To ask for wise sayings that aren’t cheesy

[LemonQuiche]

The internet is full of inspirational meme quotes that are cheesy, meaningless and shallow. Love laugh life. That thing Marilyn Monroe never said. However, are there are good sayings / quotes / wisdom that you like?

I’ve always liked “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”.

OMG I used to say this all the time and never knew where it came from - thank you! I got it from a former colleague who was deffo not Polish but we did work in an area with a lot of Polish immigrants so that's really interesting.

When in doubt, do nowt

My Dad said this to me when I think I was moaning about my job...again.

By what % is the situation going to improve just because you want it to?

It was a nice way of saying if you don't like it, stop moaning, get off your arse and change it. I ask myself that question a lot and it spurs me into action.

Yes - a wise lady I knew used to say that doing nothing is always an option.

Never argue with a drunk or a fool.

Today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday, and all is well.

If you think you are going through hell, keep going.

Oh, the one that Cher's mother said:
"Will it matter 5 years from now?
Well it doesn't matter now"

Also I like:
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got.

Never Trust a Tory.

How you do anything is how you do everything.

See also: you vote for Tories, you get Tories.

It is the wind of heaven that blows between a horse’s ears.

Utterly pointless but totally true.

(and @TimeFlysWhenYoureHavingRum how pathetic)

Like the NHS managers at the Countess of Chester 😡.

“Choose not to be harmed, and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed, and you haven’t been.”
Marcus Aurelius

Comparison is the thief of joy

Number Rule Source
1 Once you have their money, you never give it back. DS9: "The Nagus", "Heart of Stone"; PRO: "First Con-tact"
3 Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to. DS9: "The Maquis, Part II"
6 Never allow family to stand in the way of opportunity. [1] DS9: "The Nagus"; ENT: "Acquisition"
7 Keep your ears open. DS9: "In the Hands of the Prophets"
9 Opportunity plus instinct equals profit. DS9: "The Storyteller"; LD: "Hear All, Trust Nothing"
10 Greed is eternal. DS9: "Prophet Motive"; VOY: "False Profits"
16 A deal is a deal. [2] DS9: "Melora"
17 A contract is a contract is a contract… but only between Ferengi. [3] DS9: "Body Parts"
18 A Ferengi without profit is no Ferengi at all. DS9: "Heart of Stone", "Ferengi Love Songs"
21 Never place friendship above profit. DS9: "Rules of Acquisition"; PRO: "First Con-tact"
22 A wise man can hear profit in the wind. DS9: "Rules of Acquisition"; VOY: "False Profits"
23 Nothing is more important than your health… except for your money. ENT: "Acquisition"
31 Never make fun of a Ferengi's mother. [4] DS9: "The Siege"
33 It never hurts to suck up to the boss. [5] DS9: "Rules of Acquisition", "The Dogs of War"
34 War is good for business. [6] DS9: "Destiny", "The Siege of AR-558"
35 Peace is good for business. [7] TNG: "The Perfect Mate"; DS9: "Destiny"
45 Expand or die. [8] ENT: "Acquisition"; VOY: "False Profits"
47 Don't trust a man wearing a better suit than your own. DS9: "Rivals"
48 The bigger the smile, the sharper the knife. DS9: "Rules of Acquisition"
57 Good customers are as rare as latinum. Treasure them. DS9: "Armageddon Game"
59 Free advice is seldom cheap. DS9: "Rules of Acquisition"
62 The riskier the road, the greater the profit. DS9: "Rules of Acquisition", "Little Green Men", "Business as Usual"
74 Knowledge equals profit. VOY: "Inside Man"
75 Home is where the heart is, but the stars are made of latinum. DS9: "Civil Defense"
76 Every once in a while, declare peace. It confuses the hell out of your enemies. DS9: "The Homecoming"
94 Females and finances don't mix. DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs", "Profit and Lace"
95 Expand or die. [8] VOY: "False Profits"; ENT: "Acquisition"
98 Every man has his price. DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight"
102 Nature decays, but latinum lasts forever. DS9: "The Jem'Hadar"
103 Sleep can interfere with… [9] DS9: "Rules of Acquisition"
109 Dignity and an empty sack is worth the sack. DS9: "Rivals"
111 Treat people in your debt like family… exploit them. DS9: "Past Tense, Part I", "The Darkness and the Light"
112 Never have sex with the boss' sister. DS9: "Playing God"
125 You can't make a deal if you're dead. DS9: "The Siege of AR-558"
139 Wives serve, brothers inherit. DS9: "Necessary Evil"
168 Whisper your way to success. DS9: "Treachery, Faith and the Great River"
190 Hear all, trust nothing. DS9: "Call to Arms"
194 It's always good business to know about new customers before they walk in your door. [10] DS9: "Whispers"
203 New customers are like razor-toothed gree-worms. They can be succulent, but sometimes they bite back. DS9: "Little Green Men"
208 Sometimes the only thing more dangerous than a question is an answer. DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs"; PRO: "First Con-tact"
211 Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don't hesitate to step on them. DS9: "Bar Association"
214 Never begin a business negotiation on an empty stomach. DS9: "The Maquis, Part I"
217 You can't free a fish from water. DS9: "Past Tense, Part I"
223 Unknown, but presumably concerned the relationship between "keeping busy" and "being successful". DS9: "Profit and Loss"
229 Latinum lasts longer than lust. DS9: "Ferengi Love Songs"
239 Never be afraid to mislabel a product. [11] DS9: "Body Parts"
263 Never allow doubt to tarnish your lust for latinum. DS9: "Bar Association"
285 No good deed ever goes unpunished. DS9: "The Collaborator", "The Sound of Her Voice"
Unknown A man is only worth the sum of his possessions. [12]

Source
Rules of Acquisition | Memory Alpha | Fandom

From the book The 48 Laws of power

1. Never outshine the master (p1-7)
2. Never put too much trust in friends, learn how to use enemies (p8-15)
3. Conceal your intentions (p16-30)
4. Always say less than necessary (p31-36)
5. So much depends on reputation --- guard it with your life! (p37-43)
6. Court attention at all cost (p44-55)
7. Get others to do the work for you, but always take the credit! (p56-61)
8. Make other people come to you --- use bait if necessary! (p62-68)
9. Win through your actions, never through argument (p69-75)
10. Infection --- avoid the unhappy and unlucky (p76-81)
11. Learn to keep people dependent on you (p82-88)
12. Use selective honesty and generosity to disarm your victim (p89-94)
13. When asking for help, appeal to people's self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude (p95-100)
14. Pose as a friend, work as a spy (p101-106)
15. Crush your enemy totally! (p107-114)
16. Use absence to increase respect and honor (p115-122)
17. Keep others in suspended terror --- cultivate an air of unpredictability! (p123-129)
18. Do not build fortresses to protect yourself --- isolation is dangerous! (p130-136)
19. Know who you are dealing with --- do not offend the wrong person (p137-144)
20. Do not commit to anyone (p145-155)
21. Play a sucker to catch a sucker --- seem dumber than your mark (p156-162)
22. Use the surrender tactic --- transform weakness into power! (p163-170)
23. Concentrate your forces (p171-177)
24. Play the perfect courtier (p178-190)
25. Re-create your life! (p191-199)
26. Keep your hands clean (p200-214)
27. Play on people's need to believe to create a cultlike following (p215-226)
28. Enter action with boldness (p227-235)
29. Plan all the way to the end (p236-244)
30. Make your accomplishments seem effortless (p245-253)
31. Control the options --- get others to play with the cards you deal (p254-262)
32. Play to people's fantasies (p263-270)
33. Discover each employee's thumbscrew! (p271-281)
34. Be royal in your own fashion --- act like a king or queen to be treated like one! (p252-290)
35. Master the art of timing (p291-299)
36. Disdain things you cannot have --- ignoring them is the best revenge! (p300-308)
37. Create compelling spectacles (p309-316)
38. Think as you like but behave like others (p317-324)
39. Stir up waters to catch fish! (p325-332)
40. Despise the free lunch (p333-346)
41. Avoid stepping into a great man's shoes (p347-357)
42. Strike the shephere and the sheep will scatter (p358-366)
43. Work on the hearts and minds of others! (p367-375)
44. Disarm and infuriate with the "mirror effect" (p376-391)
45. Preach the need for change, but never reform too much at once! (p392-399)
46. Never appear too perfect! --- Only gods and the dead can seem perfect with impunity! (p400-409)
47. Do not go past the mark you aimed for --- in victory, learn when to stop! (p410-418)
48. Assume formlessness! (p419-430)

Source
The 48 Laws of Power - Wikipedia

for the record, i dont advocate any of these sayings or philosophies

HNRTFT but my Mum always said’if it works don’t fix it ‘ ….totally agree! BIL had a horrible two months investigating Pancreatic cancer,allocated a Macmillan nurse etc and the routine scan he had with his work insurance was completely wrong…can you imagine the terrible fear he went through?

Not a saying - a poem, I printed it out and put it in the front of my teaching folder.

I woke myself up
Because we ain’t got an alarm clock
Dug in the dirty clothes basket,
Cause ain’t nobody washed my uniform
Brushed my hair and teeth in the dark,
Cause the lights ain’t on
Even got my baby sister ready,
Cause my mama wasn’t home.
Got us both to school on time,
To eat us a good breakfast.
Then when I got to class the teacher fussed
Cause I ain’t got no pencil

Joshua T. Dickerson

The only thing you HAVE to do in life is breathe. Everything else is a choice with consequences.

Nobody has everything all at once.

Never let perfect get in the way of good enough.

Also for situations with difficult people:
Someone is going to be unhappy. Make sure it's not you.

The only thing you HAVE to do in life is breathe.Everything else is a choice with consequences.

I was sent on a course at work - Pacific Institute training - which was based around the premise that the only two things in life you have to do are taking up space and dying and that everything else is a choice. Didn’t find it particularly useful tbh.

Another couple I like, both from my Spanish Godmother

"A life lived in fear is a life half lived."
"It's always a friend who hates you the most."

I used to believe in ‘It is better to be kind than right’, but that kind of backfired on me.

I love the one I’ve picked up on Mumsnet ‘Don’t set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm’.

Yes I agree 'it's better to be kind than right' is terrible advice!

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.