What’s In Your Daily Planner?

What’s in your daily planner?

Be it Franklin, Moleskin, Lemome or one of the myriad of other planners, whatever you use for daily reminders, do you have a page devoted to a verse, message, picture or quote that inspires you to kick start your day?

I had these three messages taped to the front page of my planner for years, as I went about my sales chores. They weren’t the only impetus behind my ‘get up and go’. But they, along with others I kept, helped remind me of the dedication required and purposefulness of my work.

We’re surrounded by messages that help drive us and focus our energies, aren’t we. One sees them in books, posters, billboards, locker rooms.

The exit to my Army barracks had a message that’s been attributed to former auto exec, Lee Iacocca…

‘Lead, follow or get out of the way’

The barracks version was a little ‘saltier’, I recall. Seems an appropriate message for a military environment, or anyplace that invokes a team mission.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet has one of the best messages…

‘To thine own self, be true, then it shall follow, as night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man’

Great advice from a father to his son, but then, Shakespeare was good at using his work to give advice. I find this message helps remind us of our own ethics as we set course on our daily business.

Sales people are likely drawn to quotes, I believe, because their work is filled with ups and downs, highs and lows, negativity, as well as positivity. Starting thé day with a few poignant words might be the magic one needs to go after the challenge…

‘Unseen and Untold is Unsold’

The success of the mission is the burden that often saddles itself on the salesperson’s shoulders. The above words clearly make that point and drive the individual to succeed. And the following shows the importance of sales and salesmanship…

‘Nothing happens until something is sold’ (author unknown)

The author may be unknown but the message makes so much sense. The powerful image this creates is palpable. The successful salesperson is the machine that keeps the wheels of industry from grinding to a screeching halt. Think about it for a moment.

Do you doubt that words can propel people to act?

‘Never give up! Never!

Great Britain’s Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave hope and courage to a nation with those few words. During WWII.

‘Nuts!’

This was the reply of General Anthony McAuliffe to the overwhelming German force at the Battle of The Bulge in 1944. His smaller force kept up the fight and repelled the enemy. Words.

Again, what’s in your daily planner?

Steve B

Aug 2021

Published by

srbottch

Retired in 2013 after 5 years as an elementary school teacher and 40 years as a sales representative to begin anew as a school crossing guard. SMy essays/stories are a way to communicate through the telling of personal experiences. One reader said about my blog stories, "...these are like a cold sip during a marathon run, simple, real life events". Another offered about my blog, “it brings some sense of normalcy not easily found in the modern world.”

27 thoughts on “What’s In Your Daily Planner?”

  1. These are great! That sounds like something Vince Lombardi would have said. I think my favorite is “lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

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  3. I stopped using a daily planner over twenty years ago. I do weekly planning in Evernote. My “daily affirmation” is a print by an Australian artist depicting a stand of bare trees against a red background. (The rest of the image is muted blues and browns.) For me, the image represents inspiration. I have a poem by A.E. Stallings stuck in a corner of the frame, “Why should the Devil get all the good tunes”–just because I like it.

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  4. As a salesperson, I found inspiration in several places. One of the best poems that I found early in my career was written by James Corbett, a heavy-weight champion boxer. You may have heard it before, but here it is again. It’s called Fight One More Round.
    “Fight one more round. When your feet are so tired that you have to shuffle back to the center of the ring, fight one more round. When your arms are so tired that you can hardly lift your hands to come on guard, fight one more round. When your nose is bleeding, and your eyes are black, and you are so tired you wish your opponent would crack you one on the jaw and put you to sleep, fight one more round – remembering that the man who always fights one more round is never whipped.” A terrific post Steve.

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  7. I no longer have a daily planner, being digital and all (and I actually miss the paper version!) but I do try to have inspiration each day. Lately, it’s Rumi. My current fave: Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.
    Thanks for the inspiration, Steve!

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    1. Thanks, Kristine. I like the planner for note taking and the snobbish way it makes me feel. Of course, I don’t need it anymore, unless it’s to write down everyone my wife tells me I’m not listening or I’ve done something wrong…🥸

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  8. Steve, I fear if I started adding quotes or verses to my Filofax it would soon be overflowing. I love the selection here, your one looks like a hug of wisdom and inspiration! However, I do keep a file of quotations on my computer and a recent one I came across about friends touched me deeply. Particularly when I haven’t been to visit any one person and whilst also contemplating the nature of the friendships formed here on WP.

    “Close friends are truly life’s treasures. Sometimes they know us better than we know ourselves. With gentle honesty, they are there to guide and support us, to share our laughter and our tears. Their presence reminds us that we are never really alone.” Vincent Van Gogh

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  9. No daily planner quotes for me: just an unruly scrawl in my diary. But sometimes a line from a poem is what I need and it stays in my mind for weeks. . Currently, “Don’t stay damaged. That’s no use to anyone.” ( Janis Freegard)

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