I’m a big fan of ancient proverbs.
Sayings such as…
Fortune favours the brave.
– Pliny the Elder
and…
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
– Lao Tzu
…I find truly inspirational.
Confucius 1.0
The master of ancient proverbs, however, must be Confucius.
Some of my favourites of his are…
Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.
When we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.
If only we heeded these 2,500-year-old words of wisdom!
Confucius 2.0
This got me thinking, if Confucius were alive today, what new proverbs might he conceive for the digital age?
Of course we’ll never know, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun thinking up our own. How about these…
The lushest gardens have the highest walls.
The lurker’s voice is never heard.
The one who throws rocks, but offers no alternatives, is a douche.
Do not feed the trolls.
Banning social media is a double-edged sword.
Everyone wants to be collaborative,
until they are expected to contribute.
Social media is like driving; everyone thinks they do it well.
When it’s not social, it’s just media.
If millions of people are doing it, it can’t be that hard.
If a man punches you in the face, you may sue him in court;
but you will still have a broken nose.
If I can sing along while you wear the earphones, it’s too loud.
Beware the ones who say they love your blog;
they desire to sell you something.
Spammers are like the hunters of Patagonian Toothfish;
they cast their nets very wide, yet catch very little.
If a man offers to sell you the secrets of online trading,
ask yourself why he isn’t sunbathing in the Caribbean.
This list is a stub
Now it’s your turn. How creative are you?
Can you think of any modern-day proverbs to add to the list?
E-Learning Provocateur 