Notoriety. It’s something we all clamor for in some form or another. We want to be heard. Even if it is only among our peers, our words matter.
I have spent my whole life talking. Spending over thirty years as a technical trainer. I have addressed audiences big and small. Thousands of people have listened with their ears tuned to my presentations. Surely, I must have said something of interest? Somewhere at some time I possibly made a statement so profound it will last into eternity. Yet, I have not seen those words being cited in any best-selling novels.
I search the internet for idioms. Strings of words that provoke thought in others. Words that inspire people to change and, hopefully, to improve. I find hundreds of them. Some that inspire me. Still, my favorite quotes seem to be frustratingly absent.
Can I emphasize a point? I am not some fresh young face just out of college who is trying to set the world on fire. I am likely older than most of the people reading this post. In fact, I have outlived many of my long-time associates and business partners. This means that I have amassed a huge arsenal of notions that influenced someone somewhere. Although now that I think about it, the fact that many of my comrades no longer inhale and exhale, means they may have taken some of my brilliance to their graves with them.
“To be or not to be?” Is it truly that deep? “For whom the bell tolls?” So intense you will remember it for all time? Hemingway, Mark Twain, Shakespeare? Were they really that good? Or just lucky someone remembered what they said?
A few years ago, I began blogging. After years of public speaking, I realized that spoken words can often be misinterpreted. They are easily forgotten. Even worse they are taken out of context and used against you. Writing seemed to be a way of placing your thoughts into perpetuity. You can’t claim you didn’t say it once it is written down.
Looking back, I realize that at some point my words may have fallen on deaf ears.
More recently my optimism has been buoyed by the fact that my sons have begun to quote me. They usually do it in a joking manner. But, hey. I’ll take it. Being mocked is still better than being ignored.
I plan to start a series of blog posts that contain lists of some of the most popular quotes and idioms of all time. Then, I will sneak in a few of my own gems. The unsuspecting reader will simply think of them as one of those great quotes that have gone down into posterity.
In conclusion, I now realize it may not have been something I said. More likely, it was something I didn’t say. Or at least something that wasn’t heard.
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