I love maxims, those concise capsules of worldly wisdom. I collect them and write them and, of course, love to share them. Here are 18 random rules of life worth posting on your mirror or, better yet, using as dinner-time discussion starters:

1. Find the lesson in every failure, and you’ll never fail.
2. The likelihood that you’re right is not increased by the intensity of your conviction.
3. Real friends help you feel worthy and make you want to be better.
4. When you’re in a hole, stop digging.
5. Don’t confuse fun with fulfillment or pleasure with happiness.
6. Refusing to let go of a grudge is refusing to use the key that will set you free.
7. Hating hurts you more than the person you hate.
8. Counting on luck is counting on random chance; your odds are much better when you plan and work.
9. It’s better to be kind than clever.
10. Don’t underestimate the power of persistence.
11. The easy way is rarely the best way.
12. It’s much easier to burst someone else’s bubble than to blow up your own.
13. You can’t avoid pain, but you can avoid suffering.
14. Self-pity is a losing strategy; it repels others and weakens you.
15. Shortcuts usually produce short success.
16. Control your attitude or it will control you.
17. It’s more important to be significant than successful.
18. The world is waiting for you to heal it.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

A hit number in the 1960 play Bye Bye Birdie was a classic parent’s lament starting with “I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today! Why can’t they be like we were?”

The answer, of course, is they’re just like we were, but many of us aren’t like our parents were. Sometimes that’s good, often it’s not. Every generation of kids coping with raging hormones and a need to express independence and individuality will use language, wear clothes, listen to music, and dance in ways that offend their parents. And most will engage in conduct that their parents think is wrong or unwise.

Should modern parents, therefore, just relax and let kids do their thing, confident that no lasting harm will come of it? I don’t think so.

Sure, we should recognize the inherent limitations of parenting and the futility and impropriety of trying to control every phase of our children’s lives, but that doesn’t justify passive or permissive parenting. Although we can’t control our kids, we can influence them. And when necessary, we can confine their options by saying no and backing it up with whatever tools we have.

Parents may disagree on where to draw the line when it comes to sloppy or sexy clothing, Internet use, loud music with crude lyrics, and body piercing and tattoos, but lines must be drawn somewhere and enforced. This is even more important regarding alcohol, drugs, and sex. Kids need and deserve guidance and boundaries.

Our children won’t necessarily accept our views of right and wrong, but if we state them clearly and continually, they’ll be much more likely to consider them.

What do you think?

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

Over two years ago, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) contacted me to discuss ways to enhance the positive educational impact of the 2008 Olympic Games. I was excited but skeptical in light of highly publicized instances of drug cheating and boorish conduct that had tarnished the image of American athletes and the Olympics.

Still, the commitment to supplement efforts to identify and train athletes who could win medals with a program grounded in the Olympic ideals of honorable competition and sportsmanship was a needed and encouraging demonstration of leadership by the USOC. Its goal was not merely to reduce the likelihood that anyone wearing “Team USA” emblems would disgrace or embarrass the country; it wanted to instill in our athletes sincere appreciation for the concept of Olympism so each one understood the privilege and accepted his or her duty to “Make U.S. Proud.”

I was honored to play a small part in this huge, complicated, and unprecedented effort to bring together the elite athletes most likely to represent us in Beijing. The bulk of the project, the Olympic Ambassador Program, was conducted by a dozen former Olympic medalists whose words and example epitomized Olympic ideals.

More than 600 athletes participated in the program, but logistical and other reasons prevented some high-profile teams from taking part – including the swimming, gymnastics, and basketball squads. I fretted, nagged, and complained, worrying that we weren’t doing enough, but I was assured that the administrators and coaches of those teams were fully on board and actively promoting the Make U.S. Proud theme.

My fears proved to be groundless. The results are in and, beyond doubt, all our athletes and coaches made us proud.

Yes, they won 110 medals, but the most important and lasting achievement of Team USA was the way they combined passion and competitiveness with dignity, poise, enthusiasm, and sportsmanship to enhance America’s image and win millions of friends.

The on- and off-the-field team performances in basketball, volleyball, soccer, water polo, and softball were admirable, but at the center of this tribute to the true spirit of Olympism were particular superstars: decathlete Bryan Clay, swimmers Michael Phelps and Dara Torres, gymnasts Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, and all the basketballers including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Lisa Leslie.

The administrators, coaches, and athletes who carried the American flag with such honor deserve our congratulations and thanks. They sure made me proud.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

* The written and podcast version of this commentary is slightly longer than the broadcast version.

If we interviewed 100 people who are unusually happy, I think the most prominent common denominator would be unusually good relationships.

Despite the widespread promotion of materialism and vanity in our popular culture, wealth and beauty are not enough to produce happiness. In fact, they’re not even necessary. What’s more, bad relationships – at work, at home, or among friends – are a surefire source of anguish and heartache.

For most of us, the connections that most strongly influence our level of happiness are family bonds. And the most powerful of all are at the inner core of family, especially parent-child relationships.

No matter what your age, kinship with your parents will always have a unique capacity to generate comfort or pain. Many children have ambivalent feelings about their folks. Yet most crave their approval, respect, and love. Parents have a similar need.

If you’re a parent, resolve to make more consistent and conscientious efforts to make your children feel appreciated. If you want to make their lives and yours happier, be careful to not demean or diminish their achievements and to avoid expressions of disappointment. Tell your child you’re proud to have him or her as a son or daughter.

And if you still can, give your parents pleasure by showing that you love them, not only for what they did for you as a child but for who they are now. Talk to them frequently and talk of meaningful things. Ask their advice – and don’t roll your eyes if you disagree with it. One of the best ways to express your love is through respect.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

There’s a lot going on at the Beijing Olympics worthy of comment and plenty of evidence to support both positive and negative assessments.

If we focus on the grand and glorious aspects of the Opening Ceremonies, the beauty of the Beijing National Stadium (the “Bird’s Nest”), the pride and enthusiasm of the Chinese people, and the astonishing athletic performances setting world and Olympic records every single day, these Games deserve a fervent “thumbs up.”

On the other hand, we could justify an equally emphatic “thumbs down” if we focus on events and attitudes that demonstrate the country’s low regard for individual freedoms, democratic principles, and basic honesty. The Games were tainted by decisions to replace a lovely little girl with a great voice with a lip-synching child thought to be better looking and to computer-enhance the fireworks display for TV. These acts fueled cynicism about the credibility of the Chinese government that is seemingly more concerned with looking good than being honest.

And though the purpose of the Olympics is to transcend politics, I don’t think we can completely ignore the inconsistency of Olympic ideals and China’s vigorous suppression of dissent or protest on any issue and their involvement in the massive genocidal actions in Darfur.

So what should we think and talk about – is the glass is half empty or half full?

It’s okay to separately admire and appreciate all the things worthy of commendation and, at another time, express disagreement and disdain for those things worthy of condemnation.

As with many things in life, we shouldn’t let beauty in some areas blind us to ugliness in others, but we also shouldn’t let ugliness in some areas blind us to the beauty in others.

At least for now, I’m going to continue enjoying these Games.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.