He Said WHAT? Quotes That Fall Short

The world is made up of quotes.  I look for them all the time in order to round out what I send out on Twitter.  Before the advent of the internet, I used to keep notebooks full of them, to use as I was teaching or writing.  Most of these quotes are public domain and it’s no problem to take a short quote and use it as long as you give credit to whom credit is due.  I used to keep huge files of inspirational quotes and I would send out daily to people who I knew enjoyed receiving them.

Over the years of reading quotes, however, I have run across a few that come from very rich and famous people, and yet, I think they’re just a bit off – in other words, not quite the truth.  Now, I know these people didn’t mean to get it wrong.  After all, who of us would want to have everything we said written down for posterity?  I certainly wouldn’t!

Just for fun, here’s a couple of my favorite quotes that fall a little short of what the author probably intended.

• Zig Ziglar said this:  “Success is dependent on the glands – the sweat glands!”  We all know Zig as one of the most beloved motivational speakers and trainers of all time.  I think he was espousing hard work.  But I think you would all agree that you can work hard and work dumb.  There are many other things that comprise success.  Hard work alone just won’t cut it.  Sorry, Zig, but I do know that if you were here today, you could expound on this and make it right.

• Jim Rohn said, “Success is a steady progress toward one’s goals.”  Now I adore Jim Rohn’s works and I’ve listened to almost every seminar he ever delivered.  But I have to disagree with Jim in that sometimes the path to success is anything but steady and anything but progressive or linear.  Usually success is achieved after many crashes, failures, detours, and course corrections.  I think what he probably meant to say is that we should stick to something and see it through – to be persistent.

Here’s a great quote by the infamous W. C. Fields — “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  Then quit! There’s no use being a damn fool about it.”  You gotta love W. C. Fields!

I’m putting together an eBook of my favorite quotes to give away to all my clients who’ve purchase my MakeTwitterWork course.  Just to provide them with a bank of quotes to get started rounding out things on Twitter.

I’d be curious as to your thoughts on quotes.  Do you use them?  Why or why not?

If you use them, what is your favorite source?  I’ll look forward to hearing from you.