I hope everyone reads Karen’s contribution to the Daily Journal today, “A Bite-Sized, Enduring Anchor,” in which she delivers a very thought-provoking examination of mottoes.
Karen made me think of some mottoes, precepts, aphorisms, what-have-you, that have influenced my approach to life and work. While I have no clearly defined, single motto myself, I have many that I rely upon according to circumstance.
I cannot improve upon a motto shared by my grandfather and Ronald Reagan: “There’s no limit to the good a man can do if he doesn’t care who gets the credit.” Ironically, it seems men of that motto tend to receive back the glory they denied themselves, as if fulfilling the moral of Jesus’ parable in Luke 14: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” And so, since “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” I try to follow that principle as best I can (but let’s savor the irony of all the I’s in that sentence anyway).
Another shared motto that I find worthwhile: L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace (“Audacity, audacity, always audacity”) ? Patton’s motto which he took from Frederick the Great. “Reach for the stars” is a less aggressive-sounding version of same.
Aristotle’s observation about humor is key to my approach to testing ideas: “Humor is the only test of gravity, and gravity of humor, for a subject which will not bear raillery is suspicious, and a jest which will not bear serious examination is false wit.”
I also try to keep in mind the principle of res ipsa loquitur (the thing speaks for itself) as a check against argumentativeness and always seeking the last word (and Gustave Flaubert’s warning also works: “By dint of railing at idiots, you risk becoming an idiot yourself”); de gustibus non disputandum est (loosely translated: there’s no accounting for taste) as a check against seeking to impose one’s own tastes on others; and for readiness and to guard against fear, I hew to a simple “Keep your wits about you” and the many reiterations throughout the Bible of God telling his people not to fear (which can be sinful by dint of denying that God is ultimately in control).
And finally, the following rule of thumb serves around the office:
If my Latin education holds, it means trust Terry only as far as you can throw him.
