What Will Matter



What Will Matter
Author: Michael Josephson

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success, but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

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're gone.

What will matter is not your memories, but the memories of those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

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.

Rebecca Lin 2008 Winter In USA

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林贝卡 发表评论于
回复缘自知音的评论:

Thank you so much for sharing these inspiring quotes.

Have a good weekend.
缘自知音 发表评论于
Rebecca,

Thanks for the info about Michael Josephson. As a former law professor and attorney, he operates as a speaker and lecturer on the subject of ethics out of JEJIE. I like some of his quotes as follows:

---Character is doing the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay. When it comes to character, you don’t have to be sick to get better. It’s easier for a good person to get better than for a bad person to get good

---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.

---The real test of character is whether you will do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.

I'd really like to share them with you.

Have a nice weekend

林贝卡 发表评论于
回复缘自知音的评论:

缘自知音,

I got the article from the internet. I do not know whom the author is. I will add the author's name to my post. Thank you so much for finding the complete poem and the author, too. Here is info about Michael Josephson from Wikipedia.

Have a nice day,

Rebeccca

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Michael Josephson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Josephson (born December 10, 1942) is a former law professor and attorney who founded the nonprofit Joseph and Edna Josephson Institute of Ethics located in Los Angeles, California, out of which he operates as a speaker and lecturer on the subject of ethics. The institute is named after his parents.

Josephson's daily commentaries are carried on Los Angeles radio station KNX 1070 and on Armed Forces Radio.He is also the president of the national CHARACTER COUNTS! Coalition, a part of the Josephson Institute of Ethics.A graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Josphson was named its 2009 alumnus of the year. Josephson currently resides in southern California with wife Anne and his 5 children.
林贝卡 发表评论于
回复九月豆的评论:

I am glad to know that you like this post.

Have a wonderful day.
缘自知音 发表评论于
Rebecca,

I like this poem a lot! When I first saw the title WHAT WILL MATTER, it reminds me the one by Michael Josephson, so I'll post the whole poem here to share with you.

WHAT WILL MATTER

Michael Josephson

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.
There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.
All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.
Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance.
It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.
Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.
So too, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire.
The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.
It won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.
It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.
Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built,
not what you got but what you gave.
What will matter is not your success but your significance.
What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.
What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched,
empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

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’re gone.
What will matter is not your memories but the memories of those who loved you.
What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

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.
九月豆 发表评论于
"Choose to live a life that matters"...

What matters is really held in our own hands, it is our own choice, it is our own decision...

Thanks so much for sharing, Sis~~~ I love this post!!!

林贝卡 发表评论于
回复夜光杯的评论:

I have not seen you for ages. How have you been?

Happy Spring to you,

Rebecca
夜光杯 发表评论于

"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."


well said. thanks for sharing. :)
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