I recently came across this quotation from “Chelís” Sánchez Solá, recently the former head coach of Major League Soccer's Chivas USA. To me, as a teacher and former coach high school soccer coach, I had to laugh at the ridiculousness and at the same time marvel at the wisdom of this following statement:
"As coaches we love the cherries in life. But believe me, 80 percent or 90 percent of the time we eat [expletive]. We eat [expletive] and wait for the cherries. When the cherries do come, they have a flavor that substitutes all that 90 percent of manure that you already ate."
Just wondering what other quotes have grabbed other hubski users attention. Especially quotes that might seem ridiculous and wise at the same time.
Churchill was the king of quotes in my mind, at least funny quotes that also have a lot of wisdom behind them. Here are a few: "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." "The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter." "I am easily satisfied with the very best." "We are all worms. But I believe that I am a glow-worm." "He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." My favorite: "I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else."
Recently heard: "Fame is a series of misunderstandings surrounding a name" - Joni Mitchell Lots of wonderful quotes came up on a previous discussion of this topic almost a year ago. Worth revisiting over and over again. Those Churchill quotes are great.
"If voting worked, they wouldn't let us do it" - Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain Mark Twain has some really priceless quotes/witticisms that I love. Also, I love this Michael Scott quote, which I find inspiring, but which not everyone seems to get: "Don't be a caricature, Kevin. You should never settle for who you are." It does potentially seem I think a bit off-the-wall, but I take it to mean "You should never stop improving. Who you are should never be good enough because you can always be better/more."
If you will it, it is no dream. -Theodor Herzl This quote has been a driving force in my life. There's nothing ridiculous about it unless you, like me, were introduced to it by Walter Sobchak
How about some Oscar Wilde:
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal. A man can be happy with any woman as long as he does not love her. Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much. Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. Arguments are to be avoided; they are always vulgar and often convincing. One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards. The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself. Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong. Work is the curse of the drinking classes. Life is far too important a thing ever to talk seriously about. We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars. I like persons better than principles, and I like persons with no principles better than anything else in the world.
A friend of a friend likes to say, "I'd pick the peanuts out of her shit and wash 'em down with her dirty bathwater just to get close to her!" when he spots a beautiful woman while out with "the boys". Edit: I read the title of this post incorrectly. I did not realize it was supposed to be knowledgeable and ridiculous.
I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done that. Okay, that was actually lying, but I can empathize. I've had women I was so smitten with that they could have told me to divulge top secret CIA programs and move to Hong Kong and I would have gladly done so. -Just trying to be relevant.
Nice. I remember my Dad telling me, in my teens, that I'd know if a girl really meant a lot if I was willing to crawl a mile over broken Coke bottles just to hear her fart over the phone. Also, he'd drop this pearl of wisdom when I was ineptly completing a household task that he knew better of. "Son, step aside. Right now, you're as useful as tits on a bull."
Nice. I remember my Dad telling me, in my teens, that I'd know if a girl really meant a lot if I was willing to crawl a mile over broken Coke bottles just to hear her fart over the phone.
That's awesome. He wasn't too far off though, was he? My father in law uses the "tits on a bull" and when he says it, he sounds just like Jeff Foxworthy. -Thick southern accent.
HA. Glad you liked it. There are a couple of girls from my teenage years that could have asked me to light my house on fire and I'd have run to the garage to grab the kerosene. It's pretty amazing how strong those first few loves are, isn't it!
I've been thinking about tng being so mad for love that he'd do all that -- as I watch my daughter hopelessly in love with bad news, and paying for it with my money. I've also come to realize why my blog "Should I lend my boyfriend money?" gets 10 hits a day from all over the world. Girls find a guy who gives them self-esteem and self-worth and the illusion of purpose and love and meaning in their lives, but the girl has some steady shit job and the guy has dreams and ideas. I'm touching this very lightly here -- but I intend to do a part 2 to that blog someday.... listing all the money I've spent on ... well you get the picture. Your explanation of - set-the-house-on-fire-boy-craziness is a version of the same thing from the boy's point of view. There ain't no cure for love and you can't reason a person out of a position they didn't reason themselves into in the first place.
This can be a question of co-dependency that is often gender neutral.Girls find a guy who gives them self-esteem and self-worth and the illusion of purpose and love and meaning in their lives, but the girl has some steady shit job and the guy has dreams and ideas.
I'm sure this is a reality far too often, but its important to note that the converse is often true as well. There are many guys that loan their girlfriends money, or pay the rent for their shared apartment etc.