A person of character seeks true happiness in living a life of purpose and meaning, placing a higher value on significance than success.
Don't sacrifice a good life for a good time.
Gratefulness is a payment everyone can afford.
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.
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.
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.
The way we treat people we think can't help or hurt us - like housekeepers, waiters, and secretaries - tells more about our character than how we treat people we think are important. How we behave when we think no one is looking or when we don't think we will get caught more accurately portrays our character than what we say or do in service of our reputations.
Discipline yourself to start each day identifying something to be grateful about. The world opens to those who approach it with a grateful heart.
When was the last time you wrote a thank you note? When was the last time you went beyond a mechanical "thank you" to express authentic gratitude? We can enrich the lives of others and ourselves by making it a habit to express genuine appreciation for what others have done for us.
An ounce of action is worth a ton of good intentions.
If we don't invest now in building character into children we will surely invest more tomorrow in trying to repair adults.
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.
Failure is much easier to handle if you just think of it as feedback to guide your next effort.
Neither the intensity of your feelings nor the certainty of your convictions is any assurance that you are right.
Sometimes the dues we pay to maintain integrity are pretty high, but the ultimate cost of moral compromise is so much higher.
Your life is your ship and you are the captain. Choose your course, take the wheel firmly and get on your way.
Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day.
Whatever you do, make a difference. Earn the right to look back at something and say, 'I did that.'
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.
Integrity, respect, compassion, and fairness become obstacles to people who think winning is everything
Gratitude should be felt and experienced sincerely, expressed generously and received graciously.
The ethical person should do more then he is required to do, and less than he is allowed to.
The surest way to escape anxiety and defeat despair is action. Do, don't dwell.
Character is the moral strength to do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.
People who fight fire with fire end up with only the ashes of their own integrity.
