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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

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Michael Josephson
Age: 81
Born: 1942
Born: December 10
Motivational Speaker
Philosopher
Difference
Ignore
Differences
Require
Interest
Ethics
Doesn
Interests
Self
Requires
Life
Charity
Demand
Sacrifice

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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.
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Creating a child takes no love or skill being a parent requires lots of both.
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One problem with gratitude is that it competes with the sense of pride, self-reliance and accomplishment we have. We want to think what we have is the result of our efforts rather than the gifts, good turns and opportunities provided us by others.
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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.
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What will matter in the end is not what you bought but what you built not what you got but what you gave not what you learned by what you taught. What will matter is not your competence but your character.
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Everything you do sends a message about who you are and what you value.
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Experimenting with drugs is like target practice where your head is the bull's-eye.
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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.
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The key to success is effort. The bigger the goal, the greater the effort.
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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.
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Character is ethics in action.
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Lincoln described character is a tree and reputation as its shadow. The tree will always be what it is but the shadow we see depends on where we stand and the angle of the light.
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Gratitude should be felt and experienced sincerely, expressed generously and received graciously.
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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.
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What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.
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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.
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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.
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Expressed gratitude encourages further giving ingratitude drains vitality out of the spirit of generosity.
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Character refers to dispositions and habits that determine the way that person normally responds to desires, fears, challenges, opportunities, failures and successes.
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Surround our children with a message of honor
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