# Life Mottos **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 8, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538 "2013-01-08T21:29:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/21 "2013-01-09T01:45:42Z")
Life is short. Eat your dessert first. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/22 "2013-01-09T02:07:26Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > A closed mouth says nothing wrong. A closed mouth gathers no moss. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/23 "2013-01-09T02:18:32Z")
[“I Approve, Without Reserve.”](http://wordcount-richmonde.blogspot.com/2011/10/ballad-on-approving-of-world.html) (To which someone once responded, “So does Bank of America.”) ---
**Author:** ![panaccione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/24 "2013-01-09T03:59:58Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > Mine is: “An apostrophe is only used to indicate possession or contraction.” 😉 Nice. ---
**Author:** ![applebetty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@applebetty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/applebetty)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/25 "2013-01-09T04:02:10Z")
Measure twice, cut once. Never let the bastards get you down. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. Never be in the company of someone you would not die with. ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/26 "2013-01-09T05:55:18Z")
Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/27 "2013-01-09T05:56:57Z")
Never believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/28 "2013-01-09T07:09:21Z")
From experience I learned: Never make a life decision for yourself based on someone else’s needs. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/29 "2013-01-09T07:53:14Z")
Don’t take chances, take risks. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/30 "2013-01-09T08:26:12Z")
[If](http://www.kipling.org.uk/poems_if.htm)… Well, you know the rest, lots of good advice in there. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/31 "2013-01-09T08:27:32Z")
1. It’s just a job. 2. It’s called work for a reason. 3. [The cleaning and scrubbing](http://www.drmomma.org/2011/08/babies-dont-keep.html) can wait till tomorrow, But children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep! I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/32 "2013-01-09T09:23:34Z")
The early bird catches the worm, the _second_ mouse gets the cheese. **Choose wisely** Si ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/33 "2013-01-09T12:30:47Z")
The glass is half full. But it’s filled with bile. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/34 "2013-01-09T12:38:19Z")
Read the instructions. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2013, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/35 "2013-01-09T12:46:40Z")
“Grin like a dog and wander aimlessly” I recall this quote coming from a book by Paul Theroux, and while it is probably not a “Life’s motto” it suits me fine when I am traveling. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/36 "2013-01-10T02:34:40Z")
Mine is from Paul Chadwick describing the explorer Richard Burton and similar men “They went through life like a comet- undeterred, unafraid and unashamed” So my motto is “Go through life like a comet-undeterred, unafraid and unashamed.” ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/37 "2013-01-10T02:54:19Z")
1. From Gretzky: “The shots you don’t take never go in the goal” 2. From Fields: “You can’t cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump.” ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/38 "2013-01-10T03:12:23Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > The glass is half full. But it’s filled with bile. The glass isn’t half full; the glass is too big. You got to dance with who brung you, Swing with who swung you, Life ain’t no forty-yard dash. Be in it for the long run, 'cause in the long run, you’ll have more fun, If you dance with who brung you to the bash. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/39 "2013-01-10T03:23:05Z")
Any friend that can be bought isn’t worth buying. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538/40 "2013-01-10T03:31:18Z")
If you’re asking “Am I serious about what I do?” the answer is yes. If you’re asking “Am I serious about how I do it?” the answer is no. Hike your own hike. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/life-mottos/646538.md?page=3)