My favourite proverbs

“What one man can think another can do.”
  (Jules Verne)

This saying hits me perhaps deepest of all.  Jules Verne was my favourite author when I was around 10 years.

In Verne’s roleplay of one and another, to which role do you position yourself?

The eternal problem seems to be the lack of people who dare to think differently. I believe all humans are born with the ability to think freely, but gradually the surrounding world limits our thoughts to ‘this is they way you are allowed to think’.  Luckily, some can withstand the pressure:

“The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do” (Steve Jobs)

I enjoy working in cross-discipline teams where the ones and the anothers boost each other.  My dream team would include at least Jules Verne (“Let’s go where no imagination has ever been before.”) and Leonardo da Vinci (“Ouch, that did not work. Ok, here’s the next prototype.”).  In the steering group, we would have John F. Kennedy (“Let’s go to the moon. I’ll make sure you have the resources.”)  and Yoda (“Do or do not. There’s no try.”).

“Design is perfect when there is nothing more to take away.”
(About the history of this saying)

This engineering wisdom has helped me to solve hundreds of design problems. In product development, this is about the only necessary criteria when evaluating concepts’ maturity.

The saying applies naturally recursively also to proverbs: Best proverbs condense lifelong learnings into two seconds.

  “There is no bad weather, only bad clothing.”
(About the history of this saying..  Oops, I haven’t written that history yet. Research work started.)

Remembering this simple truth may save your life.
Metaphorically, I see here the same wisdom as in “Live the life you love, love the life you live” boosted with a deeper idea: Living that life you love, making right choices may make it even more lovable. And nothing in your life will be too bad to overcome if you are prepared.

  “Believe in what you do, do what you believe in.”
(Haven’t found who said it first. Has been used as a rotary theme.)

This is the guideline to choose the right path when you are in doubt. Take responsibility even when it does not seem to be the easiest way.

I have used this proverb since 1993.  Later, I have faced a number of relating sayings, including:

“You become what you believe in” (Oprah Winfrey)
” I don’t believe what you say. I believe what you do.” (unknown. I think of this when I listen to top boss presentations.)
“Don’t aim for success – just do what you love and believe in, and it will com naturally.” (David Frost)

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“If something is worth doing, then it is worth doing it well.”
(My grandfather Otto Kapanen, 1893-1968)

There is more in this saying than the pure joy of finding the perfect solution. I see here also the idea of prioritization: My grandfather was known for doing a lot. I believe his secret was focusing on things that were worth doing. Trying to do everything you might end up accomplishing nothing.
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  “Do. Or do not. There’s no try.”
(Yoda)

Whatever wisdom you might follow in your life, add this one to it.

I imagine sensing a difference between the ways in which Jedi Masters and the Apprentices would apply the wisdom:

The apprentice level:
  There may be many things worth trying.
  However, there’s also so much to do.
  So why not just focus on the latter?

And the master level:
Believe in both Yoda and Jules Verne. Dream and make it true.

Honesty is a factor in building trust which in turn is the platform of all human co-operation. Considering different global values, “Be honest” might well have be added to the ten commands of Christianity or the five precepts of Buddhism.  So I did some literature research to find a good quote on this theme. To my surprise, I could not find any short quote on honesty. These longer ones I found:

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” (Albert Einstein)

“Honesty and loyalty are key. If two people can be honest with each other about everything, that’s the biggest key to success.” (Taylor Lautner)

“A lie has speed, but truth has endurance.” (Edgar J. Mohn)

I like simple things. Thus, here’s my contribution to the world of proverbs:

“Be honest.”  (Jussi Kapanen, 2015)