Ever read E. F. Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful? It was one of the earliest proponents of APPROPRIATE technology.

I think the “Smaller, smaller” mantra really hits the nail on the head. It’s all about taking the grand goals or projects in our lives and making them more “digestable” It’s interesting to see how the “chunking” principle sorta comes into play on this as well.

Make it easy to do and you will do it easily. Make it hard to do and you won’t.

Do it right. No faster. No slower.

I know it sounds clichéd, but I prefer:

Be like water.

and

Simplify.

I also created this one:

If what you want cannot be achieved, alter what it is you want.

Adaptability is key. As is simplification.

“Do less with less”

There’s a better way, find it. — attributed to Thomas Edison

My wife’s old professor used to say “Think. Plan. Do. Finish. Publish.” over and over.

He said the world would be much better if more than a few people did more than three of the five.

Outside academia, Publish has equivalents that turn your private project into something that impacts the rest of the world. (“Ship it”, etc.)

It doesn’t have to be perfect. It does have to be finished.

“Do things not in spite of them being difficult, but because they’re difficult.”

Hokey, sure. But it’s the shift in attitude that’s important. Don’t do difficult things to get them out of the way, do them because doing them is rewarding.

I used to work in a organization that was dominated by “crisis management.” This state was so extreme, that seemed as if a crisis was created just to give focus on a daily basis. At this time my mantra was “doing nothing is always an alternative” in response to the crisis du jour. This actually served me well but required some discipline to ensure that I wasn’t deciding to do nothing just to reduce my workload. I would use the saved time to actually focus on meaningful work which as a project leader meant planning, coordinating, and getting hands-on with implementations. Another way to look at this is that not every action deserves a reaction.

I had another mantra that was catchier, “violence is always an option.” My staff and colleagues liked saying it but it was never exercised, at least not to my knowledge.

In retrospect, it seems like a passive-aggressive response to a poor management culture. It worked at the line-level but did little to truly change the situation or address the root causes.

You Must be the Change You Wish to See in the World” - Added to the Wiki

I stick with “Courage!”

It helps with big, scary things and small, boring things, which covers most of my life.

Overly-confident self-belief has always been my mantra…

Whenever I see myself slipping into procrastination, or losing focus, I tell myself “I will not be a mediocre man”. That’s probably my biggest fear… that I will get comfortable and stop trying to be achieve something worthwhile.

I’ve always liked the cosmetic company slogan “if you’re not in charge of your skin, you’re not in charge of your life” because it so nicely counters an obsessive belief in control over everything and perfectionism.

I also like “it’s better with shoes”.

“Constant incremental improvement”

My two favorites:

“Never give up, never surrender!” - “Capt. Taggart” in the movie Galaxy Quest

“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.??? — Winston Churchill, in an address at Harrow School, October 29, 1941 (often slightly misquoted)

Sarah’s “Courage!” is one I use a lot as well. Matthew’s I use only sometimes - without the asterisks and with an ‘ess’ - but rarely with things that matter to me, though perhaps I should try it more often. David’s may be my next screen saver (with a noun change), if he doesn’t mind. In this distracting world, I need all the focus help I can get.

The old Roman maxim sticks with me when I need inspiration: Dare something worthy. Heck, I pretty much quoted it in my wedding vows!

“You’re capable of handling this.”

“The best is the enemy of the good”

“If I don’t do this like it matters, it probably will.”

“Think, don’t worry.”

“Needs more cowbell.”

“Be bold”

1. Who are we not to shine?
2. Focus on the process, the actions and not the outcome.
3. Don’t worry. Everything works out for the best.

che dorme non piglia pesche

Sicilian for “he who sleeps doesn’t catch fish” (equivalent of ‘you snooze you lose’)

“If you wanna hoot with the owls, you gotta fly with the eagles.”

—My dad on why I had to cut the grass while nursing a horrible hangover. Stuck with me—I can’t sleep in past 6:30.

“God hates a coward” (if I’m nervous about doing something or about the outcome)

“Motivation follows action” or “Start Somewhere!” (if I’m dragging my feet)

carpe diem!

Seize the Day.