Quote

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

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Michael Josephson
Age: 81
Born: 1942
Born: December 10
Motivational Speaker
Philosopher
Things
Gratitude
Never
Paid
Therefore
Comes
Sense
Others
Thankful
Many
Fully
Really
Debt

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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
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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.
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A good coach improves your game. A great coach improves your life.
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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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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.
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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.
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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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Character is ethics in action.
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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.
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If we keep treating our most important values as meaningless relics, that's exactly what they'll become.
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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.
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Everything you do sends a message about who you are and what you value.
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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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You don't have to be sick to get better.
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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.
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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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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.
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I am grateful for all those people who said no. It is because of them that I did it myself. Practice an attitude of gratitude. You can either be miserable dwelling on the troubles you have or grateful for the ones you don't have. Your troubles don't care but it makes a huge difference in your life.
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It is better to be unsuccessful pursuing a significant goal that being successful attaining an insignificant one.
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