more generous and fair to consider their batting average than to judge them only by their last worst act. — Michael Josephson

Gratefulness is a payment everyone can afford. — Michael Josephson

Expressed gratitude encourages further giving; ingratitude drains vitality out of the spirit of generosity. — Michael Josephson

Many things in life are not fair but all things should be. — Michael Josephson

Don't sacrifice a good life for a good time. — Michael Josephson

There's a hole in the moral ozone and it's getting bigger. — Michael Josephson

Happiness is the peace of mind that comes from feeling that I am living a worthy life in the company of people I love and in the service of something bigger than myself. — Michael Josephson

The kind of courage that is strengthened or created by concern about what others will think is really a form of fear. Fear of disapproval or dishonor becoming stronger than fear of injury or even death. — Michael Josephson

Neither the intensity of your feelings nor the certainty of your convictions is any assurance that you are right. — Michael Josephson

Never do anything for another with the expectation of gratitude. The expectation itself turns the gift into an exchange and suggests a debt is owed you. — Michael Josephson

Our character is revealed by how we treat people who cannot help us or hurt us. — Michael Josephson

It is better to be unsuccessful pursuing a significant goal that being successful attaining an insignificant one. — Michael Josephson

Authentic gratitude is much more rare and precious than expressions of gratitude which are often empty courtesies or simply tactical ploys to encourage further gifts or kindnesses. — Michael Josephson

Integrity, respect, compassion, and fairness become obstacles to people who think winning is everything — Michael Josephson

You are the captain of your own ship; don't let anyone else take the wheel. — Michael Josephson

Gratitude is most treasured when it is unexpected. When we expect, even demand gratitude, we treat it simply as payment due for some service we rendered and we squeeze any good feeling out of it. — Michael Josephson

Christmas has a certain universal appeal that gives it meaning well beyond a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but Christians have a special duty to experience its sacred and profound spiritual significance and non-Christians have a duty to treat the day with special respect. — Michael Josephson

For many of us gratitude to others comes with a sense of debt that can never be fully paid and therefore the things we are thankful for are never really ours. — Michael Josephson

I think Samuel Johnson had it right when he observed that hope is itself a species of happiness. So if we want to be happy it only makes sense to discipline ourselves to choose our attitudes, to think positively and to be hopeful. — Michael Josephson

A person is said to have good character when their habits, dispositions and conduct reflect a deep commitment to ethical virtues and moral principles. — Michael Josephson

Everything you do sends a message about who you are and what you value. — Michael Josephson

Character is just another term for "good person." A person of character lives a worthy life guided by moral principles. A person of character is a good parent, a good friend, a good employee and a good citizen. — Michael Josephson

If you pay too much attention to your reputation, you could lose your character. — Michael Josephson

We all have three characters: the one we really have, the one we try to convince the world we have, and the one we think we have. — Michael Josephson

Nothing about character is hereditary. Everyone, regardless of social background, financial status, race, or sex, enters the world with an equal opportunity to become a person of great or petty character. — Michael Josephson

Our obligation to others and a gift to ourselves is to acknowledge and authentically express genuine appreciation for courtesies, caring and concern others have given us. — Michael Josephson

The key to success is effort. The bigger the goal, the greater the effort. — Michael Josephson

People who fight fire with fire end up with only the ashes of their own integrity. — Michael Josephson

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters. — Michael Josephson

Good intentions are simply not enough. Our character is defined and our lives are determined not by what we want, say or think, but by what we do. — Michael Josephson

You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter. — Michael Josephson

The opposite of success is not failure. Unsuccessful efforts are not failures unless they so discourage you that you abandon further efforts to achieve your goal. Even then, the venture or effort may be a failure but you are not. Failure is an event not a character trait. — Michael Josephson

What will matter is not your success but your significance. — Michael Josephson

Character - We describe the character of a person in reference to moral judgments about the worthiness of a person. Thus, to have a strong, great or honorable character is to be a person of merit, worthy of admiration and honor. — Michael Josephson

Whatever you do, make a difference. Earn the right to look back at something and say, 'I did that.' — Michael Josephson

The ethical person should do more then he is required to do, and less than he is allowed to. — Michael Josephson

What you allow you encourage. — Michael Josephson

Our expectation of the gratitude of others for what we've done for them is sometimes exaggerated because of our deep desire for appreciation and approval. When our good work or good deeds go unrewarded by hoped for praise, we feel like failures so we treat those who denied us our due as betrayers. — Michael Josephson

A person of character knows the difference between right and wrong and always tries to do the right thing for the right reason. — Michael Josephson

Never underestimate the power of temptation to disarm your better senses. Throughout the ages good people surrendered their honor for the empty promise that wealth or power would bring fulfillment and their dignity, good name and self-esteem for the passing pleasures of sex and drugs. — Michael Josephson

There are two sure ways to fail: never get started and quit before you succeed. Many companies promote the language of risk-taking and innovation but are so concerned with short term profit goals that their culture discourages innovation (trying new things) and abandons promising projects too soon. It shouldn't require exceptional moral courage to try new things and stick with them. — Michael Josephson

We judge ourselves by our best intentions and most noble acts but we will be judged by our last worst act. — Michael Josephson

In life, we all get scored on every day. The wonderful thing is, if we do our best with courage and tenacity, we might be outscored but we can never be beaten. — Michael Josephson

Successful or not, acts of physical courage always bring honor. It is the smaller forms of valor - standing up for principle at the risk of social disapproval, economic loss or injury to career - that require the greatest moral will power. Since there is usually little upside to winning and a significant and often lasting downside to losing, moral courage often requires as much character as physical bravery. — Michael Josephson

How many times do you get to lie before you are a liar? — Michael Josephson

Ethics is doing more than the law requires and less than the law allows. — Michael Josephson

You don't have to be sick to get better. — Michael Josephson

When it comes to building character, wealth, good looks, athletic ability and even a high IQ are more likely to be impediments than advantages. — Michael Josephson

Success or failure can only be measured in terms of a particular objective. The success of a person whose life objective is money or status will look very different than the success of one who sets out to make a positive difference in the world. — Michael Josephson

Honesty doesn’t always pay, but dishonesty always costs. — Michael Josephson

Sometimes the dues we pay to maintain integrity are pretty high, but the ultimate cost of moral compromise is so much higher. — Michael Josephson

Surround our children with a message of honor — Michael Josephson

A caring heart that listens is often more valued than an intelligent mind that talks. — Michael Josephson

If we keep treating our most important values as meaningless relics, that's exactly what they'll become. — Michael Josephson

If one insists on calling all unsuccessful efforts failures the meaning of failure is really quite benign. When trying anything new or taking on any challenge, unsuccessful efforts are an essential aspect of skill building. — Michael Josephson