I always loved browsing such posts on reddit, so thought I should make one on lemmy too
Edit: Usually these kind of posts only used to have excerpts from books or ancient proverbs, but now I am seeing a lot more quotes from shows/movies/games are also resonating with people. It’s pretty cool to see.
My father, a union organiser: “You can love the company all you like, but the company will never love you back.”
Stood me in good stead down the years.
Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
If you want to travel fast, go alone; but if you want to travel far, go together.
It’s one of those African proverbs with an unknown origin but their emphasis on community has always been a guiding principle for me.
Believe those who are seeking the truth, doubt those who find it
Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.
Marcus Aurelius
Anyone who appreciates this one and hasn’t read the entirety of Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations (compiled into book form) really should. Many gems of stoic wisdom therein.
Not my whole life but ever since I learned it twenty years ago in the army. “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast”. It’s a saying that means to learn things carefully, slowly, and methodically. When you are learning like this speed will follow as a natural progression. So if you learn something slowly and smoothly it will translate into being quick and doing it correctly. I have applied this to all sorts of different things in life and it has never failed me.
Listen
There is only one way to make people talk more than they care to. Listen. Listen with hungry earnest attention to every word. In the intensity of your attention, make little nods of agreement, little sounds of approval. You can’t fake it. You have to really listen. In a posture of gratitude. And it is such a rare and startling experience for them, such a boon to ego, such a gratification of self, to find a genuine listener, that they want to prolong the experience. And the only way to do that is to keep talking. A good listener is far more rare than an adequate lover.
-Travis McGee
from Nightmare in Pink
by John D. McDonaldSomething along the lines of:
‘You’re just an NPC in everyone else’ life, no one really cares about what weird shoes you wear, or whatever. No one’s remembering, don’t worry about it’
Really helps out in the world really, it’s kinda true.
Yeah, but that means if you stick out too much, you’ll get recorded and posted online for entertainment
In 20 years, the only ones to remember all the hard work and long hours are your children.
Oof, this one hit hard for me. I’ve been working a lot of hours lately and I need to start putting my actual life as a priority. Thanks for this.
"For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up the pins either. Conditions are never perfect. ‘Someday’ is a disease that will take your dreams to the grave with you.”
Cannot remember where this is from but I like it enough tosaved it in my notenbook.
It seems to be from The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss if that helps with anything.
When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back. Get mad! I don’t want your damn lemons, what am I supposed to do with these? Demand to see life’s manager! Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Johnson lemons! Do you know who I am? I’m the man who’s gonna burn your house down… with the lemons! I’m gonna get my engineers to invent a combustible lemon that burns your house down!
- Cave Johnson, Portal 2
Maybe not words to live by, but certainly a memorable quote.
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.” -Anatole France
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life.”
― Captain Jean-Luc Picard
“It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness—that is life.” - Capt. Picard, Star Trek TNG
