Brevity is the soul of wit. So wrote Shakespeare. Or was it Mark Twain? Or was it Lincoln? There are some people throughout the generations who were good at condensing words of wisdom into one or two brief, memorable sentences. They have been quoted so often that it’s not always easy to know who said it first. And let’s face it; good ideas don’t only happen once. Witty people around the world, separated by distance and time, have independently come up with similar quotes.
For example, this has long been one of my favorite sayings, years before before the rise of alternative facts and fake news:
Only fools and the dead never change an opinion.
Finding an attribution wasn’t as easy as I expected. A search of the Google Machine shows that the saying was published in several newspapers in 1977. But then there is “The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions” attributed to James Russell Lowell, American poet (1819-1891). And “Only fools never change their mind” attributed to Talleyrand. And “Only fools and dead men don’t change their minds. Fools won’t. Dead men can’t” attributed to John Henry Patterson, Industrialist (1844-1922). I could spend hours digging for the earliest available version of the quote, but I won’t.
I tend to prefer quotes that are not overused to the point of being tiresome. Here are two from the business world. First is from a boss I had, the one and only time I attempted sales work (a disaster, but no time for that story). Noting that most sales people barely made quotas, while a few regularly overachieved, he was fond of saying:
Never settle for minimums.
And from Robert Allen, the real estate and motivational guru who has written Multiple Streams of Income and many other books:
Do the feared things first.
Let’s say that your “to do” list for today includes the following:
- Buy coffee and ice cream
- Pet the cat
- Fire the company owner’s deadbeat son who works in your office
- Have lunch with best friend
- Attend CUA gathering
Which item on the list would you save for last, and maybe put off numerous times? That’s the one you should do first. Your coffee will taste better, your cat will forgive you for being bumped down a notch on the list, and you’ll have a great story to tell your friends.
I occasionally come up with a good quote of my own, sometimes without even trying, as the lead image attests. All I did was post a comment in a cat diary. Next thing I knew, my name was on a psychedelic poster. And then there’s the quote I’ve posted here before, which reflects my defiance of the aging process.
If I was capable of doing it yesterday, I can do it today.
Finally, one of the best ever…
Don’t believe everything you see on the internet just because it has a quote and a picture next to it...Abraham Lincoln.
I eagerly await everyone else’s favorite quotes, plus (since this is always an open thread) any topic you feel like talking about today.
RSVPS
1. nhox42
2.
3.
MAYBEES
|
RSVPS
1. navajo
2. sidnora
3. kathny
4. belinda ridgewood
5. joanbrooker
6. aoeu
7. Denise Oliver Velez
8. rubyr
9. MBNYC
10. cohenzee
11.
MAYBEES :
Missys Brother
kishik
Avilyn
Chris Reeves
|
RSVPS
1. Thinking Fella
2. Ojibwa
3. state of confusion
4. jakedog42
5. MotherMags
6. MTmofo
7. Done4nau
8. Boise Blue
9. Mrs. Boise Blue
10. Mhosz
11. Mrs. Mhosz
12. Maudlin
13. Mr. Maudlin
14. dsb
15.
MAYBEES :
Simple
woolibaar
Back Porch
philosopher
Kitsap River
Charles Curtis Stanley
|
RSVPS
1. Bill in Portland Maine
2. Common Sense Mainer
3. navajo
4. markm667
5. vicki
6. vicki’s recruit 1
7. vicki’s recruit 2
8. smileycreek
9. paradise50
10. Ed Tracey
11. side pocket
12. Mrs. side pocket
13. Richard Cranium
14. YellowDogInGA
15. DebtorsPrison
16. brillig
17. mik
18. thatkid
19. K2
20. LuLu
21. moodyinsavannah
22. norm
23. Egberto Willies
24. Chris Reeves
25.
MAYBEES :
SanDiegoDem
|