I frequently address people who are highly successful. They’re at the top of their field and often have all the comforts that wealth can afford. Most of them seem to enjoy their success.

So, in a way, it surprises me how deeply many of them respond when I talk about the difference between success and significance. Invariably, I see knowing nods when I describe Alfred Nobel’s disillusionment when he read his own obituary that was printed by mistake after his brother died. Although it was complimentary, describing him as a brilliant chemist who made a fortune as the inventor of dynamite, he was struck by how hollow and inconsequential his accomplishments seemed as the summation of one’s life. Determined to leave a more worthy legacy, he established the Nobel Prizes to acknowledge great human achievements.

Mr. Nobel realized there’s a transitory quality to success but immortality in significance. A life devoted to attaining personal goals can be admirable and satisfying, but it can be enormously enriched when we use our talents and time to improve the lives of others.

In his book Living a Life That Matters, Harold S. Kushner wrote, "Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it."

If we realize this before it’s too late, we’re less likely to dishonor our families and the legacy of our lives with dishonesty or selfishness. Success just isn’t enough.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.