…if you Don’t Weaken!

That’s what my grandmother used to say. “It’s a great life if you don’t weaken.” Her “motto” had a strong and profound ring to it. But what did it really mean, I wondered? And did my grandma invent this saying or did she discover it?

Thanks to the internet, within five seconds I had learned more about my grandma’s guiding phrase. First, I found another blog where the writer says that HER grandmother invoked this saying as well, in a loud and clear voice! Turns out, many bloggers can relate to this phrase- especially writers!

Then I discovered the originator of these stirring words, none other than His Excellency The Right Honourable The Lord Tweedsmuir GCMG GCVO CH PC, a Scottish novelist, historian, and politician who served as Governor General of Canada. That’s him, at the top of this page. He doesn’t look like one who would weaken, does he?

Now let’s segue to Charli.

I’ve been thinking about my book character Charli. I turned on her spotlight three years ago in September, when I published the first book in my The Golden Age of Charli series. 

Charli has a favorite phrase that is similar, “Press On! Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence…” Calvin Coolidge is the originator of this inspiring quote, and it was a favorite of the founder of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc. Charli used this mantra to guide her through the early days of retirement in the first book in the series.

The second book in the series found Charli repeating Peter Drucker’s famous saying, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure”, as she and her husband Pud dealt with the some weighty issues.

And that’s probably Charli’s favorite quote of all-

“There’s always something wonderful and unexpected waiting around the next corner.”

What thought or motto guides you life- please share it.