"What you do at 8PM matters [...] what you do at that time will determine what you'll be in 10 years."[1], back then I was playing video games at 8PM, or watching Netflix, probably until 2-3 in the morning, I sold my gaming computer and replaced that time with learning new things, working on my side projects, reading, or sleeping. Every time I feel like getting some cheap dopamine shot I simply remember that quote, and immediately get motivated to do something better for myself.
Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
141–150 of 472 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
Could you explain what you mean? English is not my native language, so there's a possibility for me to learn how to rephrase it; maybe resonates with me is not the right word :) I'd appreciate it!
If I may I think I know/feel what he meant: If you've experienced massive fear to the point of panicking, then you'll know that this kind of quotes were written by people who've never faced fear. It's possible to face it, it's possible to address the issues...But fear/panic will always be there, you can learn to live with it, but it's not a "monster you can kill". So when it's said "Only I will remain": well...the th…
I don't think you are right.
I have been in position where I was at the brink of panic. That tingling sensation that slowly build up to feeling of total doom.
That quote was always an ancor point for me. Not fear but panic is a killer. A total emotional overload is something that will kill you when in dangerous position.
I agree fear is part of you and can be useful when handled well.
Panic is fully negative state when fear takes over and you are running on pure emotion.
And that's what I always considered this quote to be referring to. Uncontrolled fear will paralyses your decision making making your life worse.
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#143"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects." And also: "Everythi…
> Specialization is for insects
This is literally why we are talking over internet and not using smoke signals.
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#144I live life by the following words: "If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room"
I disagree so much with this popular motto that I have difficulty putting it into words. It reeks of egoism. Please, please replace it with: "If you are the smartest person in the room, teach until you no longer are."
It's nice but one cannot always teach people to be smarter. You can distribute knowledge, but that's a different thing.
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#145I always loved Frank Herbert's quote about fear in Dune : “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” In fact, this quote resonates with me so much that I've…
If that quote resonates with you, then you've never felt true fear.
That's a bit of a shallow dismissal (see HN guidelines). You'd do everyone a favor if you'd explain what your experiences were.
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#146"...perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away..." - Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Also
"Perfect is the enemy of good" - Voltaire
Not a life motto, but I also like:
“Before I learned the art, a punch was just a punch, and a kick, just a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick, no longer a kick. Now that I understand the art, a punch is just a punch and a kick is just a kick.” - Bruce Lee
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#147Some off the top of my head:
“Oh my soul don’t aspire for immortal life but exhaust the limits of the possible” -Pindar
“Man is nothing without the gods.” -Odyssey
“Why ask my age Diomedes, very like leaves upon this earth are generations of men. The old the wind cast to the ground, the young the greening forest bears as the spring comes in. So mortals pass one generation flowers as another dies.” -Illiad
“That which you see as righteousness and unrighteousness, beyond this cause and effect, beyond what has been and what is to be—-tell me That.” -Upanishads
“Get up and fight.” -Bhagavad Gita
“To every man on this earth death comes soon or late, what better way to die than to face fearful odds for the ashes of our fathers and the temple of our gods.” -Horatius
“My lord my rock, prepares my fingers for battle and my hands for war.” - Psalm 144:1
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#148You are what you consistently do.
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#149Weeks of coding can save hours of planning
Related: A couple of months in the laboratory can frequently save a couple of hours in the library. -Frank Westheimer
This can be taken to extremes. Some years ago, a popular historical novelist told me something along the lines of "I often talk to people who say 'I'm writing a historical novel', at which point I'm wondering whether this could be a potential competitor, '...but I'm still doing the research', at which point I realize that there's not a lot to worry about." Looking into background and what others have done is valuable, but it's pretty easy to let it prevent you from ever taking action yourself.
It's a tricky balance, though...
Re: Ask HN: What is your favorite motto?
#150"If you don't have time to do it right, make sure you have time to do it again" --My great-great grandfather
I love it! Thank you.