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I sit here in my office looking at…posters with quotes on my office walls.

OK, I admit being a sucker for a good quote. Complex thoughts wrapped into neat, compact packages. I can usually wrap my simpler mind around them and even remember them and recite them to others.

Do they motivate me? Not really – well, at least not all the time. (By the way, look for an article on the MYTH of motivation in future issues of GFB Connect, Inc.)

Do I worship the author of those great quotes? No, BUT…

I do refer to these favorite quotes to REMIND ME of things I often forget in the rush of the day.  All things seem to have equal importance to get done at once. Reflecting on a new or favorite quote is a nice reminder of “important things”.

For example, one poster on my reminder wall cites Ernest Hemingway as saying:

“Before you act – LISTEN.

Before you react – THINK.

Before you spend – EARN.

Before you criticize – WAIT.

Before you pray – FORGIVE.

Before you quit – TRY.”

Although I don’t know (or honestly, not sure if I care) whether Hemingway actually said this, but I need to be reminded of these pearls of wisdom and try to practice them more often.

BTW, the quote on the adjoining poster on my wall is also attributed to Ernest -more like his work – says:

            “Write Drunk; Edit Sober”

I will neither confirm nor deny the effectiveness of this strategy…but let’s just say this article need some editing!

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By Anthony K. (Tony) Jackson, MBA, Entrepreneur, Founder of GFB Connect, Inc.