Ask HN: What is the one quote that you carry around in your head all the time? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: What is the one quote that you carry around in your head all the time?

32 pointsoggyhead41 comments

Mine for some reason is "By relieving the brain of all unecessary work, a good notation sets it free to concentrate on more advanced problems, and in effect increases the mental power of the race"

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"Memento mori."

-- "Remember death." A traditional Roman saying, whispered in the ear of victorious generals when celebrating their victories to remind them not to let their heads get too big, nor to waste time in vain indulgence, but to direct their efforts toward ends that are worthwhile. It also appears in Plato's Phaedo, and in countless classical and medieval texts.

I think of it every day.

I found something on hn a few days back and i am trying to carry it around and make it a part of me.

"""For someone who hated routines and felt trapped. The simple advice that schedules are my friend and I should schedule my day in a way that would make me happy when I go to bed. Been doing this for 2 months now. Never been more productive or happier. """ https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17159515

The thought that the schedule should be one you are happy about is very powerful. I am trying to incorporate that into my daily routine.

Hey there that was a comment that I made. I am glad that it helped you.

I learnt it from Jordan B. Peterson. I highly recommend his book "12 rules for life" which has improved the overall quality of my life by a substantial magnitude in the last two months. This book led me to read some of the writings of Carl Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz which were further eye openers.

A warning though that he has a polarising effect on people. They either hate him or worship him. I would suggest reading the book with a beginners mind and applying in your life what seems apt to you :)

Would you mind posting an example schedule of your day? One that makes you "happy" as you say...

“If you feel you are in control, you are not going fast enough.” -Steve McQueen

"If you keep doing what you have been doing, you're going to keep getting what you've got"

Recently, I got a different take on this from a book called ‘Mad Genius’. The author says in today’s fast moving world if you keep doing what you have been doing, you will perish very quickly. Like Nokia.

I like. Smells like the Red Queen hypothesis to me:

"Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place..."

"The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you’re inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inert, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."

“We suffer more often in imagination that in reality.” — Seneca

"You're not allowed to complain unless you are doing something to improve what you are complaining about" Me

People who don’t value their time will waste yours.

“World War III is a guerrilla information war with no division between military and civilian participation.”

— Marshall McLuhan, “Culture Is Our Business”, 1970, p. 66

"No gain without investment" - me

To remind myself that I won't grow mentally, financially, or physically if I don't put in the time, effort, or work. Any potential gains require some kind of investment/sacrifice on your part. Also reminds me not to complain if I didn't put in adequate effort. :)

“When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

C.S. Lewis

You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.

1. "There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” Bruce Lee

Got me through the early frustrations of learning to program. Still does.

2. "Life is hard on he that delays" Russian proverb

desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.

"You're not here for a long time, you're here for a good time"

"There is no life I know that compares with pure imagination"

Time to make the Donuts.

It originated with donut TV commercials but I think after 20 years in the industry it applies well to waking up every day to serve my tech clients.

"The more you know who you are, the less you let things upset you" from Lost in Translation movie, said by Bill Murray.

'Fahren Sie, fahren Sie, dann brauchen Sie keinen Treibstoff' (Drive, drive, then you do not need fuel) - Erwin Rommel

The trouble is you think you have time. Buddha.

Thank you! I read further on that Fake Buddha quotes site (motto: "I Can't Believe It's Not Buddha!"), and learnt a lot from the comments and discussions, e.g. on this page[0] - like that some Buddha quotes I've 'known' for decades are just very bad mistranslations. Very grateful.

[0] https://fakebuddhaquotes.com/we-are-what-we-think-all-that-w...

That is great research -- I still like the fake quote but it doesn't match the picture the real quote paints.

Sorry, I have an annoying habit of chasing up fake-looking quotes. That one sounds like a 20th C American, and....indeed seems to be - apparently it's from a Jack Kornfield book, he was paraphrasing Don Juan in the Castaneda books, themselves fakes. Interesting discussion here:[0]

Here's (I believe) an actual Buddha quote on the topic, which I've always liked/thought scary:

This existence of ours is as transient as autumn clouds. To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance. A lifetime is like a flash of lightning in the sky, rushing by, like a torrent down a steep mountain.

They sure could write in 600BC huh.

[0] https://fakebuddhaquotes.com/the-trouble-is-you-think-you-ha...

From David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest: "no single, individual moment is in and of itself unendurable"

"Do the thing and you shall have the power." from Jeff Olson's 'the slight edge'

No matter where you go, there you are.

Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you anywhere.

Actions express priorities

You don't get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate.

You only get good at what you do

- someone on the internet or something

What one man can do, another man can do.

We're all just walking each other home

~ Ram Dass

If I had known then what I know now.

"Nothing is fucked, Dude."

- Walter Sobchak

Redundancy- 2 is 1 and 1 is none.

Unus sed leo.

Aut viam inveniam aut faciam.

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