# What's the stupidest, least motivating, motivational poster/slogan you've ever seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 1, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319 "2009-06-01T04:51:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/41 "2009-06-02T16:14:49Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > On the wall of my TAC (my highschool’s version of a homeroom) in my junior and senior year: > > **Shoot for the Moon… Even if You Miss, You’ll Land among the Stars!** > > No. **NO**. No you will **NOT**. You will land in an \*airless void \*where you will die a _quick and painful death_. I prefer the version I read in _Buy Green Bananas_: “Aim for the stars and you might reach the moon. Aim for the next block and you’ll get nowhere.” It makes sense in context, and it’s much more astrologically sound. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/42 "2009-06-02T16:39:46Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I prefer the version I read in _Buy Green Bananas_: “Aim for the stars and you might reach the moon. Aim for the next block and you’ll get nowhere.” It makes sense in context, and it’s much more astrologically sound. Well, I assume you’re in a rocket, so if you aim for the next block, you end up in a smoking hole. And have really pissed neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/43 "2009-06-02T16:41:30Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I prefer the version I read in _Buy Green Bananas_: “Aim for the stars and you might reach the moon. Aim for the next block and you’ll get nowhere.” I dunno, my neighbors had some pretty tasty raspberry bushes when I was a kid (well, technically speaking, the berries they carried were tasty, not the bushes themselves). Pretty sure the moon just has rocks. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/44 "2009-06-02T17:00:24Z")
> [@Weaver\_of\_Nightmares](#): > > No, he just finds that naked woman who just knitted that sweater and steals it. :rolleyes: If you’re going to slander men, do it right. Finds her, _rapes her_, and steals the sweater. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/45 "2009-06-02T20:30:50Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > “Success is not an option” > http:// [failblog.org/2009/05/12/tattoo-fail/](http://failblog.org/2009/05/12/tattoo-fail/) (Mildly NSFW) I can sort of see where that was going - “Success is not an _option_, [it’s a _requirement_]”, but it probably would have worked better as “Success is not optional”. > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > On the wall of my TAC (my highschool’s version of a homeroom) in my junior and senior year: > > **Shoot for the Moon… Even if You Miss, You’ll Land among the Stars!** Much better is a line from an old Rush song, “Best I Can”: “Got my sights on the stars! Won’t get that far, but I’ll try anyway.” (Ironic in hindsight, as that line was recorded 34 years ago; the band is still going strong, and is the most successful prog rock act in history). ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/46 "2009-06-02T21:22:02Z")
\*\*“It’s a win-win situation” \*\* This expression drives me nuts. I lose respect for anyone who says it. All it means is that both sides of a confrontation have given up something. It would properly be called a “lose-lose situation”. Just a way to end an argument while saving face. Something to fool the children into shutting up. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/47 "2009-06-02T21:23:58Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > \*\*“It’s a win-win situation” \*\* > > This expression drives me nuts. I lose respect for anyone who says it. All it means is that both sides of a confrontation have given up something. It would properly be called a “lose-lose situation”. > > Just a way to end an argument while saving face. Something to fool the children into shutting up. **ghardester** , I believe you’ve confused a \*win-win situation \*with a _compromise_. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/48 "2009-06-02T21:43:29Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > \*\*“It’s a win-win situation” \*\* > > This expression drives me nuts. I lose respect for anyone who says it. All it means is that both sides of a confrontation have given up something. It would properly be called a “lose-lose situation”. > > Just a way to end an argument while saving face. Something to fool the children into shutting up. I agree with **Shot From Guns**. A win-win situation is one where both sides come out ahead, but generally one of the sides hadn’t yet realized it. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/49 "2009-06-02T21:47:11Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > Okay, so before you can learn, you have to be able to plan, but in order to plan, you have to learn to do it, which you can’t do, because planning is a prerequisite for learning. Ergo, you’re fucked from the outset and there’s nothing you can do about it. Not so. The two instances of the word ‘learn’ can refer to different things. For example, if I want to learn how to speak French, it will help if I learn how to devise a good, practical study plan and schedule. It’s up to you if you dislike this aphorism or regard it as stupid. Nontheless, I don’t believe that it is as pointless, stupid or tautologous as you seem to feel. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/50 "2009-06-02T22:41:47Z")
I agree with elementary and middle school classroom being the place where these idiotic shibboleths breed. I always knew if I walked into a classroom with the “You have not failed until you’ve stopped trying” poster that it was going to be a long year. Or the kitten hanging on a branch with the caption “Hang in there!” ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/51 "2009-06-02T23:04:07Z")
> [@Hippy\_Hollow](#): > > I agree with elementary and middle school classroom being the place where these idiotic shibboleths breed. > > I always knew if I walked into a classroom with the “You have not failed until you’ve stopped trying” poster that it was going to be a long year. Or the kitten hanging on a branch with the caption “Hang in there!” I definitely preferred the sign that one of my high school English teachers had in her classroom: “ESCHEW OBFUSCATION.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/52 "2009-06-02T23:11:19Z")
One person can make a difference. Remember, Hitler was only one person. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/53 "2009-06-02T23:37:22Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > \*\*“It’s a win-win situation” \*\* > > This expression drives me nuts. I lose respect for anyone who says it. All it means is that both sides of a confrontation have given up something. It would properly be called a “lose-lose situation”. > > Just a way to end an argument while saving face. Something to fool the children into shutting up. Hrm? If I have clutter in my house that I want to get rid of, and someone else likes said clutter and will take it away, it’s a win-win situation. Who loses? Maybe you’re thinking of “Let’s agree to disagree”? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/54 "2009-06-03T01:13:35Z")
One place I worked in had a Motivational Poster up on the wal of the break room **Inspiration** , I think it said. It had a set of light bulbs in sockets at the end of cablesAll of them were unlit, and they were touhing each other, forming one of those “Newton’s Cradle” devices. There was one more bulb on a cable, and it had evidently been pulled away from the rest of the pack. From the streaking, it apeared to be swinging toward the others at high speed. It was brightly lit. I I’m sure the message the poster-maker was trying to convey was that, when this lit bulb hit the r4est of the pack, they’d light up and start swinging away – the light and energy of one inspired bulb was going to light up the others and get them moving, too. But, of course, the realist in me saw that that wasn’t gonna happen – when that bulb smacked into the others, they’d all break, there would be shattered glass everywhere, and the light would go out. It was actually a pretty good DE-Motivational Poster – "Don’t go running into other bulbs that aren’t hurting you. You’ll just cause a lot of damage. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/55 "2009-06-03T01:37:25Z")
Take a close look at this [logo](http://www.the3rdgear.com/images/logolarge.gif). Notice how gears set up this way can’t move. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/56 "2009-06-03T02:28:56Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I agree with **Shot From Guns**. A win-win situation is one where both sides come out ahead, but generally one of the sides hadn’t yet realized it. I stand by my original view. We reach an impass and are stuck. We must compromise, as Shot from Guns has said it well. So each side gives in a little. It’s a negotiation. There is no ‘both sides win’. Both sides give in, and that is a different thing. To say that both sides win is dishonest. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/57 "2009-06-03T02:30:02Z")
**Quitters never win and Winners never quit** is how I became a drug addict. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/58 "2009-06-03T02:50:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Take a close look at this logo. > > Notice how gears set up this way can’t move. One place I worked at had a poster wuth three meshing gears like that – only it was a _photograph_, which means that the photographer who set it up must have been aware that the gears couldn’t move. I took the poster down and showed it to a higher-up at the company, pointing out that it was inappropriate as a logo for a high tech company that a.) does a lot of engineering; and b.) wants to give the impression that we built things that _worked_. But it had no effect – the poster was still up when I left. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/59 "2009-06-03T05:02:26Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > I stand by my original view. We reach an impass and are stuck. We must compromise, as Shot from Guns has said it well. So each side gives in a little. It’s a negotiation. > > There is no ‘both sides win’. Both sides give in, and that is a different thing. > > To say that both sides win is dishonest. Not to be pedantic, but … there are “win-win situations”. They exist. However, if someone were to describe a compromise as a win-win situation, they might not be correct, as you have pointed out. So it would be foolish to consider a negotiated outcome from an impasse to be a “win-win” situation. Nevertheless, win-win situations exit. So you losing all respect for someone the moment they utter this phrase is … premature. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319/60 "2009-06-03T05:07:40Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > I stand by my original view. We reach an impass and are stuck. We must compromise, as Shot from Guns has said it well. So each side gives in a little. It’s a negotiation. > > There is no ‘both sides win’. Both sides give in, and that is a different thing. > > To say that both sides win is dishonest. Except that that’s not called a win-win situation. That’s a misuse of the term. > **[Alanis Morissette - Ironic Lyrics | AZLyrics.com](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/alanismorissette/ironic.html)** > > Alanis Morissette "Ironic": Hey, yeah, yeah Yeah, ah-ah-ah, yeah An old man turned ninety-eight He won the lottery, and died th... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-stupidest-least-motivating-motivational-poster-slogan-youve-ever-seen/498319.md?page=4)